The House will vote Wednesday on a sweeping early literacy reform bill, aiming to reverse what leaders are calling “troubling trends” in student reading rates.
“In Massachusetts, we have school districts who have yet to fully adopt a proven literacy curriculum, even though such approaches are the most effective ways to improve reading outcomes,” House Speaker Ron Mariano said Monday afternoon.
The bill seeks to tackle what officials describe as a literacy crisis, as more young students struggle with the foundational reading and writing skills needed for learning.
A little more than a third of districts in Massachusetts still use outdated reading instruction methods, said Education Committee Co-chair Rep. Ken Gordon.
“MCAS scores among our youngest readers are falling,” he said. “Between 2011 and 2024, the average fourth grade reading scores fell by 11 percentage points. Among our most economically challenged districts, the decline has been greater.”
The Joint Committee on Education advanced the bill with bipartisan support this month, with 10 members voting in favor and none opposed.
The legislation would require districts to adopt literacy curricula backed by scientific research, focusing on kindergarten through third grade. It sets new standards for teacher training and educator preparation programs, and mandates regular evaluations of those programs by the commissioner of education, who would also publish annual performance data.
K–3 students would be screened at least twice a year using approved literacy tools, with targeted intervention for students who fall below benchmarks tied to “age-typical development in specific literary skills.” The bill also launches a two-year paid teacher apprenticeship pilot in high-need districts and directs a statewide study on recruiting and retaining diverse, effective educators.
Curricula would need to include instruction in five research-based reading areas — phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
“These approaches are grounded in research and results, strategies that help all students learn to read and write wherever they live, regardless of their circumstances,” Mariano said.
Programs relying on “implicit or incidental instruction,” such as the three-cueing method — which involves visual memorization of whole words and guessing clues from context — would be prohibited.
If passed, Massachusetts would join a growing number of states reshaping early reading instruction around the “science of reading.” Supporters say it would align classroom practice with decades of cognitive science research on how children learn to read, emphasizing systematic phonics and structured literacy.
Critics — including the state’s largest teacher’s union, the Massachusetts Teachers Association — warn that statewide mandates could erode local control, add costly implementation burdens, and limit teachers’ flexibility to tailor lessons to students’ needs.
“This bill is not about telling the teachers how to do their job,” Mariano said. “As a former classroom teacher, I, too, would have resented that implication. Indeed, it’s about ensuring that teaching colleges equip future teachers with the tools they need to succeed — and that current teachers have access to high-quality, evidence-based materials to support their work in the classroom.”
Asked whether any funding would be offered to districts to help them transfer curriculums, Gordon pointed to the state’s existing program dubbed Literacy Launch.
The $35 million grant program has already funded 58 districts to transition their curriculum to evidence-based literacy materials, he said. One of the conditions of accepting the grant funding is accepting evidence-based literacy teaching as defined by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Gordon said no district that has applied for Literacy Launch so far has been denied because of funding, he believes funding will be sufficient for now, and they will reassess if necessary.
Asked what they’ve heard on the bill from their counterparts in the Senate, Gordon replied, “We’re hopeful that they’re as interested in this issue as we are.”
