Bill > SB517

This bill expands reporting requirements for the "Every Child Can Read Act" and amends the "Kansas Blueprint for Literacy" to enhance literacy education across the state. Key provisions include requiring school districts to employ reading specialists, develop individual student literacy plans for high-risk students, and align literacy fluency goals with state assessment cut scores. The State Board of Education will designate "best literacy practices," which are evidence-based methods grounded in the "science of reading" (a body of research explaining how people learn to read and write proficiently), and will incorporate a "literacy practicum" (hands-on teaching experience) into teacher licensure requirements. The bill also mandates the development of a comprehensive literacy implementation plan and sets requirements for educator preparation programs, ensuring that future teachers are trained in effective, evidence-based reading instruction. The "Kansas Blueprint for Literacy" is a framework designed to improve literacy education, and this bill strengthens its implementation by defining terms like "field experience" and "literacy practicum" and ensuring that members of the literacy advisory committee possess relevant expertise.

Education

Ways and Means (Senate)

https://kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb517/