Committee advances bill funding statewide reading training for K–3 teachers and administrators

The Senate Education Committee voted to advance Senate Bill 10‑69, which would require the Idaho State Department of Education to provide professional development in the science of reading and evidence‑based practices to teachers and elementary administrators serving kindergarten through third grade.

Senator Van Burton Shaw (presenting the bill) told the committee the bill would “ensure that existing literacy dollars are being expended in alignment with the science of reading and evidence‑based best practices, maximizing student achievement in reading.” He said the measure builds on Idaho’s existing comprehensive literacy framework and cited code sections that direct the state’s literacy interventions.

The bill as described by the sponsor would provide a $5,000,000 ongoing appropriation to fund a multi‑year training cycle. Training would begin with a three‑year cycle focused on teachers and elementary administrators for kindergarten through third grade, with priority for districts and charter schools scoring in the lowest 25% on the fall Idaho Reading Indicator assessment.

Teachers and administrators who testified urged the committee to back the bill. Laura Milton Hayden, a third‑grade teacher and year‑one participant in the Smart coaching program, said the model is “not just one training” but “an ongoing monthly book‑study coaching cycle” that allowed coaches to “look at the data of my students and give me real instruction and tips and tricks on how to adjust what I'm doing with my students now.” Hayden said the coaching visits and individualized follow‑up led to observable gains in her students’ phonics and foundational reading skills.

State Superintendent Debbie Critchfield told the committee the coaching model has produced measurable gains in reading where it has been used and that teachers and administrators who receive the training report improved outcomes. The department representative, Megan Wunderlich, said participation in the training can produce credits that teachers can use toward their professional‑development renewal but that the bill does not change existing renewal requirements.

Committee action: A senator moved to send Senate Bill 10‑69 to the Senate floor with a due‑pass recommendation. The committee approved the motion by voice vote; the transcript does not record a roll‑call tally.

What it does not do on its face: The bill as discussed is a policy directive and does not itself appropriate the funding in committee testimony. The sponsor and department testified that the program would be sustained with ongoing appropriations and that, in practice, the training is already used in public and charter schools, with about 600 teachers participating statewide in the program last year (department figure cited in testimony).

Next steps: The bill will proceed to the Senate floor. If enacted and funded, the department would implement statewide coaching and training in the science of reading, with priority for low‑performing schools and continued professional‑development support for participating teachers and administrators.