Senate Education Committee Advances Bipartisan Legislation to Improve Colorado Students’ Reading Comprehension
Legislation will help improve learning, set students up for success
DENVER, CO –The Senate Education Committee voted yesterday to advance Senator Jeff Bridges’ (D-Greenwood Village) bipartisan legislation that would support equal reading comprehension and improve literacy learning outcomes and opportunities.
SB22-004, cosponsored by Senator Bob Rankin (R-Carbondale), would require elementary school administrators to be trained in scientific, evidence-based reading instruction to better support teachers and students in kindergarten through third grade classrooms.
“Every student deserves the chance to succeed, no matter where they come from. Learning to read is the most critical part of a student's public education, and it's on us to make sure we deliver. Right now, we're not. Even before the pandemic, more than half of third graders couldn't read at grade level,” Bridges said. “We've started to address this with the READ Act by requiring evidence-based instruction in the science of reading, and teachers have raved about their training. We're now expanding that training to include administrators so they can provide better support and partnership to their teachers, to make sure that all of our public school kids learn the skills they need to thrive."
“I believe that nothing is more important to the process of education than learning to read by third grade,” Rankin said. “I appreciate the unanimous bipartisan legislative support for this bill and preceding bills to promote the Science of Reading. Colorado's 23,000 teachers from kindergarten to third grade are responding. This bill calls on administrators to join them.”
The bill expands on the goal of the Colorado READ Act to ensure the mastery of reading for third grade students before they advance to fourth grade. The 2012 bill requires kindergarten through third grade teachers to complete an evidence-based reading instruction program to get students reading at grade level before fourth grade.
SB22-004 will now head to the Appropriations Committee. Track the progress of the bill here.