Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) introduced the READ Act on Monday, June 8. (Photo by Tyler Kaufman)
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Five years ago, one of the most heated debates in American education was about the science of reading. Proponents argued that decades of studies had identified the most effective ways to teach reading, which involved teaching children to sound out words using old-fashioned phonics, emphasizing vocabulary and comprehension. Critics pushed back, saying teachers should include the three-point method, which encourages students to guess words using pictures and context clues rather than speaking them out. School districts fought over the curriculum. Parents participated in school board meetings.
Today, a bipartisan group of six senators is trying to turn the ideas behind evidence-based reading instruction into federal policy. The group, led by Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) and Senator Mark Kelly (D-Arizonia), introduced the Reading Excellence and Achievement for Development (READ) Act. The legislation – which includes the prospect of future federal funding but not current dollars – is designed to boost reading instruction through teacher training, early screening for reading difficulties, improved classroom materials and additional support for students who fall behind.
The READ legislation is notable for what it signals: A once-controversial education movement has gone mainstream. The question is no longer whether schools should adopt research-supported literacy reforms, but whether they can implement them effectively.
“The science of reading movement has reached a tipping point, particularly in policy alignment,” Marisa Ramirez Stukey, chief academic officer at the national education nonprofit The Reading Leaguewhich promotes it, he says Forbes. “We’re finally moving from awareness to implementation.”
The science of reading involved teaching students to sound out words.
getty
The READ Act defines reading science instruction as instruction that specifically develops fundamental reading skills such as phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. The law specifically rejects the use of the “three-point” model, which encourages students to guess words using pictures and contextual clues rather than speaking them out.
“Education changed my life” Cassidy, a physician, told ABC News. “Education is the one thing in our society that can take someone and transform their future.”
Similarly, Kelly’s office framed literacy as a gateway to opportunity. “Senator Kelly could not have worn the uniform for 25 years, flown into space four times or served Arizona in the Senate without a solid public education,” a spokesperson said in a statement to Forbes. “If we want kids to have a real chance, whether it’s joining the military, going into public service, or just building a good life, we need to invest in the teachers, parents and schools that will help them get there. They need a road map to success. That’s what the READ Act will help.”
According to a March 30 update from Education Week42 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws or implemented new policies on evidence-based reading instruction since 2013. Many revised teacher training requirements, expanded early literacy control, and encouraged the use of evidence-based instructional materials. And recent studies, including the latest Education scorecard suggests that some districts adopt these approaches they see stronger gains in reading by many of their peers.
Ramirez Stukey says the biggest strength of the bill is that it tries to align teacher preparation, classroom instruction, assessments and professional development around the same goal.
“What this act really has the potential to do is amplify [that] Ecosystem,” he says. “This makes it much more likely that our children will have access to the kind of instruction that we want them to have.”
Unlike previous federal education initiatives like No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, which focused heavily on accountability and testing, “This act is really going to build on the work that’s already been started [in the states]”, says Ramirez Stukey. “And basically that’s what makes it completely different.”
The legislation also places significant emphasis on teacher preparation. States that want to receive READ Act funding for their school systems are expected to review teacher training programs, update teacher certification standards, and expand professional development. The bill would also encourage universal literacy testing, including screening for dyslexia, and require schools to notify parents when students are identified as being at risk of reading difficulties.
The bill would also put federal dollars behind many of these efforts by expanding the existing Comprehensive Literacy Development Policy grant program. In 2024, the U.S. Department of Education was expected to award approximately $185 million in new literacy scholarships through the program. The new law does not set a funding amount, but authorizes future appropriations through 2035. If Congress appropriates money for the program, grant-making states would have to pass at least 75 percent of the funding to local school districts to implement these reforms.
The bill faces the usual legislative hurdles in Congress, and it remains unclear whether it will pass this session. In the meantime, the debate has prompted many families to take a closer look at how reading is taught in their children’s schools.
Questions that can help parents understand reading instruction
• What curriculum does the school use?
• How much time is spent on literacy instruction each day?
• Does the school screen students for reading difficulties?
• What interventions are available when students fall behind?
• How are teachers trained in evidence-based literacy instruction?
• How does the school measure reading progress?
“Asking the right questions is really how we advocate for change,” says Ramirez Stukey.
The discussion is not over. But if Congress’ latest literacy proposal is any indication, the national conversation has shifted. And five years after the COVID-19 pandemic delayed many students’ reading skills, future students — and the teachers who help them learn to read — may finally be coming out ahead.
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