Colorado Imagination Library Clears Committee!

Denver, CO – Today the Senate Education Committee approved Senator Jeff Bridges' bipartisan bill to boost child literacy rates by providing books to every child in Colorado. SB20-185 would create the first official, statewide Dolly Parton Imagination Library (DPIL) program for Colorado kids, from enrollment to their fifth birthday.

DPIL would mail one book, selected by a committee of nationally recognized teachers, early childhood educators, and related professionals, to every child. The books include strategies for parents to use during shared reading time to engage their child and increase vocabulary and comprehension skills. The program has multiple language tracks as well as culturally and age-appropriate material.

“We have more than a dozen peer-reviewed journal articles that show that this program works. There is hard data from Tennessee and other places that show a measurable increase in third-grade literacy and a major increase in preparedness for kindergarten because of this program," said Sen. Jeff Bridges (D-Littleton). "The longer children are in the program the bigger the impact, which means it's not a selection bias issue. It's not just parents who would have read to their kids anyway—it is that this program works."

Since implementation, Tennessee has seen significant improvement in school-readiness with children who graduate the program. Studies have also confirmed this success: showing that DPIL increases the odds of being developmentally prepared for kindergarten by 90%.

This bill would create a one-to-one match for all private donations and encourage the establishment of an affiliate in every county of our state—bringing a beloved and effective program to every corner of Colorado.

The bill now heads to Senate Appropriations. Read more here.