‘Read to Succeed’ Act almost through legislative hurdles

Evidence-based reading instruction would emphasize phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.

FRANKFORT­, Ky. (WTVQ) – A bipartisan initiative to improve early literacy Monday in the Commonwealth cleared the Kentucky House of Representatives.

House Bill 226, otherwise known as the Read to Succeed Act, seeks to invest in improving early literacy education among kindergarten through third grade students by implementing evidence based learning techniques and intensive intervention methods to help struggling students catch up.

Evidence-based reading instruction would emphasize phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.

The House approved the measure by an 86-7 vote on Monday. The Kentucky Senate approved Senate Bill 9, the companion bill, by a 28-7 vote on Jan. 19.

Rep. James Tipton, R-Taylorsville, and Rep. Tina Bojanowski, D-Louisville, serve as the bill’s primary sponsors in the House.

On the House floor, Tipton said test scores from the last several years show that Kentucky’s children are struggling to learn how to read and the pandemic has made the problem worse.

Citing Kentucky Performance Rating for Educational Progress (K-PREP) data, Tipton said only 52.7% of third-graders scored “proficient” or “distinguished” in reading in 2019. In 2021, that number dropped to 29.8%.

“One of the most disturbing correlations I’m aware of is there is actually a correlation between that reading proficiency score and incarceration,” Tipton said.

Under HB 226, kindergarten through third grade students who need help will undergo intensive intervention and enrichment that best suits that student’s needs in order to improve his or her reading skills, Tipton said.

Tipton said House Bill 1, the proposed executive branch budget, would allocate a total of $22 million toward this project, and the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) plans to invest $10 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars as well. HB 1 is now before the Senate for consideration.

HB 226 would also establish a professional development program to educate teachers on how to implement evidence-based learning instruction and intervention techniques. Bojanowski, who is an educator, said the training would be optional for teachers and not mandated.

“Every student should have teachers who have the most comprehensive training possible,” Bojanowski said. “This bill would appropriate, and through KDE, $32 million to helping teachers be better prepared to teach reading. I plan on the first day that the link is available to register for the training.”

Due to a few changes made to the companion bill in the House, it will now go before the full Senate for concurrence.

If the Senate agrees with the changes, the measure will be sent to the governor’s desk for his signature or veto.