Staff report
An early literacy program designed to make sure all Kentucky students could read by the third grade would be established under a bill that is moving through Kentucky’s General Assembly.
House Bill 226 would create the “Read to Succeed Program.” It is sponsored by Republican Rep. James Tipton of Taylorsville.
The measure cleared the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee Wednesday and now goes to the full House for its consideration.
The House budget sets aside $11 million a year for the program.
“Every child deserves the chance to succeed in life—that begins with early literacy,” Tipton said. “‘Read to Succeed’ aims to ensure that every child in the Commonwealth is able to read by the third grade. This bill will provide the necessary guidance for the education community to work together to raise the bar for literacy education across the state.”
The program would implement reading strategies, assessments, and training for all kindergarten-through-third grade teachers.
It also would require that all Kentucky public post-secondary institutions teach these strategies to students pursuing careers in K-3 education.
“The record education funding included in the House budget represents a commitment to Kentucky students’ success, and ‘Read to Succeed’ is our plan to carry out that commitment,” Tipton added. “This program takes an evidence-based approach to reading and writing and will provide multi-tiered levels of support to meet the individual needs of each student.”
The House budget also appropriates $15.9 million a year to the “Read to Achieve” program established by the General Assembly in 2005.
Tipton’s HB 226 incorporates language from House Bill 93, filed by Rep. Derek Lewis, R-London, that amends the “Read to Achieve” program to provide school districts with funds to assist in hiring reading interventionist specialists for students in need of additional support.
“Early literacy education will not always look the same for every student,” Lewis said “We want to ensure that school districts have the resources to hire these highly qualified specialists to provide support to students who need it.”
Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear is pushing universal pre-kindergarten for all 4-year-olds with $172 million in each year of the state’s next two-year budget and full-day kindergarten.