Committee backs bill to expand science-of-reading training, funds coaching model

The Senate Education Committee voted to send Senate Bill 1069 to the Senate floor with a do-pass recommendation after sponsor Senator Van Burton Shaw and state education officials described the measure as a statewide expansion of evidence-based literacy training.

Senator Van Burton Shaw told the committee the bill would amend Idaho Code (as read in committee) to require the Idaho State Department of Education to provide professional development in the science of reading and evidence-based practices to all teachers and elementary administrators serving students in kindergarten through third grade. He said the legislation would ensure existing literacy dollars are spent in alignment with the science of reading and would fund an ongoing $5,000,000 appropriation to support a three-year training cycle and sustained coaching.

State and local witnesses described the program in operational terms. Megan Wunderlich, director of academics, content and curriculum at the Idaho State Department of Education, told senators the training is not intended to change renewal requirements; teachers may earn a credit for renewal through participation but the bill does not add to the renewal credit requirement. Debbie Critchfield, Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction, told the committee teachers who receive the state coaching training see improved reading outcomes, adding, "teachers who have received the smart coaching training and their administrators, their reading scores go up, period."

Laura Milton Hayden, a third-grade teacher serving as a year-one participant in the SMART coaching program, testified by video that the state coaching model is ongoing: monthly book-study cycles, one-to-one coaching, classroom visits, and data-driven adjustments. Hayden said the program differs from single-session professional development because coaches follow up in the classroom, review current student data and help teachers adjust instruction mid-year.

The bill sets priorities for training rollout: districts and public charter schools scoring in the bottom 25 percent on the fall Idaho reading indicator assessment would receive priority for early training. Sponsors said training is intended to be ongoing so new teachers and administrators would be able to access the training as they enter classrooms.

Committee members asked whether the program yields professional development credit and whether the training is a one-time event; Department officials said the program is ongoing, includes follow-up coaching, and can provide credits under existing renewal rules but does not change the state’s renewal credit requirement.

The committee approved a motion to send Senate Bill 1069 to the Senate floor with a due-pass recommendation; the motion was carried by voice vote. The transcript records the motion and that it "carries," but no roll-call tally appears in committee minutes.

Votes at a glance: Motion to send Senate Bill 1069 to the Senate floor with a due-pass recommendation; carried by voice vote in committee.