Lycoming News

A bill aimed at improving literacy rates in Pennsylvania has received unanimous, bipartisan approval from the Senate Education Committee. The bill, Senate Bill 801, was introduced by Senators Ryan Aument and Anthony Williams and seeks to change the way students are taught to read in the state.

Sen. Dave Argall, the chair of the committee, emphasized the importance of literacy in today's world, stating, "It's impossible to function in today's world without being able to read, yet we're seeing very high rates of illiteracy across Pennsylvania and the nation." He further added, "We need to focus on the basics. We cannot afford to fail our children in this regard."

The bill proposes the implementation of a screening process to identify struggling readers and the development of plans to prevent children from falling behind. The need for such measures is evident from the PSSA scores for third graders last year, which showed that almost half of Pennsylvania students are not proficient in reading.

During a public hearing held last year to review Senate Bill 801, Dr. Wendy Farone, a literacy education expert with 30 years of experience, emphasized the need to invest in effective education programs. She stated, "We need to stop spending money on education programs that don't produce good outcomes for our students."

The inspiration for this bill came from an article in the New York Times that highlighted the successful education reforms implemented in Mississippi. Sen. Argall called for the public hearing after reading the article and learning about how Mississippi significantly improved its education system without massive spending increases. After implementing similar reforms, Mississippi fourth graders from low-income families now rank first in the nation on reading tests, all while spending the fifth-least per student in the nation.

The approval of Senate Bill 801 by the Senate Education Committee is a step towards addressing the literacy crisis in Pennsylvania. The bill will now advance to the full Senate for consideration.

For more information, please contact Jim Brugger at 717-787-2637.