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