{"data":{"id":"us-nj/n.j.-stat.-18a-6-149","jurisdiction":"us-nj","citation":"N.J. Stat. § 18A:6-149","heading":"Professional development program established, literacy instruction, Department of Education.","body":"8. a. The Department of Education shall establish a professional development program regarding evidence-based foundational literacy instruction, which shall be available to all school districts at no cost.  The program shall be made available to: teaching staff members serving students in preschool through grade six, including school library media specialists serving students in kindergarten through grade six; individuals serving multilingual learners and students with disabilities; and individuals holding an educational services certificate with a reading specialist endorsement, individuals holding an educational services certificate with an early literacy specialist endorsement, and individuals holding an educational services certificate with a speech-language specialist endorsement; and school administrators.\nb.\tThe program shall be differentiated by grade band. The program shall include, but is not limited to:\n(1)\tfor teaching staff members serving students in preschool through grade three:\n(a)\torthography;\n(b)\tphonological and phonemic awareness;\n(c)\tphonics;\n(d)\tfluency; and\n(e)\tvocabulary and comprehension;\n(2)\tfor teaching staff members serving students in grades four through six:\n(a)\tthe neurobiology of reading;\n(b)\tadvanced word study;\n(c)\tfluency; and\n(d)\tcomprehension; and\n(3)\tfor school administrators: the design and implementation of high-quality literacy instruction in preschool through grade six.\nL.2024, c.52, s.8.","path":["TITLE 18A EDUCATION"],"source_url":"https://pub.njleg.state.nj.us/statutes/STATUTES-TEXT.zip","current_through":"P.L.2025, c.405, and J.R.22","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T17:54:13Z","sha256":"ee33ef4bee8e4398a37c1cad0d4ac0993f4bdea15fdc8a77eda40c3c56c27d6b","source_id":"us-nj","stale":true,"prev":"us-nj/n.j.-stat.-18a-6-148","next":"us-nj/n.j.-stat.-18a-6-150"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}