Louisiana Lawmakers Enact Strong Literacy Policies

“Louisiana is demonstrating a commitment to helping every student learn to read by building upon the progress made last year to support our youngest students. Louisiana lawmakers continued their commitment to support teachers and students with practices grounded in the science of reading. These evidence-based literacy policies use regular screening and intervention plans to help ensure students, especially those struggling, can read at grade level.

We applaud Rep. Richard Nelson, Rep. Jason Hughes and the members of the Louisiana State Legislature for their commitment in providing students with these foundational tools to be strong readers. Literacy skills are essential for students to be successful in their educational journey and beyond.”

Currently, Louisiana ranks 47^th in K-12^th Achievement, and less than half of K-3 public school students in the state are reading on grade level.
 
These new laws will strengthen literacy skills by providing:

• Teachers trained in reading instruction – HB214 by Rep. Richard Nelson requires passage of a reading instruction test as a condition of teacher certification in elementary education.
• Literacy screeningfor students – HB911 by Rep. Jason Hughes provides literacy screening three times a year for students in grades K-3. It also requires individual reading improvement plans for students reading below grade level, and requires literacy coaches for on-site teacher training.