SLS 19RS-1865 ORIGINAL
2019 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 182
BY SENATOR DONAHUE
EARLY CHILDHOOD ED. Requests the state Department of Education to create the Early
Literacy Commission.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To urge and request the state Department of Education to create the Early Literacy
3 Commission to study and make recommendations to develop and implement an
4 aligned system to provide effective evidence-based reading instruction for children
5 from birth through third grade.
6 WHEREAS, the state's implementation of the Louisiana Early Childhood Education
7 Act, enacted in 2012, has received national recognition from the U.S. Chamber of
8 Commerce and others as a best practice for the coordination and quality of early childhood
9 education; and
10 WHEREAS, children who receive quality early care need a strong K-12 educational
11 system which will facilitate and support their continued growth; and
12 WHEREAS, students who do not read proficiently by the end of the third grade are
13 four times more likely to drop out of school, and those who have not mastered at least a
14 basic level of reading proficiency are nearly six times as likely to leave school without
15 earning a diploma; and
16 WHEREAS, students who are not proficient in reading as third graders make up
17 nearly two-thirds of the students who fail to graduate on time from high school; and
18 WHEREAS, research shows that early reading skills have a positive impact on
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SLS 19RS-1865 ORIGINAL
1 college attendance and that ninth graders who read on grade-level as third graders are three
2 times more likely to go to college than those who did not; and
3 WHEREAS, eighty-five percent of all juveniles who come into contact with the
4 juvenile court system are functionally illiterate, as are sixty percent of all prison inmates; and
5 WHEREAS, Louisiana spends more than two hundred seventy thousand dollars
6 annually to remediate students who read below grade level; and
7 WHEREAS, decades of research provide a scientific basis for understanding how to
8 best help students become proficient readers; and
9 WHEREAS, evidence-based instruction methods include five systematic
10 components: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, which
11 have been affirmed by the Institute of Education Sciences and the national Institute of Child
12 Health and Human Development and have been recommended by the National Reading
13 Panel.
14 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
15 does hereby urge and request the state Department of Education to create the Early Literacy
16 Commission to study and make recommendations to develop and implement an aligned
17 system to provide effective evidence-based reading instruction for children from birth
18 through third grade.
19 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the commission shall be composed of twenty-
20 one members as follows:
21 (1) The state superintendent of education, or his designee.
22 (2) The commissioner of higher education, or her designee.
23 (3) The governor, or his designee.
24 (4) Two local school superintendents from school systems which are implementing
25 evidence-based reading instruction, appointed by the State Board of Elementary and
26 Secondary Education in consultation with the Louisiana Association of School
27 Superintendents.
28 (5) One school principal whose school is implementing evidence-based reading
29 instruction, appointed by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, in
30 consultation with the Louisiana Association of School Principals.
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1 (6) One member from the staff of the Board of Regents, appointed by the
2 commissioner of higher education.
3 (7) One member from the staff of the state Department of Education, appointed by
4 the state superintendent of education.
5 (8) The executive director of the Children's Cabinet, or his designee.
6 (9) One parent with a demonstrated commitment to, and understanding of, evidence-
7 based reading instruction from Decoding Dylsexia Louisiana, appointed by the state
8 superintendent of education in consultation with stakeholders.
9 (10) Two educators with a demonstrated commitment to, and understanding of,
10 evidence-based reading instruction, appointed by the State Board of Elementary and
11 Secondary Education in consultation with the state superintendent of education and the
12 Center for Development and Learning.
13 (11) The president of the Louisiana Early Childhood Association, or his designee.
14 (12) The president of the Louisiana Association of Colleges of Education for
15 Teacher Education, or his designee.
16 (13) The dean of the college of education of a Louisiana postsecondary institution
17 who is a member of Deans for Impact, appointed by the commission of higher education.
18 (14) The executive director of the Center for Development and Learning, or his
19 designee.
20 (15) The executive director of the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children, or his
21 designee.
22 (16) A faculty member or researcher from a Louisiana public college or university
23 who is well-versed in evidence-based reading instruction, appointed by the commissioner
24 of higher education.
25 (17) A faculty member or researcher from a Louisiana nonpublic college or
26 university who is well-versed in evidence-based reading instruction, appointed by the
27 Louisiana Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.
28 (18) One member who is well-versed in evidence-based reading instruction,
29 appointed by the Louisiana Reading Association.
30 (19) One member who is well-versed in written language acquisition and evidenced-
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1 based reading instruction, appointed by the Louisiana Speech-Language Hearing
2 Association.
3 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that vacancies shall be filled in the manner of
4 original appointment.
5 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a majority of the membership shall constitute
6 a quorum for the transaction of business and an affirmative vote of the quorum present is
7 required for any official action of the commission.
8 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that members shall serve without compensation but
9 may be reimbursed for expenses as provided by the respective appointing authority.
10 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the state superintendent and the commissioner
11 of higher education, or their designees, shall serve as co-chairmen and that the state
12 Department of Education shall provide staff support to the commission.
13 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the commission shall meet upon the call of the
14 co-chairmen, but shall meet at least three times a year.
15 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the commission shall study and make
16 recommendations relative to improving the reading proficiency of third grade students and
17 shall:
18 (1) Gather and analyze data to determine the degree to which evidence-based
19 reading is being implemented with fidelity in the state's public schools and childhood care
20 and education settings.
21 (2) Conduct an assessment of the number of practicing educators, including K-3
22 teachers, special education teachers, and reading specialists, with training and skills in
23 evidence-based reading instruction.
24 (3) Assess the degree to which state colleges of education and alternative
25 certification programs provide a program of study on evidence-based reading practices for
26 K-3 teachers, special education teachers, and education specialists.
27 (4) Make recommendations regarding how the state might ensure that all teacher
28 preparation programs produce teacher candidates with the competencies needed to teach
29 evidence-based instruction from day one.
30 (5) Make recommendations regarding how to assist school systems to adopt reading
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1 programs that utilize systematic and cumulative evidence-based reading instruction.
2 (6) Make recommendations regarding how the state can equip educators with the
3 evidence-based competencies and skills needed to ensure the reading proficiency of third
4 grade students.
5 (7) Develop and propose a timeframe for increasing the reading proficiency of third
6 grade students and establish benchmarks for the intervening years.
7 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the commission shall submit a written report of
8 its findings and recommendations by January 15, 2020, and a written report of the status of
9 the implementation of its recommendations by January 15, 2021. These reports shall be
10 submitted to the governor, the Senate Committee on Education, the House Committee on
11 Education, the Board of Regents, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education,
12 and the Children's Cabinet.
13 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
14 state superintendent of education and the commissioner of higher education.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Jeanne C. Johnston.
DIGEST
SR 182 Original 2019 Regular Session Donahue
Requests the state Department of Education to create the Early Literacy Commission to
study and make recommendations to develop and implement an aligned system to provide
effective evidence-based reading instruction for children from birth through third grade.
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