A. The “reading materials fund” is created in the state treasury. The fund consists of appropriations, gifts, grants and donations. Money in the fund shall not revert to any other fund at the end of a fiscal year. The fund shall be administered by the department, and money in the fund is appropriated to the department to assist public schools that want to change their elementary literacy materials from the current adoption. Money in the fund shall be disbursed on warrant of the secretary of finance and administration pursuant to vouchers signed by the secretary of public education or the secretary’s authorized representative.

B. A school district that wants to use a scientific research-based core comprehensive, intervention or supplementary reading program aligned with explicit, systematic, diagnostic, cumulative instruction in phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics, syllable types, morphology, semantics and syntax may apply to the department for money from the reading materials fund to purchase the necessary instructional materials for the selected program; provided that the school district selects no more than two comprehensive published core reading programs and the school district has established a literacy professional development plan that includes a detailed framework for structured literacy training and ongoing support in the effective use of the selected instructional materials. Materials eligible for funding shall be:

(1)     core materials that are on the New Mexico kindergarten through eighth grade English language arts, Spanish language arts, English language development and world languages instructional materials adopted list and have received structured literacy recognition from the department; or

(2)     intervention or supplemental materials that are on the advisory list of instructional programming created by the Colorado department of education or meet the criteria of the New Mexico structured literacy instructional review rubric.