What the bill does:
House Bill 3198 would create an Early Literacy Success Initiative for children in pre-k through third grade. It would authorize funding for up to $10 million from the Student Success Act’s Statewide Education Initiatives.
The backstory:
The bill is aimed at young children in connection with the third grade benchmark for reading, which is often used as an indicator to determine whether a child will struggle with literacy going forward.
Data has shown that literacy rates are low, statewide and across the nation. These numbers have been further exasperated by the COVID-19 pandemic and period of online learning.
According to the latest data, which reflects the 2021-22 school year, fewer than 44% of Oregon students tested were proficient in English language arts. This is a 9 percentage point drop from 2019’s 53% proficiency. For third graders in particular, 39.4% tested proficient in English in 2022, compared to 46.5% in 2019.
If the bill moves forward, the funding will be distributed to districts based on enrollment. Districts would be able to use the funding toward:
- Literacy coaching to support educators.
- Culturally responsive summer learning opportunities for students.
- Tutoring for students who need more time and intensive support.
- Adopting and implementing an early literacy curriculum, professional learningopportunities and culturally relevant instructional materials that are aligned with thescience of reading and writing.
Who’s behind it:
HB 3198 was introduced by a bipartisan group of legislators. Chief sponsors include:
- Sen. Janeen Sollman, D-Hillsboro
- Sen Michael Dembrow, D-Portland
- Rep. Jason Kropf, D-Bend
- Rep. Hoa Nguyen, D-Portland
- Rep. Ricki Ruiz, D-Gresham
- Rep. Ben Bowman, D-Tigard
Where it is in the legislative process:
The bill was referred to the House Committee on Education Feb. 9, then subsequently referred to the Joint Committee On Ways and Means. It is not yet scheduled for a public hearing.
Miranda Cyr reports on education for The Register-Guard. You can contact her at mcyr@registerguard.com or find her on Twitter @mirandabcyr.
