HB 5697 MI

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Became Law

Act No. 26 Public Acts of 2026 Approved by the Governor July 21, 2026 Filed with the Secretary of State July 21, 2026 EFFECTIVE DATE: July 21, 2026 state of michigan 103rd Legislature Regular session of 2026 Introduced by Reps. DeBoer, Rigas, Thompson, Frisbie, Meerman, Martin, Kuhn, Borton, Linting, Pavlov, Kelly, Beson, BeGole, Fox, Wilson, Jenkins-Arno, Kunse, Paquette, Koleszar, Neeley, Conlin, Pohutsky, Tate, Young, Bruck, Cavitt, Dievendorf, B. Carter, Liberati, Woolford, VanderWall, Andrews, Arbit and Farhat ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 5697 AN ACT to amend 1976 PA 451, entitled �An act to provide a system of public instruction and elementary and secondary schools; to revise, consolidate, and clarify the laws relating to elementary and secondary education; to provide for the organization, regulation, and maintenance of schools, school districts, public school academies, intermediate school districts, and other public school entities; to prescribe rights, powers, duties, and privileges of schools, school districts, public school academies, intermediate school districts, and other public school entities; to provide for the regulation of school teachers and certain other school employees; to provide for school elections and to prescribe powers and duties with respect thereto; to provide for the levy and collection of taxes; to provide for the borrowing of money and issuance of bonds and other evidences of indebtedness; to establish a fund and provide for expenditures from that fund; to make appropriations for certain purposes; to provide for and prescribe the powers and duties of certain state departments, the state board of education, and certain other boards and officials; to provide for licensure of boarding schools; to prescribe penalties; and to repeal acts and parts of acts,� (MCL 380.1 to 380.1852) by adding section 1531k. The People of the State of Michigan enact: Sec. 1531k. (1) Beginning with the 2031-2032 school year, the board of a school district or intermediate school district or board of directors of a public school academy shall ensure that the following individuals have successfully completed, as determined by the department, the professional learning described in subsection (2): (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, certificated individuals who provide, support, or oversee instruction in grades K to 5 that involves reading instruction or language arts, including classroom teachers and teachers with any special education endorsements. This section does not apply to a certificated individual who solely teaches subjects outside of reading instruction or language arts, including, but not limited to, physical education, music, and art. (b) All personnel responsible for the delivery, support, or direct supervision of literacy instruction in grades K to 5, as determined by the department. (2) By not later than 90 days after the effective date of the amendatory act that added this section, the department shall annually approve at least 2 providers to offer the professional learning required under subsection (1). The professional learning described in this subsection must meet at least all of the following requirements: (a) Be offered through a system of training that provides educators with the knowledge base to effectively implement any class-wide, supplemental, or intervention reading approach and to determine why some students struggle with reading, writing, spelling, and language.

(b) Provide training activities that direct educators to implement effective reading and spelling instruction supported by scientifically based research and foster a direct explicit instructional sequence that uses techniques to support teachers� independence in using their newly learned skills with students in the classroom. (c) Include integrated components for educators and administrators in grades K to 5 with embedded evaluation or assessment of knowledge. Evaluation or assessment of knowledge under this subdivision must incorporate evaluations of learning throughout each unit and include a summative assessment that must be completed to demonstrate successful course completion. (d) Build teacher content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge of the critical components of literacy, including how the brain learns to read, phonological and phonemic awareness, letter knowledge, phonics, advanced phonics, vocabulary and oral language, fluency, comprehension, spelling and writing, and the organization of language. (e) Support educators in understanding how to effectively use screening, progress monitoring, and diagnostic assessment data to improve literacy outcomes through prevention and intervention for reading difficulties in a multi-tiered system of supports. The multi-tiered system of supports must include at least all of the following essential components: ( i ) Team-based leadership. ( ii ) A tiered delivery system. ( iii ) Selection and implementation of instruction, interventions, and supports. ( iv ) A comprehensive screening and assessment system. ( v ) Continuous data-based decision making. (f) Provide that all training, record-keeping systems, and flexible scheduling options are administered by the professional development provider. (g) Include �train the trainer� facilitator professional learning, to be implemented at the discretion of the department. Participants enrolled in facilitator professional learning must have demonstrated successful completion of the required professional learning under subdivisions (a) to (e). (h) Maintain capacity to provide all required training, distribute materials, provide reports to the department, and actively support all participants to mastery completion of coursework. (3) Beginning in the 2026-2027 school year, each school district, intermediate school district, or public school academy shall annually report to the department, in a form and manner prescribed by the department, the number and percentage of individuals described in subsection (1) who have completed the required professional learning under this section, any costs associated with providing the professional learning, and the funding sources used. The department shall compile and publish an annual report summarizing district-level implementation, identifying areas of progress and need, and recommending policy or funding adjustments as necessary to support full compliance by the 2031-2032 school year. The department shall submit this report to the governor, state board of education, the house and senate appropriations subcommittees on school aid, and the house and senate education committees, and shall make the report publicly available on the department�s website. (4) Beginning in the 2026-2027 school year, the professional learning providers identified in subsection (2) shall annually report all of the following information to the department, in a form and manner prescribed by the department: (a) The total number of individuals described in subsection (1) who have completed the required professional learning, organized by role group. (b) The total number of individuals described in subsection (1) who are enrolled in the required professional development training, organized by role group. (c) The total number of individuals described in subsection (1) who enrolled but withdrew from the required professional development prior to completion, organized by role group. (d) The cost per individual described in subsection (1) to enroll in the required professional learning. (e) The total grant funds expended for all individuals who completed or enrolled in the professional learning during the fiscal year. (f) Total unused grant funds for the fiscal year. (5) The department shall begin a phased implementation of the professional learning required under this section beginning in the 2026-2027 school year, and, subject to subsection (6), shall ensure full compliance with this section by not later than the start of the 2031-2032 school year. By not later than 90 days after the effective date of the amendatory act that added this section, the department shall create a statewide implementation plan for the professional learning required under this section in collaboration with statewide associations, literacy experts, and other key partners. The department may issue a good cause extension for compliance with this section to an individual. A good cause extension issued under this subsection must include a deadline, mutually agreed to between the department and the individual, for when the individual must successfully complete the professional learning required under this section.

(6) The department may consult with providers approved under subsection (2) and make extensions to the implementation schedule under subsection (5) as the department determines necessary. Extensions made under this subsection may include, but are not limited to, a 1-year extension for full compliance with this section. (7) The requirements of this section are subject to the appropriation of an amount sufficient to comply with this section. (8) The board of a school district or intermediate school district or board of directors of a public school academy shall ensure that an individual hired during or after the 2031-2032 school year into a role described in subsection (1) receives the professional learning required under this section not later than 3 years following the start of the individual�s employment. (9) If an individual transfers or is moved into a role described in subsection (1), that individual must complete the professional learning required under this section by not later than 3 years following the start of the individual�s employment in that role. (10) Before implementation of the professional learning required under this section, and subject to subsection (11), a school district, intermediate school district, or public school academy shall create and post on its website a plan that outlines the timeline and manner in which the required professional learning will be completed, including, but not limited to, time expectations beyond contractual work time and how time will be compensated. (11) A school district, intermediate school district, or public school academy shall consult and collaborate with the individuals described in subsection (1) regarding the plan described in subsection (10). (12) The provisions of this section are subject to 1947 PA 336, MCL 423.201 to 423.217. (13) This section does not apply to an individual with only an interim teaching certificate under section 1531i. (14) The professional learning required under this section may be provided as part of the professional development provided under section 1527. (15) As used in this section, �multi-tiered system of supports� means a comprehensive framework that includes 3 distinct tiers of instructional support and is composed of a collection of evidence-based strategies designed to meet the individual needs and assets of a whole pupil at all achievement levels. This act is ordered to take immediate effect.

Clerk of the House of Representatives

Secretary of the Senate Approved___________________________________________

____________________________________________________ Governor