Reading and Language Arts Instruction Stipulation

Requirement

Reading and Language Arts Instruction is required for teachers in regular (EC, EC-MC, MC-EA, K-9, Birth to Grade 3), special education (EC, MC-EA, EA-A, K-12, Birth to Grade 3), reading teacher and administrative reading specialist in accordance to Wisconsin State statute §118.19(12) and PI 34.022(6).

Reading and Language Arts Verification Form

The PI-1628 form will be required with application for those who completed an approved educator preparation program in Wisconsin before July 1, 2025. The PI-1628 form is only available from the certification officer where you completed this requirement. 

All other applicants in the impacted license areas must provide verification of completed instruction in or by an approved educator preparation program that prepared the applicant to teach reading and language arts using science−based early reading instruction. In limited circumstances school district professional development may meet this requirement (see the information provided below under school district training). This instruction is defined in Wis. Stats. §118.015 (1c) (b) to include:

• Phonological awareness, including word awareness, rhyme recognition, repetition and creation of alliteration, syllable counting or identification, onset, and rime manipulation,
• Phonemic awareness, including phoneme identification, isolation, blending, segmentation, addition, substitution, and deletion,
• Phonics,
• Building background knowledge,
• Oral language development,
• Vocabulary building to develop lexical and morphological knowledge,
• Instruction in writing,
• Instruction in comprehension, and
• Reading fluency.

Impacted applicants must obtain a completed Reading and Language Arts Verification Form (PI-1626) from the certification officer at the educator preparation program where their program or instruction was completed to verify that the requirements have been met. The applicant must upload the completed PI-1626 form with all other documents in ELO. This form is only available from a certification officer at an approved Wisonsin preparation program.

Check out the related Information Bulletin for FAQs and details.
 

Description

​Educators must demonstrate knowledge and understanding of teaching reading and language arts using appropriate instructional methods including phonics to teach reading and language arts to pupils in grades PK to 6. "Phonics" means a method of teaching beginners to read and pronounce words by learning the phonetic value of letters, letter groups, and syllables.

Courses that address this stipulation and meet the state statutory requirements that went into effect on July 1, 2025.
 

The entities above offer these courses to those in their approved educator preparation programs and to those outside their programs to meet statutory stipulations.

NEW!

Reading and Language Arts Verification Through School-Based Professional Developement Training

Effective June 22, 2026, the department has approved a limited number of trainings offered in school districts and independent charter schools. Applicants may only count approved training completed successfully in their school district or independent charter school in the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years towards this requirement if applicants are seeking a license via:

1. an add on through a content test, 
2. the three-year license with stipulations pathway, or 
3. the one-year license with stipulations for those seeking licensure through the out-of-state pathway or who completed a program prior to July 1, 2025. 

Individuals in the following positions would have received training under this act and would be able to claim this training as described above: those teaching grades K-3, those employed as a reading teacher or reading specialist, or those employed as a principal in a school serving grades K-3. 

Approved school-based trainings that occurred in the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years include:

• Pathways to Proficient Reading through AIM Institute for Learning and Research,
• Pathway to Structured Literacy through AIM Institute for Learning and Research,
• Cox Campus PK-5 Structured Literacy through Atlanta Speech School Rollins Center,
• Keys to Beginning Reading Training Program through Keys to Literacy,
• Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading (LETRS) through Lexia,
• Reading Teacher Top Ten Tools through 95% Group, and
• Reading Teacher Top Ten Tools through Hill Learning Center.

Please see the PI-1628 form to verify training in your school district or independent charter school.

Submit questions and comments about this information to the licensing help desk.