Michigan Approves Funding to Families to Support Struggling Readers

Statement by Zach Eckert, ExcelinEd in Action Legislative Director for the Midwest, on action by the Michigan Legislature to support struggling readers.

“When students enter fourth grade with strong reading skills, they are more likely to succeed in the classroom, graduate from high school and be better prepared to go to college and earn a good job. Reading Scholarship Accounts will provide Michigan families and students – especially those who cannot afford private tutoring and enrichment activities – funding to customize literacy supports.

“ExcelinEd in Action thanks Senate Education and Career Readiness Chair Lana Theis, House School Aid Subcommittee Chair Brad Paquette, K-12 Senate Appropriations Chair Wayne Schmidt as well as our partner, the Great Lakes Education Project, for giving Michigan students additional reading support.”

The school aid budget in HB 4411 creates a $155 million Reading Scholarship Account program, in addition to providing $31.5 million for literacy coaches and $4 million for teacher professional development in the science of reading.

• The program offers parents of struggling readers access to an annual $1,000 Reading Scholarship Account, a type of grant that can be used to pay for tuition and fees related to part-time tutoring, summer and after-school literacy programs, instructional materials and more.
• The scholarship accounts will be available to public school students in grades K-5 who have reading difficulties.
• The program will be funded with $155 million from the federal American Rescue Plan and could serve more than 125,000 students.
• The program is modeled after a similar program in Florida serving up to 15,000 K-3 students that began in 2018 and was the first of its kind in the country. Louisiana recently became the second state to enact Reading Scholarship Accounts.

This near unanimous, bipartisan legislation now heads to Governor Gretchen Whitmer for her signature.