Madison – Representative Chanz Green (R-Grand View) joined his fellow colleagues in voting for Assembly Bill 321, The Right to Read Act.
67.4% of fourth grade students in Wisconsin failed to test proficient or above in reading. This statistic, which was reported last year, is the lowest recorded since 1998. Also, the reading score disparity among white and black students in Wisconsin is the widest margin in the nation, according to Wisconsin Public Radio.
“We have to fix these disparities among these students,” said Rep. Green. “Teaching students how to read and making sure teachers are trained to help students learn to read proficiently is the whole mission of this bill.”
AB 321 will identify struggling readers, require science-based methods to be used to teach reading in schools, and enable parents and taxpayers to track the development of schools' reading scores among their students. Over the last decade, 31 other states have implemented the science of reading curriculum.
The bill will create an Office of Literacy that will manage the literacy coaching program for these schools. This bill will also create a grant program to help schools purchase curriculum to help teach this program to their students.
“This bill addresses the issue that students have been having for a while now: reading proficiency,” said Rep. Green. “That is why I voted in favor of this bill. This bill will solve the root causes of why students in Wisconsin are struggling to read at a proficient level and make sure a foundation is set for them to succeed in the future.”
AB 321 now heads to the State Senate for consideration.
Constituents can contact the office by emailing Rep.Green@legis.wisconsin.gov or by calling (608) 237-9174. Please feel free to contact the office with any questions or concerns.
The 74th Assembly District covers all of Ashland, Bayfield, Iron, and Price counties, and it includes parts of Douglas and Sawyer counties.
Last Update: Jun 22, 2023 10:23 am CDT
