Submitting Documentation to Receive Principal/Administrator READ Act Designation

Licensed Principals and Administrators

Submitting documentation to the Colorado Online Licensing System (COOL) that demonstrates a principal or administrator has met the READ Act evidence-based training requirements:

If a principal/administrator completed the CDE online training “Building a Strong Foundation for Lifelong Literacy Success for Principals/Administrators” through Pepper, they will want to follow the directions below.

The COOL system will not automatically link to Pepper for principal/administrator designation requests, so these steps are needed to add a READ Act Administrator designation to an active principal/administrator license.

Log in to their COOL account.
Select “My Profile”.
Select “+ Designations” in the Credential section of the profile (Under "Actions")
Select "YES" when asked if you have reviewed the designation section of your profile and confirm you do not have the designation you are requesting
Choose "Read Act Administrator" in the drop down menu, Click "YES" and follow the remaining application steps
When asked to upload proof of coursework completion, only upload the final completion certificate from the Pepper platform ( transcripts, timestamp screen shots etc. will not be accepted)

NOTE: The READ Act Administrator designation can only be added to active principal/administrator licenses.

Requests to add this designation to an inactive license, a teacher license or other license category will be denied. For more information, please review slides 14-16 within this presentation. If your district has requested that other licensees obtain this training, reach out to your district for the steps needed to provide them with coursework completion proof.

For technical support using COOL, submit an online support form.

District Information

Amendments to the READ Act (SB19-199 and SB22-004) require that K-3 teachers who provide literacy instruction, 4-12 reading interventionists, and school administrators (including principals) must complete training to meet the requirements of the READ Act. Each district that receives per-pupil or early literacy grant funding must annually ensure that all of these staff member categories complete evidence-based training in teaching reading.

All K-3 teachers who provide literacy instruction, 4-12 reading interventionists, and school administrators (including principals) must complete required training by August 1, 2024. Districts, BOCES, and charters that do not meet the requirements will be ineligible for READ Act funds for the 2024-25 school year. In subsequent years, districts will need to ensure that new staff members within these categories hired after June 1st, also meet the training requirements by the end of their first year of employment.

Instructions for checking educators’ status on COOL
- COOL Report Instructions (PDF)

District Reporting from COOL

Districts can view reports in COOL of educators in their school district who have submitted documentation to COOL to demonstrate that they have met the READ Act training requirements. This report is available to district officials who have been approved for eLicensing Verification Access (EVA). This information can be found on the Educator Professional Development Requirements Page.

Pulling Reports from the Online Training (PCG) System

Districts can request the ability to pull reports regarding completion and participation in the CDE provided online Pepper course by contacting Claire Conde at cconde@pcgus.com.

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