Section 74-32,296 - [Plan to establish six regional centers of excellence in reading]The literacy advisory committee shall develop a plan to establish six regional centers of excellence in reading. The plan shall:
(a) Require postsecondary educational institutions to collaborate with colleges or schools of education, the center for reading at Pittsburg state university and community-based literacy organizations;(b) include options that would allow centers for excellence in reading to be co-located in an existing building or school of a school district, postsecondary educational institution, community facility or other facility or building, as appropriate; and(c) require such centers to:(1) Provide evaluation and identification of reading difficulties and reading disabilities, including, but not limited, dyslexia;(2) collaborate with school districts to develop strategic literacy plans for individual students;(3) collaborate with the state department of education, state board of regents and postsecondary educational institutions to support pre-service and in-service teacher training;(4) support the professional development and training of school-based instructional coaches;(5) pilot structured reading applied learning simulation laboratories for pre-service and in-service teachers;(6) pilot a literacy education simulation training laboratory for pre-service elementary teachers as a controlled environment for the application of the science of reading;(7) identify projected cost, staffing and budget impacts to develop, expand and sustain the centers for excellence and reading simulation laboratories; and(8) make recommendations and provide progress reports to the literacy advisory committee.Added by L. 2024, ch. 82,§ 8, eff. 5/2/2024.