Establishes the libraries literacy education guidance act

Showing the cosponsors who are on Agora, A to Z. The official record may list more.

• Democratic12
• Republican1

This bill has cosponsors from more than one party.

Shown in neutral colors by design; Agora is non-partisan.

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Siela Bynoe says this is needed

There is broad consensus among cognitive scientists and reading experts about how to best effectively teach literacy. That process emphasizes the key areas of reading - phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary development, reading fluency, including oral skills, and reading compre- hension - and employs practices based on the science of reading. Less than half of New York State third graders met the State's own reading proficiency standards based on 2024 exams and the figures for some cities with high concentrations of poverty are significantly lower. According to the results of the federal National Assessment of Educa- tional Progress for 2024, almost seventy percent of New York State's fourth graders were not reading at grade level. Reading is intrinsic to both personal growth and economic opportunity and illiteracy correlates with higher rates of poverty, depression, and incarceration. The FY 24-25 Enacted Budget included Article VII language requiring the State Education Department (SED) to establish statewide standards for evidence-based and scientifically based instructional practices for the teaching of childhood literacy (Section 818 of the Education Law). This legislation is intended to complement this policy by promoting the awareness and use of evidence-based literacy practices and programming for children in grades pre-kindergarten through three.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.