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MDE details literacy implementation: committee, ranking process, LETRS training and timelines for lists and grants
Summary
Department officials updated the State Board on implementation of literacy laws (Public Acts 146 and 147), the Section 35m per-pupil literacy grant and the Committee for Literacy Achievement; they described evaluation, lists, timelines and statewide LETRS professional learning activity.
Michigan Department of Education officials briefed the State Board on Feb. 11 about implementing new K–12 literacy and dyslexia laws (Public Acts 146 and 147 of 2024), and on Section 35m/35n funding and the Committee for Literacy Achievement (CLA).
Staff said Section 35m is an $87 million per-pupil literacy grant that requires MDE to establish a Committee for Literacy Achievement to critically evaluate literacy series, professional development and tools; CLA will create ranking lists of submitted literacy materials that LEAs may use when applying for Section 35m funds. MDE described steps already completed: CLA formation in December, member orientation and rubrics training, recorded webinars for vendors and applicants, and a planned vendor submission window followed by committee review and publication of a ranked list by June 2025.
Officials emphasized that Section 35m (the $87 million grant program) and Public Act 146 (the K–12 literacy/dyslexia law) are distinct. Public Act 146 requires the department to publish a separate approved list of valid, reliable screening and progress-monitoring reading assessments and a list of evidence-based Tier 1 curricula aligned to the science of reading; MDE said those PA 146 lists will publish in January 2026. MDE staff and the MyMTSS TA Center will host vendor webinars, LEA application webinars and supports for districts.
MDE described the state’s major investment in LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) professional development: $34 million over four fiscal years funded LETRS training; 3,200 educators have completed the training and 6,804 are actively participating in cohorts, MDE said. Staff noted that LETRS is structured-literacy professional learning aligned with Public Act 146 and is accredited by the International Dyslexia Association.
Board members pressed for clarity on conflict-of-interest definitions for CLA members, standards that the committee will use to judge the quality of evidence and how rankings will inform grant awards. MDE staff said submissions will be reviewed by multiple evaluators, recusal for conflicts is required by the statute and the CLA will publish evaluation tools and rubrics on the literacy grants website. Officials acknowledged state-level assessment and screening alignment remains a priority and that PA 146’s lists and CLA rankings are separate but related implementation components.
MDE said the literacy website includes recorded webinars, a dyslexia summit recording with more than 2,100 attendees and 141 watch parties, and that the department is encouraging districts and higher-education partners to begin LETRS cohorts. MDE urged districts to use the Section 35m grant as an on-ramp to the PA 146 implementation.
No board action was required; members asked for written definitions of conflict-of-interest standards, clearer evidence standards for submissions and continued updates as the June 2025 and January 2026 publication dates approach.
