Malden legislators and Mass. Legislature enact early literacy bill to boost student reading proficiency

Special to The Advocate

On June 18, 2026, State Senator Jason Lewis and State Representatives Paul Donato, Steven Ultrino and Kate Lipper-Garabedian joined their colleagues in the Massachusetts Legislature to enact legislation to strengthen early literacy education for young learners by ensuring reading instruction is rooted in proven, evidence-based practices.  After enactment, this legislation was signed into law on June 26, 2026, by Governor Maura Healey.

Despite Massachusetts being recognized as a national leader in education and ranked best-in-the-nation for grade four reading on the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress assessment — known as The Nation’s Report Card — only 40% of students scored proficient or advanced. The legislation establishes statewide standards for evidence-based reading instruction, ensuring that every student from kindergarten to third grade learns to read using phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension and phonemic awareness, also known as the Science of Reading, which is widely viewed as providing the best building blocks for lifelong learning. The law also creates statewide standards for early literacy screening and reporting, improves educator training and supports school districts with adopting new instructional materials and practices.

“It is completely unacceptable that less than half of children in Massachusetts are proficient in reading at their grade levels,” said Senator Lewis, who is Senate Chair of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Education. “We worked hard in the Education Committee crafting this critical legislation to ensure that educators use evidence-based early literacy curricula that are backed by science while leaving schools the flexibility to decide what curriculum is best for their students and teachers.”

“Reading is a critical skill for students of all levels and is especially important for children in the early years of their education,” said Representative Donato. “This new evidence-based learning model will serve as a phenomenal option for teachers in their classrooms to ensure student success in reading comprehension.”

“Reading is the foundation for academic success and lifelong learning, and every child deserves access to high-quality instruction that gives them the opportunity to thrive,” said Representative Ultrino. “By establishing evidence-based literacy standards and strengthening support for educators, this legislation will help ensure that more students develop the reading skills they need to succeed in school and beyond.”

“As someone who has dedicated her professional career to education practice, law, and policy, I’m thrilled to support legislation that will ensure students across the Commonwealth are taught to read with science-based instruction,” said Representative Lipper-Garabedian. “Today, a low-income elementary school student in Mississippi – the poorest state in the nation – outperforms her Massachusetts counterpart in reading proficiency. Mississippi’s success is directly attributable to that state’s decision to reform its student literacy law more than one decade ago. With this bill, the Massachusetts legislature likewise recognizes the imperative of addressing troubling trends in reading proficiency rates that predate the COVID-19 pandemic and delivering the education our students deserve to put them on pathways to success.”

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is directed to create and maintain a list of high-quality early literacy curricula for school districts to select from. This ensures educators use effective curricula yet leaves schools the flexibility (including a temporary waiver process) to select the curriculum best suited for their community’s needs. To support school districts with implementation, the legislation requires DESE to develop a high-quality, comprehensive K-3 early literacy curriculum to be made available to school districts at no charge. The legislation also supports educators by requiring DESE to provide tools and resources that help school districts offer professional development that is aligned with evidence-based reading curricula for teachers, paraprofessionals and reading specialists.

It requires at least twice-yearly assessments to gauge every young learner’s reading progress and requires schools to contact a parent or guardian within 30 days if a student has fallen significantly behind benchmarks and to propose a plan to support the student. It also formalizes dyslexia and literacy screening requirements by requiring schools to develop protocols for identifying potential neurological learning disabilities.

Many school districts in Massachusetts have already switched to evidence-based early literacy curricula with assistance from the $35 million that the legislature provided for the state’s Literacy Launch program. To continue tracking progress, the law requires DESE to collect, aggregate and publish annual statewide data on districts’ use of literacy curricula and instructional practices.