Appendix A -  Certification Process for Literacy Instruction

General Information
SB 488 Certification Process for Literacy Instruction
Teacher Preparation in California

Overview
This document outlines the certification process for verifying literacy instruction content as required of specific teacher preparation programs pursuant to Senate Bill (SB) 488 (Chap. 678, Stats. 2021).

In accordance with SB 488, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing adopted new program standards and Teaching Performance Expectations (TPEs) related to the teaching of literacy for prospective educators. All preliminary teacher education programs must be aligned with these new standards and TPEs by July 1, 2024. Further, the law requires the Commission to certify that all Preliminary Multiple Subject, Education Specialist (Mild to Moderate Support Needs, Extensive Support Needs, Visual Impairments, Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Early Childhood Special Education), and PK-3 Early Childhood Education (ECE) Specialist Instruction programs are providing prospective teachers with instruction in the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities for the study of literacy as specified in Education Code (EC) section 44259(b)(4)(A) and (B). Statute also requires that the Commission develop a new literacy performance assessment which will be required for candidates in the affected credential programs beginning on July 1, 2025.

What are the new requirements?
SB 488 established several new priorities for the preparation of teachers to provide effective, science- and evidence-based literacy instruction. The law, and resulting new teacher preparation program standards, reaffirms the State Board-adopted English Language Arts/English Language Development (ELA/ELD) Framework as the foundation for literacy instruction for TK-12 students in California. As a result, all teacher preparation programs must ensure alignment with the framework, including the crosscutting themes of Foundational Skills, Meaning Making, Language Development, Effective Expression, and Content Knowledge. Preparation programs must include content that emphasizes the relationships among the five themes, including the importance of the foundational skills to children’s learning across all themes and how progress in the other themes supports progress in the foundational skills. The Commission’s adopted literacy standard and related TPEs reflect this statutory requirement.

The law also brings focus to fostering greater understanding about how students learn to read and on current research about how to better serve students with reading difficulties such as dyslexia. As such, SB 488 requires teacher preparation programs to incorporate the California Dyslexia Guidelines published by the California Department of Education.

Finally, SB 488 requires the development of a literacy performance assessment (LPA). Programs will be responsible for embedding the LPA fully into their programs consistent with the provisions of Ed Code 44320.3. Beginning July 1, 2025, candidates in Preliminary Multiple Subject, Education Specialist (Mild to Moderate Support Needs, Extensive Support Needs, Visual Impairments, Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Early Childhood Special Education), and PK-3 Early Childhood Education (ECE) Specialist preparation programs must take and pass a Commission approved LPA. The LPA is currently in development and will be pilot tested and field tested over the next year to be ready for full implementation on July 1, 2025. A Program Sponsor Alert on the LPA will be forthcoming. The new literacy program standard 7 and TPE Domain 7 must be implemented by programs beginning July 1, 2024, in order to ensure that enrolled candidates have opportunities to learn and practice the knowledge and skills that they will be assessed on through the LPA.

At this time, all teacher preparation programs should be reevaluating their curriculum and fieldwork to ensure alignment by the required timeline. The new literacy program standards and corresponding TPEs are designed to improve literacy instruction for California TK-12 students. Verification of alignment with the full array of literacy standards and TPEs will be conducted through the accreditation process (e.g. Program Review, Accreditation Site visits).

The new Literacy Standards and TPEs are available on the Commission’s program standards webpage (please use the 2022 and 2023 versions, depending on the credential area).The table below identifies the elements of the literacy standards and their corresponding TPE elements. The structure of those corresponding sections and elements are provided in the table below.

What specifically needs to be certified?
The law specifies that the Commission certify that applicable teacher preparation programs are aligned with specific aspects of literacy instruction. The Commission’s certification process will focus on content within the new Literacy Standard 7 and the TPEs in Domain 7 specific to reading instruction as outlined in Education Code section 44259(b)(4)(A) and (B). The language of this section of the law reads as follows:

In accordance with Education Code (EC) section 44320.3, the Commission must certify that teacher preparation programs provide instruction in the knowledge, skills, and abilities required in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) of Section 44259.

EC section 44259 (b)(4)(A) and (B):

(A) Commencing January 1, 1997, satisfactory completion of comprehensive reading instruction that is research based and includes all of the following:

(i) The study of organized, systematic, explicit skills including phonemic awareness, direct, systematic, explicit phonics, and decoding skills.

(ii) A strong literature, language, and comprehension component with a balance of oral and written language.

(iii) Ongoing diagnostic techniques that inform teaching and assessment.

(iv) Early intervention techniques.

(v) Guided practice in a clinical setting.

(B) For purposes of this section, “direct, systematic, explicit phonics” means phonemic awareness, spelling patterns, the direct instruction of sound/symbol codes and practice in connected text, and the relationship of direct, systematic, explicit phonics to the components set forth in clauses (i) to (v), inclusive, of subparagraph (A).

Although the certification process will focus on specific aspects of literacy instruction, it is important to reiterate that all preliminary teacher preparation programs must fully align with and begin implementing all provisions of the literacy standard and TPEs by July 1, 2024.

Which programs must be certified?
The following teacher preparation programs are subject to literacy certification:

• Preliminary Multiple Subject
• Preliminary PK-3 Early Childhood Education (ECE) Specialist Instruction Credential
• Preliminary Education Specialist: Mild to Moderate Support Needs
• Preliminary Education Specialist: Extensive Support Needs
• Preliminary Education Specialist: Deaf and Hard of Hearing
• Preliminary Education Specialist: Visual Impairment
• Preliminary Education Specialist: Early Childhood Special Education

Who will be reviewing the programs for literacy certification?
Trained members of the Commission’s Board of Institutional Review (BIR), experts in literacy instruction in the state, and Commission staff will review program submissions.

Will the process for review be a one-time review where institutions will either be denied or certified?
After initial review, the institution will be notified as to whether it has met the criteria for certification. If the institution has not been found to meet the criteria, the institution will have to resubmit additional or modified documentation within a specified timeframe. This timeframe for resubmission is essential as all applicable programs must be reviewed and meet all criteria by July 1, 2025.

What is the process once a program has been determined to have met the criteria for certification?
Once a program has been determined to have met the criteria for literacy certification by reviewers, formal approval by the Commission will take place during a regular public meeting.

What is the timeline for literacy certification and when will the Commission begin accepting documentation?
All Commission approved Preliminary Multiple Subject, Education Specialist, and PK-3 credential programs must be certified by July 1, 2025. To accommodate the volume of programs that must be certified, the Commission has established a submission window by which institutions must submit their documentation.

The Commission will begin accepting the required documentation from programs beginning on Friday, April 26, 2024. All submissions must be received by no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 4, 2024.

In order for the Commission to complete its review within the timeline set forth by SB 488, there will be no extensions granted. Programs for which documents have not been received by the deadline risk their continued approval.

Why is the Commission not accepting applications for certification before April 26, 2024, and why can’t programs submit after October 4, 2024?
The changes to the standards and TPEs for literacy instruction are significant. The Commission anticipates that all programs will use the remainder of the 2023-24 academic year to continue to evaluate where they need to make adjustments in their program to align with the literacy standard and TPE and to work within their own institutional approval processes to make any needed changes in coursework and clinical practice. Programs will need time to work through those processes as well as to ensure that the documentation submitted for certification accurately reflects the programs as implemented. Further, the Commission anticipates that programs participating in the pilot for the literacy performance assessment may wish to make additional adjustments as they gather data from these experiences. Finally, the Commission identified a review window sufficient to certify the large number of programs that will need to be certified.

What happens if an institution’s process for approving new curriculum exceeds the review period?
The Commission recognizes that institutions have a variety of processes and timelines to change or add coursework, including academic senate approval for many institutions. If an institution must submit draft documentation to the Commission for certification while it awaits formal institutional approval, the Commission will review these draft documents. In this instance, the program will need to clearly identify that the documentation is still under institutional review. The institution will be required to notify the Commission once the institution’s internal approval process is complete, prior to July 1, 2025, verifying that there were no substantial changes from the documentation that was submitted for certification. If substantive changes were made resulting from the institution’s approval process, the institution will be required to provide additional documentation demonstrating that the changes meet certification requirements. The Commission will resolve these issues on a caseby-case basis. Regardless, the statute requires that the Commission certify all programs by July 1, 2025, in anticipation of the required literacy performance assessment.

What happens if a program has not met the certification criteria by July 1, 2025?
The Education Code requires that all teacher preparation programs specified must be in alignment with 44259(b)(4)(A) and (B). Therefore, as a condition of continued operations, all affected programs must be determined to be in alignment or risk losing their program approval. Commission staff are committed to working with all affected teacher preparation programs to ensure that programs understand the requirements in this section of law, in the new standards, and new TPEs.

How will certification happen if programs have different pathways to the same credential?
The Commission will need to certify each pathway offered by an institution leading to the affected credential. The process is structured so that pathways that share common coursework may be reviewed simultaneously, not separately. It is possible, depending on how the pathways are structured, that some pathways may be able to receive certification while others may need to provide additional information.

How does the certification process intersect with the accreditation cycle? Can evidence/documentation submitted for certification be used for accreditation and vice versa?
The statute for literacy certification is separate from accreditation. Therefore, literacy certification must take place in addition to an institution’s accreditation activities. Programs will still be required to address the entirety of the literacy instruction program standard and the associated TPEs during program review and the accreditation site visit. Commission staff have designed the certification process to maximize any opportunities whereby some information submitted for certification may be used by programs in other accreditation activities, particularly program review.

In what format do we submit documentation required for certification?
All documentation and evidence required for the literacy certification process must be posted to the institution’s accreditation website under a clearly marked tab or link including all the submission requirements detailed in the appendices. The instructions in the appendices specify the documents and evidence to be posted on the institution’s website that must be submitted using the SB 488 Certification Submission Form between April 26, 2024 and October 4, 2024. It is strongly encouraged that the institution’s website be open to the public and not require a username and password. If this is not possible, the password must also be submitted and be available to any member of the public who requests it. Google Docs or websites containing one large pdf or Word document with links will not be accepted. Please be aware that these documents are public records, and the Commission cannot deny access to anyone who wishes to review them.

Documentation must be submitted for each applicable teacher preparation program offered by a Commission-approved program sponsor. Questions related to the literacy instruction certification process submission should be addressed to SB488Certification@ctc.ca.gov.

What is the review process for the documentation?
Once submitted, documentation will be reviewed by staff for completeness and accessibility. Submissions with missing exhibits and/or issues with access will be returned to the institution. Given the time constraints on this process dictated by statute, institutions will have two weeks from notification of missing and/or inaccessible information to address the access/link issues. This timeframe will apply to initial submissions as well as resubmissions.

Once documentation has passed the initial check for completeness and accessibility, the submission will be moved to the review panel. These reviewers will examine all documentation and exhibits presented by the program to reach consensus as to whether literacy certification can be granted or additional information will be needed. All deadlines for resubmission will be indicated on the review feedback forms.

What about program proposals that were recently approved or will soon be approved using the new literacy standards and TPEs, including the new PK 3 Early Childhood Education (ECE) Instruction Specialist credentials?
A small number of programs have already been approved with the new literacy standard and TPEs. The first of these were approved at the October 2023 COA meeting. These programs, including any new PK-3 ECE programs that will be approved in the coming months, are also subject to the literacy certification process. However, because they will have been reviewed for initial approval using the new literacy standards and TPEs, a modified process will be used to ensure that, as these programs begin operations, they are implementing their literacy instruction coursework and fieldwork as was approved. Any changes to the implementation of how the program provides literacy instruction since the time of program approval would need to be reviewed to ensure that the modifications meet the requirements of SB 488. Additional information for these programs will be forthcoming.

Questions?
Institutions may submit questions to SB488Certification@ctc.ca.gov.