NEW YORK STATE, USA — New York Governor Kathy Hochul celebrated signing into law 'Back to Basics' legislation that will help improve reading proficiency in classrooms across New York State.
At the Albany School of Humanities, Governor Hochul visited with a first grade class where they demonstrated instructional best practices grounded in the science of reading.
The new legislation will ensure that every classroom in the state uses the evidence-based instruction to improve reading proficiency rates. More than 30 states have transitioned to this approach thus far.
“Reading is one of the most fundamental skills students need to learn, but currently our kids are not meeting basic reading proficiency levels,” Governor Hochul said. “With this Budget, we're throwing out debunked reading instruction practices and getting back to basics, using phonics, reading comprehension and other effective techniques to set our kids up for success.”
The State Education Department (SED) will provide instructional best practices to school districts in the teaching of reading to students in prekindergarten through grade three by January 1, 2025. School districts will be required to annually review their curriculum and instructional practices for alignment with those issued by SED, and verify by September 2025.
There will be $10 million included in the state's budget to train 20,000 teachers in how to use the instructional based best practices through NYSUT's Education and Learning Trust.
State Education Commissioner Betty A. Rosa said, “Literacy is the cornerstone of education, unlocking worlds of knowledge and imagination. Empowering our educators with the resources to provide evidence-based reading instruction will give our students the tools to comprehend, analyze, and synthesize information effectively, laying the foundation for lifelong learning and success.”
City School District of Albany Superintendent Joseph Hochreiter said, “We are grateful to Governor Hochul for coming to Albany School of Humanities – a National NSEA Distinguished School – to highlight this incredibly important literacy initiative for our entire state. The science of reading is working for students throughout our school district. We believe wholeheartedly in this approach, and we thank Governor Hochul for her leadership on this critical educational initiative for all of New York’s students.”
To learn more visit www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-celebrates-back-basics
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