Statute & Policy Guidance
Under Oklahoma’s Strong Readers Act (70 O.S. § 1210.508A et seq.), all public and private higher education institutions offering early childhood, elementary, or special education teacher preparation programs must align coursework, clinical experiences, and candidate preparation with evidence-based reading instruction.
Statutory Definition of Science of Reading Methodology
Oklahoma statute explicitly defines the Science of Reading as:
"The body of scientifically based research conducted over several decades and across multiple countries, drawing from multiple disciplines including cognitive psychology, linguistics, neuroscience, and education, that explains how individuals learn to read and write."
Oklahoma law requires CEQA approved elementary, early childhood, and special education programs’ coursework train teacher candidates in instructional practices that are:
Explicit: Directly teaching concepts, sound-spelling relationships, and strategies without relying on implicit discovery or student guessing.
Systematic: Following a logical, scope-and-sequence progression from simple to complex foundational concepts.
Cumulative: Building directly upon previously mastered skills to ensure long-term retention and automaticity.
Multimodal & Diagnostic: Integrating reading, writing, speaking, listening, and hands-on activities while utilizing diagnostic assessment data to address specific skill deficits.
Required Instructional Competencies in EPP Coursework
CEQA-approved elementary, early childhood, and special education programs should incorporate the following core instructional components into their degree pathways:
The Five Essential Elements of Reading: Programs should provide explicit and systematic instruction on teaching phonological awareness, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
Reciprocal Reading and Writing Connections: Coursework should explicitly recognize the reciprocal relationship between reading and writing proficiency, integrating instruction in encoding, spelling, sentence-level writing, and language development alongside decoding.
Differentiated Support for Diverse Learners: Teacher candidates must study evidence-based strategies for advanced, typically developing, and struggling readers—including specialized instructional strategies for English language learners and students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia.
Mandatory Comprehensive Reading Assessment
Completion of a CEQA-approved comprehensive reading instruction assessment evaluating candidate knowledge of the five essential elements of reading is required for all individuals seeking initial certification in early childhood, elementary, or special education (70 O.S. § 1210.508F(E)). The current CEQA-approved assessment is the Foundations of Reading Test, please see Section 4 for additional information.
Statutory Prohibition of Three-Cueing & Balanced Literacy
Strict Model Ban: Oklahoma law prohibits public school districts and charter schools from using the three-cueing system model of reading instruction. Separately, under 70 O.S. § 1210.508F(C), teacher candidates in covered educator preparation programs must study the negative impacts of balanced literacy and whole language models, including three-cueing practices; learn to identify these practices in curriculum; and learn to implement reading instruction using high-quality instructional materials grounded in the Science of Reading. Three-cueing is defined as any teaching model based on Meaning, Structure, Syntax, and Visual cues (MSV), balanced literacy, or whole language.
Candidate HQIM Study & Curriculum Auditing: Candidates must explicitly study the negative impacts of balanced literacy and whole-language practices. Courses must prepare candidates to audit classroom materials to identify three-cueing practices and replace them with High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) grounded in the Science of Reading.
CEQA Program Audits
State statutory law explicitly governs program accreditation audits as follows:
70 O.S. § 1210.508F(D):
"Each teacher education program approved by the Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability shall be audited by the Commission to ensure teacher candidates are receiving quality training in the science of reading. The Commission shall place the accreditation of any noncompliant teacher education program on probationary status and provide guidance for exiting probationary status."
OEQA is responsible for supporting the Commission's implementation of these statutory provisions. Additional information regarding audit processes, program expectations, and applicable guidance will be communicated as those processes are established. EPP faculty members are strongly encouraged to actively participate in the Teacher Education Literacy Collaborative (TELC) to collaborate with peer institutions, share implementation practices, and align program coursework with evolving state literacy standards. These requirements apply to all CEQA-approved educator preparation programs, including alternative providers.
Statutory Resource Links:
Oklahoma State Department of Education, Strong Readers Act Landing Page
§ 1210.508B. Legislative Findings, Purpose, and Intent
§ 1210.508B-1. Definitions, Rules
§ 1210.508C. Assessments for Reading Skills
§ 1210.508C. Assessments for Reading Skills (Effective January 1, 2027)
§ 1210.508D. Base Literacy Allocation, Supplemental Funding, Incentives, and Rules
§ 1210.508E. Notified if Not Reading at Grade Level, Reading Intervention Options, Rules, and Report
§ 1210.508F. Reading Competencies for Special Education Teachers, Training, Audit, and Certification
