2021 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 68
BY SENATORS CLOUD AND PEACOCK
A RESOLUTION
To commend the dedicated work of the Center for Development and Learning and to
recognize Thursday, May 6, 2021, as Literacy Day at the state capitol.
WHEREAS, 74% of Louisiana's fourth grade students do not read proficiently and
dyslexia is a specific learning disability that affects as many as one in five people; 20% of
the population; 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, Louisiana spends more than $270,000,000 annually to remediate
students who read below grade level, making reading both an education and economic issue;
and
WHEREAS, the Center for Development and Learning was founded in 1992 to
develop and disseminate leading-edge scientific research, knowledge, and best practices that
improve teaching and increase student learning; and
WHEREAS, the Center for Development and Learning focuses on closing the
achievement gap by increasing teacher effectiveness and advancing public education reform
by providing educators who teach our most at-risk children with professional learning that
is specific and targeted to the needs of those students and their fellow teachers; and
WHEREAS, with an in-the-trenches approach, the Center for Development and
Learning tackles real-time issues such as a way to remediate struggling readers, differentiate
instruction for diverse learners, and build and sustain collective capacity; and
WHEREAS, the Louisiana Department of Education has emphasized how important
improving our state's literacy rates are and launched a new literacy initiative to spark a
reading revival across the state with tools for system leaders, classroom teachers, and family
members to support children on their literacy journey; and
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WHEREAS, improving the literacy rates in Louisiana is necessary to increase
Louisiana students' success in all other areas of their education.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby commend the dedicated work of the Center for Development and Learning, does
hereby extend gratitude for its work in improving reading proficiency in all of Louisiana's
students, and does hereby recognize Thursday, May 6, 2021, as Literacy Day at the state
capitol.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
Center for Development and Learning.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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