The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) is committed to advancing literacy excellence for all students by improving literacy instruction and access to High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM). A comprehensive suite of resources is now available to educators to support literacy from research to practice. The trainings being offered focus on the science of reading, structured literacy, and supporting students with reading difficulties.
Point of Contact
Vaani Gupta
[email protected]
Top Things to Know
- OSSE provides local education agencies (LEAs) with resources aligned to the dyslexia legislation on its Dyslexia Legislation Overview website.
- In accordance with DC Law 23-191 Addressing Dyslexia and Other Reading Difficulties Amendment Act of 2020 all LEAs will ensure that educators who serve students in pre-K through adult programs build awareness of reading difficulties through the Dyslexia Awareness Training for the 2026-27 school year. LEAs must provide OSSE with educator completion rates by Oct. 31 of each year.
- In accordance with DC Law 23-191 Addressing Dyslexia and Other Reading Difficulties Amendment Act of 2020 all LEAs will ensure that general educators who serve students in grades K-2 complete professional learning on reading difficulties via training provided by OSSE, an LEA, or third party with expertise in reading and reading difficulties. OSSE recommends that LEAs provide this training directly to educators.
- All K-5 serving LEAs will ensure educators have access to HQIM by adopting a science-based reading program for grades K-5 in accordance with DC Law 23-191 Addressing Dyslexia and Other Reading Difficulties Amendment Act of 2020. Each K-5 LEA must provide OSSE with the name of the adopted HQIM science-based reading program by Oct. 31 of each year.
- All LEAs serving grades 6-8 will submit evidence of assessment systems and high-quality intervention programming to support non-proficient middle school students in accordance with DC Law 23-191 Addressing Dyslexia and Other Reading Difficulties Amendment Act of 2020
- In accordance with § 38–2264. Achieving competency in structured literacy instruction. | D.C. Law Library, all LEAs will ensure that teachers assigned to teach kindergarten demonstrate structured literacy competency for the 2026-27 school year. LEAs must provide OSSE with kindergarten teacher completion rates by Oct. 31, 2026.
- In accordance with § 38–2265. Supporting competency in structured literacy instruction. | D.C. Law Library, LEAs shall provide OSSE with classroom-level student academic performance growth and proficiency in literacy as measured by any uniform assessment for students in grades kindergarten through grade 3 at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year.
Key Resources
- OSSE provides LEAs with evidence-based curricula aligned with the science of reading.
- The K-5 HQIM rubric and 6-8 Intervention HQIM rubric provide tools for LEAs to evaluate whether their program meets the requirements of a high-quality science-based literacy program.
- The K-5 HQIM guidance and 6-8 HQIM guidance provide LEAs with support in the adoption of high-quality science-based literacy programs. The guidance document provides an in-depth look at how to score the rubric, interpret the results, and plan for the next steps.
- The structured literacy training list provides LEAs with a comprehensive list of structured literacy training to support educators serving grades K-5.
- The structured literacy walkthrough tool provides LEAs with guidance on norming structured literacy practices grounded in evidence-based practices. It is not intended to serve as a formal, summative assessment evaluation but rather to deliver targeted feedback for educators in structured literacy instruction.
Key Dates & Deadlines
- Oct. 31 - Deadline for LEAs to provide OSSE with a compliance letter certifying the completion of the dyslexia awareness training and K-2 training on reading difficulties for the 2026-27 school year.
- Oct. 31 - Deadline for LEAs to provide OSSE kindergarten teacher compliance of structured literacy training for the 2026-27 school year.
- Oct. 31 - Deadline for K-grade 5 LEAs to provide OSSE with the name of the science-based reading program it has adopted.
- Oct. 31 - Deadline for grade 6-8 LEAs to provide evidence of assessment systems and high-quality intervention programming to support non-proficient middle school students.
- Beginning of year (start of school through Nov. 15), middle of year (Nov. 15-March 15) and end of year (March 15-end of school year), deadlines for LEAs providing OSSE K-3 literacy data.