Oregon Teachers Will Soon Need Science Of Reading Training Extending To Reading Disabilities

Because Governor Tina Kotek is working towards meeting Oregon’s literacy goals that seek to ensure all children can read, and with a majority of third-grade students in the state not reading at grade level, steps are being taken to address this at the teacher level.

Gov. Kotek Rolls Out Initiatives To Improve Literacy Rate

Promising to change the low literacy rate when she took office, Governor Tina Kotek has now introduced a series of initiatives that aim to strengthen schools’ literacy programs. In her statement,

Kotek said that she appreciates that the Oregon Department of Education’s Early Literacy Educator Preparation Council hasn’t just layered on new requirements but has tried to also streamline the existing standards and build on the foundations of the past which continue to be important, including dyslexia standards.

In her statement, she thanked the council and Oregon’s educator preparation program faculty and leaders who took the time to share their perspectives with the state. They listened and spent many hours taking feedback on the revisions in the recommendations.

Combining Reading Instruction Standards with Dyslexia Standards, the new curriculum for teachers teaching K-5th Grades will enable them to learn about reading disabilities at the same time they are learning how to teach kids to read. Kotek said, “These recommendations are a significant step forward.”

Starting in the fall of 2026, teachers getting licensed will have to take the new curriculum. Rep Boomer Wright (R-Coos Bay)- who sits on the council, says the council recommended that by allowing teaching colleges to catch up, a phased-in approach will be taken. He said that it takes training for the professors to implement a curriculum like the one the council has come up with.

Oregon Teacher Training New Early Learning Curriculum

Teachers have used reading instruction methods for decades that research has since shown are ineffective. The changes to the curriculum will modify teacher training curriculums to align with a series of recommendations made by a council to address Gov Kotek’s executive order that was issued last year.

Using guesswork and pictures to help children memorize what words look like, the so-called “whole language” approach didn’t show them how to decode words through phonics.

The newest research shows decoding to be the most effective way to learn how to read, with many schools re-introducing phonics-based reading instruction, but many teachers have not been trained to teach these methodologies.

Tasked with making sure newly licensed teachers are prepared to teach according to science-based methods, the council will have to ensure teachers meet Teacher Standards and Practices. The process will take longer for Oregon teachers who are already already licensed.

The curriculum recommended by the council brings reading instruction in line with the science of reading.