Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H698 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2329 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 698
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Danillo A. Sena and Simon Cataldo
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act to promote high-quality early literacy instruction and improve student outcomes.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Danillo A. Sena37th Middlesex1/16/2025Simon Cataldo14th Middlesex1/16/2025Patrick Joseph Kearney4th Plymouth2/14/2025 1 of 6
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2329 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 698
18	18	By Representatives Sena of Acton and Cataldo of Concord, a petition (accompanied by bill,
19	19	House, No. 698) of Danillo A. Sena, Simon Cataldo and Patrick Joseph Kearney relative to early
20	20	literacy instruction and student outcomes. Education.
21	21	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
22	22	_______________
23	23	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
24	24	(2025-2026)
25	25	_______________
26	26	An Act to promote high-quality early literacy instruction and improve student outcomes.
27	27	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
28	28	of the same, as follows:
29	29	1 SECTION 1. Section 55A of chapter 15, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, so
30	30	2appearing, is hereby amended by striking the language “(6) review the progress of overall
31	31	3student achievement and; (7) evaluate student performance, school and district management,
32	32	4overall district governance and any other areas deemed necessary by the office.” in lines 56
33	33	5through 59, and replacing it with the following language:- “(6) evaluate the alignment of literacy
34	34	6instructional materials and curricula with department-recommended high quality literacy
35	35	7instructional materials and curricula, as per section 1E of chapter 69; (7) review the progress of
36	36	8overall student achievement and; (8) evaluate student performance, school and district
37	37	9management, overall district governance and any other areas deemed necessary by the office.”
38	38	10 SECTION 2. Section 1E of chapter 69 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022
39	39	11Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding at the end of the first paragraph the following 2 of 6
40	40	12sentence:- Curricula selected by school districts to meet the curriculum frameworks for
41	41	13elementary literacy must be aligned with evidence-based literacy instruction.
42	42	14 SECTION 3. Subsection (c)(ii) of section 1S of chapter 69 of the General Laws, as so
43	43	15appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 41, the words “and (J)”, and inserting in
44	44	16place thereof the following words:- (J) implementing evidence-based literacy instruction; and
45	45	17(K)
46	46	18 SECTION 4. Said subsection (c)(ii) of said section 1S of chapter 69, as so appearing, is
47	47	19hereby further amended by striking out, in line 44, the word “(I)”, and inserting in place thereof
48	48	20the following word:- (J)
49	49	21 SECTION 5. Said subsection (c)(ii) of section 1S of chapter 69, as so appearing, is
50	50	22hereby further amended by adding at the end of the first paragraph the following sentence:-
51	51	23District plans must address implementing evidence-based literacy instruction if the results from
52	52	24the early literacy screening required by section 2 of chapter 71B indicate more than 50 percent of
53	53	25students in kindergarten through third grade are below relevant benchmarks for age-typical
54	54	26development in specific literacy skills.”
55	55	27 SECTION 6. Section 38G of chapter 71 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby
56	56	28amended by inserting after the word “personnel”, in line 281, the following:-
57	57	29 provided that policies and guidelines must include alignment with evidence-based
58	58	30literacy instruction for educator preparation programs to be approved.
59	59	31 SECTION 7. 3 of 6
60	60	32 Section 1. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, as used in this bill,
61	61	33the following words shall, unless the context requires otherwise, have the following meanings:-
62	62	34 “Department” means the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
63	63	35 “Evidence-based literacy instruction" means structured instructional practices, including
64	64	36sequential, systematic, explicit, and cumulative teaching, that (i) addresses the five essential
65	65	37components of reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development,
66	66	38reading fluency — including oral reading/communication skills, and reading comprehension, (ii)
67	67	39are based on reliable, trustworthy, and valid evidence consistent with scientifically-based reading
68	68	40research; (iii) are used in core or general instruction, supplemental instruction, intervention
69	69	41services, and specialized reading instruction provided in accordance with an individualized
70	70	42education plan; (iv) have a demonstrated record of success in adequately increasing students'
71	71	43competency in the areas of, vocabulary development, oral language, and comprehension and in
72	72	44building mastery of the foundational reading skills of phonological and phonemic awareness,
73	73	45alphabetic principle, phonics, writing and spelling, and text reading fluency; and (v) are able to
74	74	46be differentiated in order to meet the individual needs of students. The instruction may not
75	75	47include implicit and incidental instruction in word reading, visual memorization of whole words,
76	76	48guessing from context, and picture cues, which may also be known as MSV or three-cueing.
77	77	49Evidence-based literacy instruction should align with scientifically-based reading research
78	78	50standards set forth in 20 USC 6368 (3)(4)(5)(6)(7).
79	79	51 "Scientifically based reading research" means research as defined by Congress in 20 USC
80	80	526368 (6) that (i) applies rigorous, systematic, and objective observational or experimental
81	81	53procedures to obtain valid knowledge relevant to reading development, reading instruction, and 4 of 6
82	82	54reading and writing difficulties and (ii) includes research that a) employs systematic, empirical
83	83	55methods that draw on observations or experiment; b) involves rigorous data analyses that are
84	84	56adequate to test the stated hypothesis and justify the general conclusions drawn; c) relies on
85	85	57measurements or observational methods that provide valid data across evaluators and observers
86	86	58and across multiple measurements and observations; and d) has been accepted by a peer-
87	87	59reviewed journal or approved by a panel of independent experts through a comparably rigorous,
88	88	60objective, and scientific review, and (iii) explains how proficient reading and writing develop,
89	89	61why some children have difficulties developing key literacy skills, and how schools can best
90	90	62assess and instruct early literacy, including the use of evidence-based literacy instruction
91	91	63practices to promote reading and writing achievement.
92	92	64 Section 2. (a) The department shall provide tools and resources to aid districts in
93	93	65providing adequate professional development aligned with evidence-based literacy instruction
94	94	66and scientifically-based reading research for literacy teachers, paraprofessionals, and reading
95	95	67specialists in grades pre-kindergarten through third grade.
96	96	68 (b) The department shall create and maintain
97	97	69 i. A list of department-approved, high-quality professional development programs and
98	98	70vendors aligned with evidence-based literacy instruction best practices and scientifically-based
99	99	71reading research.
100	100	72 ii. A set of online training modules available and free to all teachers that provide training
101	101	73on the foundational practices and pedagogy aligned with evidence-based literacy instruction best
102	102	74practices and scientifically-based reading research. 5 of 6
103	103	75 Section 3: (a) The department shall create guidelines for districts to use to determine if
104	104	76any students exhibit a reading deficiency. Guidelines shall include the steps that districts must
105	105	77follow to address and remedy such reading deficiencies. The department shall consult experts to
106	106	78identify and make available to districts literacy intervention approaches that are aligned with the
107	107	79essential components of evidence-based literacy instruction and scientifically-based reading
108	108	80research.
109	109	81 (b) Districts shall follow department guidelines established in subsection (a) for any
110	110	82student in kindergarten through grade 3 who exhibits a deficiency in reading.
111	111	83 Section 4: (a)(1) The department shall identify a list of data requirements for reporting
112	112	84purposes in order to ensure that districts are implementing evidence-based literacy instruction
113	113	85under this bill. The department shall publish reporting requirements by the start of each school
114	114	86year.
115	115	87 (2) Beginning in 2025, each district shall report annually to the department, on or before
116	116	88October 31, the data reporting requirements set out in subsection (a)(1).
117	117	89 (b) Annually, beginning no later than December 31, 2025, the department shall aggregate
118	118	90data collected from each district under this section and file a report with the clerks of the senate
119	119	91and house of representatives, the joint committee on education and made public on the
120	120	92department’s website.
121	121	93 Section 5. The department shall promulgate such rules and regulations as it deems
122	122	94necessary to implement the provisions of this bill. 6 of 6
123	123	95 Section 6. In establishing apprenticeship pathways to educator licensure, the Department
124	124	96shall ensure that all participants in approved apprenticeship programs shall receive an adequate
125	125	97foundation in providing Evidence-based literacy instruction.