Monthly Standards Update
2026 ELA Standard Course of Study Installation Under Way
On January 8, 2026, the NC State Board of Education (SBE) adopted Draft 4 as the 2026 ELA Standard Course of Study for implementation in the 2027-2028 school year. The current 2017 ELA Standard Course of Study will remain in place for classroom instruction through the 2026-2027 school year. The newly approved K-12 ELA SCOS aims to serve as the framework that guides each Public School Unit (PSU) in the development of the curriculum and instruction for English Language Arts.
In an effort to keep stakeholders informed, the NCDPI ELA Team will provide monthly standards updates that contain the latest announcements and current news regarding the adopted 2026 ELA SCOS. These updates are sent the first Friday of every month.
To receive these updates straight to your inbox, please subscribe to our listserv. To view past listserv messages, visit the NCDPI ELA Webpage.
Note: Due to the Labor Day holiday, the September 2026 update is being sent on September 11, 2026.
Update: 2026-2027 ELA SCOS Webinar Series Registration Filling Fast!
Demand for the 2026-2027 ELA SCOS Webinar Series is high and registration is filling up quickly! Webex has a maximum registration of 1000 for each session and will not permit additional registration submissions once that cap has been reached for a session.
As of September 11, 2026 the following sessions have reached maximum registration capacity:
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Webinar 1: Complex Text Strand | September 24, 2026 | 3:30 - 5:00 PM
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Webinar 2: Foundational Skills Substrand | November 12, 2026 | 3:30 - 5:00 PM
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Webinar 3: Comprehension Development Strand | January 20, 2027 | 3:30 - 5:00 PM
Educators currently unable to register for these sessions are encouraged to try to join each session the day of using the direct meeting links now included on the promo flyer.
Registration is still open for Webinar 4: Communication & Writing Strand | April 22, 2027 | 3:30 - 5:00 PM.
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Stay in Touch! | NCDPI ELA Team Communication Channels
The NCDPI ELA Team uses several communication channels to share information, updates, and opportunities with stakeholders, including listservs and social media. Educators are invited and encouraged to subscribe to the general ELA listserv, as well as the ELA Team Facebook and Instagram pages and to share the ELA Team’s communication channels with colleagues.
2026 ELA SCOS Installation Resource Spotlight
Highlighted Vertical Progression
The Highlighted Standards Vertical Progression Tool provides a vertical view of the NC Standard Course of Study for English Language Arts, K-12 (2026). This resource allows educators to see how each standard and objective changes and builds from grade-to-grade as they progress towards career and college readiness. Educators can use the vertical progression to align and differentiate curriculum and instruction, develop scaffolds and supports, and coordinate curriculum and instruction across grades.
Statements are provided in a column to the left of the objectives in the Complex Texts (CT) Strand, Comprehension Development (CD) Strand, and Communication and Writing (CW) Strand in order to help educators understand the overarching focus for objectives as they progress across grades. In order to support understanding of the vertical progression of skills in Comprehension Development Foundational Skills (CD.F), objectives are divided into required skills and their corresponding concepts. Similarly, CW.2 and CW.3 objectives are embedded within tables, mapping their initial introduction and continued use.
View the Highlighted Vertical Progression document and other supporting resources for the 2026 ELA SCOS on the 2026 SCOS page in the Virtual Implementation Kit (VIK).
New Printable Progressions Added
To support local printing of the Highlighted Vertical Progression, additional document tabs have been added to the document that capture progressions in the K-3, 2-6, 5-9, and 8-12 grade spans. To print these tabs, navigate to the desired grade span. Then, click File > Print > Print Current Tab. Repeat this process to print all desired grade spans.
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