Okla. Stat. tit. 70, § 70-6-200

A. Subject to the availability of funds, the State Board of

Education shall have authority to develop and administer training

for residency committees and training for professional development

through professional development institutes. Included in the

professional development institute training shall be technology

training. “Professional development institutes” shall be defined as

continuing education experiences which consist of a minimum of

thirty (30) clock hours. The institutes shall be competency-based,

emphasize effective learning practices, require collaboration among

participants, and require each participant to prepare a work product

which can be utilized in the classroom by the participant. Any

state professional development institutes administered by the Board

shall be chosen through a competitive bid process and, if funds are

available, subject to peer review. The Board, prior to offering any

professional development institute, shall promulgate rules related

to administering state professional development institutes.

B. The State Board of Education shall develop, offer, and

administer professional development institutes to train elementary

school teachers in reading education and, if funds are available,

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 70. Schools Page 463

which may include, but not be limited to, grant, foundation, or

other funds, to train middle school teachers in reading education.

Funds appropriated for this purpose shall be used for the cost of

developing, administering, and contracting for the professional

development institutes. When possible, certified reading

specialists shall be included as consultants. All costs of the

institutes shall be included in the contract price, and no tuition

or registration fee shall be collected from teachers attending the

institutes. The institutes shall be offered by or through the

Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability. Working in

conjunction with the State Department of Education, the Commission

shall develop a state plan for administration of such institutes and

shall report electronically on or before November 1 of each year to

the Governor and the Legislature on the format of and participation

in the institutes. The State Department of Education shall

cooperate with and provide any information requested, including data

available through the state student record system, to the State

Board of Education as is necessary to carry out the provisions of

this section.

C. Subject to the availability of funds, the State Board of

Education shall:

1. Contract for an independent evaluation of the reading

professional development institutes. The evaluation shall determine

adherence to program requirements as provided in this section and

the program’s effectiveness in increasing teacher knowledge and

student achievement; and

2. Provide continued support of the reading professional

development institutes through ongoing teacher development at

individual school sites. Funds may be used for the cost of mentor

training, payment for substitute teachers, on-site facilitation, and

any other costs necessary to ensure improved reading by students.

D. 1. For the purpose of implementing comprehensive reading

reform and systemic change, the State Board of Education shall award

one-year grants renewable for up to two (2) additional years to

public schools that serve students in kindergarten through third

grade. The grants shall provide for:

a. a five-day initial professional development institute

in elementary school reading for teachers of

kindergarten through third grade, instructional

leaders, and principals,

b. a three-day follow-up professional development

institute in elementary school reading for teachers of

kindergarten through third grade and instructional

leaders, and

c. continued support through ongoing teacher development

at school sites including four (4) days of
tute

in elementary school reading for teachers of

kindergarten through third grade, instructional

leaders, and principals,

b. a three-day follow-up professional development

institute in elementary school reading for teachers of

kindergarten through third grade and instructional

leaders, and

c. continued support through ongoing teacher development

at school sites including four (4) days of

professional development for principals and literacy

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 70. Schools Page 464

resource specialists and six (6) days of on-site

visits by a program consultant.

2. In order to qualify for a grant pursuant to this subsection,

the following requirements shall be met:

a. at least eighty percent (80%) of the teachers of

kindergarten through third grade at the school shall

have demonstrated support for the training program

provided pursuant to this subsection,

b. the principal shall ensure that all members of the

leadership team and all teachers of kindergarten

through third grade will participate in all phases of

the training program,

c. the school district shall ensure that any new teacher

of kindergarten through third grade or principal at

the school will participate in all phases of the

training program, and

d. the school district shall employ a literacy resource

specialist for at least two (2) years after completion

of the training provided in this subsection. One or

more districts may share a literacy resource

specialist upon approval of the Board.

3. Any school which has been determined by the State Board of

Education to be a school in need of improvement shall be given

priority for receipt of a grant. Grants to school districts may be

awarded based on the amount of funds allocated to the State Board of

Education for the purposes of this section. Funds may be used for

payment for substitute teachers, program consultants, on-site

facilitation, and literacy resource specialists.

4. For program evaluation purposes, each school awarded a grant

pursuant to this subsection shall provide to the Commission for

Educational Quality and Accountability student-level data and

results of the reading assessments administered pursuant to the

Oklahoma School Testing Program Act for the year prior to the grant

award, for each year a grant is received by the school, and for

three (3) years after completion of the program. If funds are not

sufficient to award grants to all eligible applicants, schools may

be placed on a waiting list for priority consideration for the

following year’s round of grant awards which shall be superior to

the priority given to schools as provided in paragraph 3 of this

subsection, if the school provides student data for the current year

to the Board as provided in this paragraph.

5. The professional development institutes in elementary

reading provided pursuant to this section shall incorporate the

requirements of the Strong Readers Act.

E. As additional funds become available for such purpose, the

Board shall develop and offer professional development institutes

in:

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 70. Schools Page 465

1. Mathematics for teachers in grades kindergarten through nine

which incorporate the requirements of Sections 2 through 8 of this

act;

2. The use of technology in the classroom;

3. Training of residency committee members in teacher

mentoring; and

4. Hands-on inquiry-based science for elementary teachers.