BOISE – Idaho Governor “Butch” Otter signed two pieces of legislation Wednesday aimed at ensuring Idaho public school students are proficient in reading by the end of third grade.
House Bill 451 highlights the importance of reading literacy in the early grades and the need for collaboration between teachers and parents to support student success. “The ability to read is the foundation on which all other learning depends,” Otter said. “I thank all those who have helped step up efforts to our youngest students struggling to learn to read.”
House Bill 526, developed by the State Board of Education, specifies how State funding for reading intervention will be distributed. It represents two years of work by a committee of the Task Force for Improving Education, which recommended that the State provide $10.7 million to school districts and charter schools for proven, research-based intervention programs and methods in kindergarten through third grade. The Legislature appropriated $9.1 million in new funds and dedicated $2.1 million from existing remediation funding for intervention efforts in the coming fiscal year.
