Amendment #1231 to H4600

Literacy Launch

Mrs. Lipper-Garabedian of Melrose moves to amend the bill in section 2, by striking item 1596-2437, and inserting in place thereof the following:

"1596-2437 For an early literacy initiative directed by the secretary of education, in consultation and coordination with the commissioner of elementary and secondary education and the commissioner of early education and care, to be known as Literacy Launch: Reading Success from Age 3 through Grade 3; provided, that said program shall provide grants, programming, and materials to increase the number of public schools and licensed early education and care providers in the commonwealth providing evidence-based literacy instruction to students in pre- kindergarten through grade 3; provided further, that grants may support activities including, but not limited to: (i) the adoption and implementation of high quality curricular materials aligned with evidence-based literacy instruction by public schools and districts and early education program providers; (ii) the provision of technical support, coaching, and professional development to maximize educator impact and improve student learning of literacy skills for students in pre-kindergarten through grade 3, including the support of required staff for the development and implementation of the program by the granting agencies; (iii) an acceleration of district audits by the department of elementary and secondary education by August 30, 2026 to ensure alignment to evidence-based literacy instruction (iv) an acceleration of the program review of all educator preparation programs approved by the department of elementary and secondary education by August 30, 2026 to ensure alignment to evidence-based literacy instruction; (v) the coordination and alignment of assessment and screening, curriculum, and professional development across the departments of early education and care and elementary and secondary education; and (vi) other professional learning initiatives and supports related to literacy assessment, measurement, and instruction for specific groups of learners or specific evidence- based materials; provided further, that evidence-based literacy instruction means  structured instructional practices, including sequential, systematic, explicit, and  cumulative teaching, that (i) addresses the five essential components of reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development, reading fluency - including oral reading skills, and reading comprehension, (ii) are based on reliable, trustworthy, and valid evidence consistent with scientifically based reading research; (iii) are used in core or general instruction, supplemental instruction, intervention services, and specialized reading instruction provided in accordance with an individualized education plan (IEP); (iv) have a demonstrated record of success in adequately increasing students' competency in the areas of vocabulary development, oral language, and comprehension and in building mastery of the foundational reading skills of phonological and phonemic awareness, alphabetic principle, phonics, writing and spelling, and text reading fluency; and (v) are able to be differentiated in order to meet the individual needs of students; provided further, that high quality curricular materials funded through this item for use in public schools be approved by the department of elementary and secondary education and high quality curricular materials funded through this item for use by licensed early education and care providers be approved by the department of early education and care; provided further, that grant recipients may include, but not be limited to: (i) public schools and districts and licensed early education and care programs providing pre-kindergarten instructional services; (ii) the University of Massachusetts; (iii) state universities and community colleges; and (iv) other educator preparation programs; provided further, that not later than November 28, 2025, the secretary of education shall provide a summary of the current and planned allocations of funds for each program funded through this item to the joint committee on education and the house and senate committees on ways and means and that such report shall include: (i) a list of grant recipients; (ii) grants awarded delineated by recipient; (iii) any matching funds or services contributed by grant recipients or program participants; (iv) the purposes of the grants and list of curricular materials purchased and professional development services procured; (v) a detailed report of districts and educator preparation programs that do not use evidence-based literacy instruction to evidence-based literacy instruction; and (vi) a detailed breakdown of the purposes and amounts of administrative costs charged to this item; and provided further, that any unexpended funds in this item shall not revert but shall be made available until August 30, 2026………….$30,000,000”.

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #1231 to H4600

Literacy Launch