An Act concerning professional development for public school employees and supplementing chapter 6 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
C.18A:6-130 Professional development opportunities related to reading disabilities.
1. The Department of Education shall provide professional development opportunities related to reading disabilities, including dyslexia, to school district personnel. The professional development shall be made available to general education, special education, basic skills, and English as a second language teachers, instructional support staff, administrators, supervisors, child study team members, and speech-language specialists. The professional development opportunities shall be designed to account for the various manners in which different school district personnel interact with, or develop instructional programs for, students with reading disabilities.
C.18A:6-131 Required instruction.
2. The State Board of Education shall, as part of the professional development requirement established by the State board for public school teaching staff members, require certain teaching staff members to annually complete at least two hours of professional development instruction on the screening, intervention, accommodation, and use of technology for students with reading disabilities, including dyslexia. The professional development requirement established pursuant to this section shall apply to general education teachers employed in grades kindergarten through 3, special education, basic skills, and English as a second language teachers, reading specialists, learning disabilities teacher consultants, and speech-language specialists. A board of education may make the professional development opportunities available to other instructional or support staff as the board deems appropriate.
3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first be applicable to the first full school year beginning after the effective date of this act.
Approved August 7, 2013.