1. A. The Legislature finds that it is essential for children in the public schools to read early and well in elementary school. The Legislature further finds that clear and visible goals, assessments to determine the reading level at each elementary school, use of a scientifically based and researched methodology in reading instruction in addition to regular and periodic measurements of elementary school reading improvement, and accountability in each level of the educational system will result in a significant increase in the number of children reading at or above grade level.
2. B. The purpose of the Strong Readers Act is to ensure that progression from one grade to another is determined, in part, upon proficiency in reading, that school district board of education policies facilitate reading instruction and intervention services to address student reading needs, and that each student and his or her parent or legal guardian be informed of that student's reading progress. It is the intent of the Legislature that every student reads at or above grade level by the end of third grade.
3. C. To carry out the purpose of this act, it is the intent of the Legislature that the identification, instruction, and intervention required under the Strong Readers Act be implemented within a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) framework that emphasizes strong core literacy instruction for all students and provides increasing levels of instructional intensity based on student need and demonstrated response to instruction.
4. D. It is further the intent of the Legislature that strong core literacy instruction consists of explicit, systematic instruction in foundational reading and writing skills including phonological awareness, decoding, encoding, spelling, sentence-level writing, language development, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, recognizing the reciprocal relationship between reading and writing proficiency.
5. E. Each public school district in this state shall ensure that all students receive a well-rounded education that is focused on building deep foundations in reading, writing, and mathematics. The State Board of Education shall require school districts to integrate the teaching of the other curricular areas in the subject matter standards adopted by the Board with the instruction of reading, writing, and mathematics. All teachers of reading in the public schools in this state in kindergarten through third grade shall provide systematic and explicit instruction in the five elements of reading, which are phonological awareness, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, using high quality instructional materials grounded in the science of reading, selected from a list of approved materials maintained by the State Board of Education.
6. F. It is the intent of the Legislature that beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, school districts and charter schools in this state shall be prohibited from using the three-cueing system model of teaching students to read. For the purposes of this section, the "three-cueing system" means any model of teaching students to read based on meaning, structure, syntax, and visual cues, which may also be known as meaning, structure, and visual (MSV), balanced literacy, or whole language.

Laws 1997, HB 2017, c. 349, § 2, emerg. eff. July 1, 1997; Amended by Laws 2001, SB 168, c. 421, § 1, emerg. eff. July 1, 2001 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2004, HB 2477, c. 197, § 1, emerg. eff. July 1, 2004 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2005, HB 1621, c. 385, § 2 (repealed by Laws 2006, HB 3139, c. 16, § 79, emerg. eff. March 29, 2006); Amended by Laws 2005, SB 966, c. 431, § 2, eff. September 1, 2005 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2006, HB 3139, c. 16, § 78, emerg. eff. March 29, 2006 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2006, HB 2712, c. 146, § 1, emerg. eff. May 12, 2006 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2009, SB 222, c. 456, § 9, emerg. eff. July 1, 2009 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2011, HB 1269, c. 100, § 1 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2014, HB 3399, c. 430, § 9, emerg. eff. June 5, 2014 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2016, HB 3218, c. 360, § 6, emerg. eff. July 1, 2016 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2019, SB 601, c. 289, § 1, emerg. eff. July 1, 2019 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2024, SB 362, c. 411, § 4, emerg. eff. July 1, 2024 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2026, SB 1778, c. 34, § 2, emerg. eff. April 21, 2026 (superseded document available).