Bi-Partisan legislators overwhelmingly support ‘Reading for All’ legislation aimed at improving Michigan’s early reading outcomes

EdTrust-Midwest today praised the Michigan legislature for its overwhelming bipartisan support of legislation designed to address one of the most common barriers to reading: dyslexia.

“This is a moment of hope,” said Amber Arellano, executive director of EdTrust-Midwest. “The passage of this legislation – more than several years in the making – is a real testament to what our state leaders and advocates can accomplish when we work together to focus on the needs of Michigan students.”

The legislation to improve reading outcomes has been a focus of EdTrust-Midwest for more than six years through research, policy, coalition-building and legislative work, as well as through advocacy campaigns with partners in the statewide Michigan Partnership for Equity and Opportunity coalition and many others.

“Decades of research show that promoting early reading is key to improving education overall,” said Jeff Cobb, EdTrust-Midwest’s director of government affairs. “If students read well by third grade, they have a better chance to succeed in school, are far more likely to go to college, participate in the job market and even have greater lifetime employment earnings. We are grateful to the many bipartisan policymakers who came together to act on this critical issue that impacts up to 20% of Michigan students.”

Michigan long has been a state that trails the nation on key measures of student success in reading. Recent M-STEP data reaffirmed the great need to address Michigan’s reading crisis, leading EdTrust and advocates to again issue an urgent call for passage of the legislation. During the 2023-2024 school year, just 39.6% of Michigan third graders were proficient in English language arts. That percentage dropped from 40.9% the year before and 45.1% in the last school year before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Senate Bills 567 and 568 would:

• Require schools to screen early elementary students for characteristics of dyslexia and provide multi-tier levels of support for students who demonstrate those characteristics. These interventions must be research-based with a track record of proven effectiveness in teaching students how to read.
• Require universities to provide specific training to future teachers on how to instruct students with dyslexia.
• Ensure all current teachers receive professional development on how to provide the necessary resources for these students using evidence-based instructional methods and interventions to teach reading based on the science of reading. These methods, detailed in the legislation, are designed to empower teachers to effectively teach all children the foundational skills needed to be strong readers.

“Senator Jeff Irwin has spent the last six years fighting to pass this in law. He deserves credit for being relentless and not giving up on these students,” Cobb said.

On Wednesday, September 26, the Senate concurred with the House version of the bills. They now go to the Governor for her signature.