The Michigan House of Representatives on Wednesday passed two bills aimed at improving reading instruction, less than a month after 2024 M-STEP scores showed 60% of third-grade students failed the state reading test.
This package of bills, years in the making, is similar to what was introduced in two previous sessions. The bills are part of a larger effort to improve reading outcomes in the state, which has raised concerns among lawmakers and education advocates. The state is also investing in enhanced reading instruction training rooted in the science of reading, the body of research that shows how children learn to read effectively. Phonics is just one part of the science of reading.
The two bills are:
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Senate Bill 567: Introduced by Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, this bill would, among other things, require schools to ensure that students are screened for characteristics of dyslexia or other difficulties in learning to read by the 2027-28 school year. SB 567 passed the House of Representatives 100-8.
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Senate Bill 568: Introduced by Sen. Dayna Polehanki, D-Livonia, would require teacher preparation programs to include instruction on dyslexia and identifying its characteristics. SB 568 passed the House 99-10.
The legislation, which passed the Senate earlier this year, will return to the Senate for House consideration of changes. If approved, it will land on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s desk.
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The bills and other work state leaders have done in recent years are about more than just dyslexia, advocates have said, but a stepped-up effort to help all students learn to read using research-backed methods, part of a body of work called the science of reading. While screening bills have yet to reach the governor’s desk, more budget money has been allocated to teacher training, including $10 million in this fiscal year’s budget for LETRS training. LETRS emphasizes skills in phonics, how students process and identify sounds in words.
But experts say the state’s work is likely not yet done.
A report published in July by researchers at Michigan State University found that the type of reading instruction a Michigan student receives depends largely on the public school they attend. In addition, some of the materials most commonly used in reading instruction in public elementary schools are not highly rated.
Concerns about students’ reading ability have only grown since the state’s recent M-STEP scores were released in August, when third graders reached a grim milestone on the test: In 2019, 45% of third graders scored a passing grade or higher on the test, but this year’s scores show that percentage has fallen below 40% for the first time.
Free Press staff writer Arpan Lobo contributed. Contact Lily Altavena at laltavena@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan students would be screened for dyslexia under new House bill
