HF744

This legislative bill aims to modify professional development requirements for educators in Minnesota as related to the Read Act. Specifically, it mandates that by certain deadlines, all teachers and related personnel across various educational levels and specialties must receive training from approved, evidence-based programs. The groups affected include:

1. Reading intervention teachers and classroom teachers for grades kindergarten through 3, including those in pre-kindergarten.
2. Special education teachers, curriculum directors, and instructional support staff.
3. Staff involved in selecting literacy instructional materials and teachers of English to multilingual learners.
4. By an extended deadline, teachers who provide reading instruction to students in grades 4 to 12, and those in state-approved alternative programs.

The bill also allows for extensions on these training deadlines under certain conditions and specifies that the training must be led by a certified facilitator. Furthermore, for the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 school years only, elementary schools may reduce instructional hours by 5-12 hours if teachers use that time for the mandated training. This arrangement must be agreed upon with the teachers' representative or, in the case of charter schools, through consultation with the teachers.