BOSTON — Westford’s State Senator John Cronin joined colleagues in the Massachusetts Senate in approving a new bill which will support young students by ensuring reading instruction is rooted in proven, evidence-based practices.
The bill, S.2924, which was unanimously approved by the Senate on Jan. 29, will require local school districts across the state to use an evidence-based curriculum to teach reading and literacy to students from kindergarten to third grade.
This means that once the new curriculum is approved by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, it will feature phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and phonemic awareness as methods to teach students how to read.
Supporters of the Bill say data shows that these are the best building blocks for lifetime learning.
“Massachusetts is first in the nation in public education, but we cannot rest on our laurels,” Cronin said. “Student scores in reading proficiency have declined since before the pandemic, and some schools have not adopted evidence-based curricula that relies on phonics to teach K-3 students how to read.”
The Bill would also have the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education make one complete curriculum available for free, directly to schools.
Schools would be required to regularly assess students’ reading levels and act if a student is significantly behind benchmarks.
S.2924 includes $25 million in one-time funding from the ‘fair share’ surtax on millionaire households, in order to help school districts purchase new, evidence-based curricula and provide professional development to teachers.
Additionally, it will ensure parents and schools engage in constructive communication about student progress, requiring two assessments per year to keep track of the students’ reading progress and to screen for dyslexia.
Schools will also be required to contact a parent or guardian within 30 days if a student has fallen significantly behind, as well as issue a response to the parent or guardian if that happens.
The bill was approved on a 38 to 0 vote and will now be sent to the House of Representatives for review.
