The Regents of the University of California are requested to jointly develop with the Trustees of California State University and the independent colleges and universities, the California Reading Professional Development Institutes, to be administered by the university, in partnership with the California State University and with private, independent universities in California, in accordance with all of the following criteria:

(a) (1) In June 1999, the University of California and its institutes’ partners shall commence instruction for 6,000 participants who either provide direct instruction in reading to pupils in kindergarten or in grade 1, 2, or 3, or who supervise beginning teachers of reading. Commencing in July 2000, the institutes shall provide instruction for an additional 14,000 participants who either provide direct instruction in reading to pupils, including special education pupils, in prekindergarten, kindergarten or in grade 1, 2, or 3, or supervise beginning teachers of reading. Of the 14,000 new positions, at least 2,000 shall be reserved for prekindergarten teachers who teach in state preschool programs located in the attendance area of high-priority schools in order to link prekindergarten literacy development and reading readiness to the state’s reading goals for pupils enrolled in kindergarten and grades 1 to 3, inclusive. If there are not enough applicants to fill the 2,000 positions, the remaining positions may be filled by teachers of pupils enrolled in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 3, inclusive.

(2) Ongoing support for second-year participants shall include a second-year institute focusing on the use of instructional materials, leveraging of school district resources, and the development of teacher leadership within the school district to improve pupil achievement in reading.

(b) (1) The institutes shall provide instruction for school teams from each participating school. These school teams may include both beginning and experienced teachers and the schoolsite administrator, with the majority of the team composed of beginning teachers.

(2) Criteria and priority for selection of participating school teams shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, all of the following:

(A) Schools whose pupils’ reading scores are at or below the 40th percentile on the reading portion of the achievement test authorized by Section 60640.

(B) Schools with a high number of beginning and noncredentialed teachers.

(C) Schools with high poverty levels, as determined by the percentage of pupils eligible for free or reduced price meals.

(D) Schools with a full complement of team members as outlined above.

(E) School teams committed to participate in the Elementary School Intensive Reading Program established pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 53025) of Chapter 16 of Part 28 for a minimum of three years.

(F) Schools that have adopted standards-based materials approved by the State Board of Education.

(3) In any fiscal year, if funding is inadequate to accommodate the participation of all eligible school teams, first priority shall be given to schools meeting the criteria set forth in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2).

(c) (1) The institutes shall provide instruction in the teaching of reading in a manner consistent with the standard for a comprehensive reading instruction program that is research-based, as described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) of Section 44259, and shall include all of the following components:

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

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

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

(D) Early intervention techniques.

(2) Instruction provided pursuant to this section shall be consistent with state-adopted academic content standards and with the curriculum framework on reading/language arts adopted by the State Board of Education.

(3) Instruction provided pursuant to this section shall acquaint teachers with the value in the diagnostic nature of standardized tests.

(d) (1) Each participant who satisfactorily completes an institute authorized by this section shall receive a stipend, commensurate with the duration of the institute, of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) nor more than two thousand dollars ($2,000), as determined by the University of California.

(2) A participant in an institute authorized by this section who satisfactorily completes additional institute activities or leadership and mentoring responsibilities in his or her school in subsequent years in accordance with institute guidelines shall receive a stipend, commensurate with the participant’s responsibilities, of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) and not more than two thousand dollars ($2,000), as determined by the University of California. It is the intent of the Legislature that stipends paid to participants under this paragraph average approximately one thousand dollars ($1,000) per stipend recipient per year.

(e) In order to provide maximum access, the institutes shall be offered through multiple university and college campuses that are widely distributed throughout the state or in a regionally accredited program offered through instructor-led, interactive online courses. In order to maximize access to teachers and administrators who may be precluded from participating in an onsite institute due to geographical, physical, or time constraints, each institute shall be required to accommodate at least 5 percent of the participants through state-approved instructor-led, interactive online courses. Instruction at the institutes shall consist of an intensive, sustained training period of no less than 40 hours nor more than 120 hours during the summer or during an intersession break or an equivalent instructor-led, online course, and shall be supplemented, during the following school year, with no fewer than 80 additional hours nor more than 120 additional hours of instruction and schoolsite meetings, held on at least a monthly basis, to focus on the academic progress of that school’s pupils in reading.

(f) It is the intent of the Legislature that a local education agency or postsecondary institution that offers an accredited program of professional preparation consider providing partial and proportional credit toward satisfaction of reading course requirements to an enrolled candidate who satisfactorily completes a California Reading Professional Development Institute program if the institute has been certified by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing as meeting reading preparation standards.

(g) This section does not prohibit a participant from attending an institute authorized by this section in more than one academic year.

(h) “Beginning teachers,” for purposes of this article, are teachers with three or fewer years of teaching experience.

(Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 91, Sec. 35. Effective January 1, 2004.)