Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Literacy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board presses department to increase funding and change language for struggling readers beyond third grade
Summary
Board members pushed back on a $2 million FY25 request for struggling readers beyond grade 3, urged restoring a prior $3 million ask or higher, and sought a change to allow Alabama Reading Initiative coaches to work with intermediate grades.
Alabama state board members questioned department staff over a small FY25 line item intended to support struggling readers beyond third grade, saying the $2 million the department proposed would be insufficient to meet needs and asking staff to return with revised numbers and language revisions.
"I find it hard to believe that we will be able to provide them with the appropriate support with $2,000,000," said Doctor Chestnut, a state board member who led critiques of the proposed allocation. Chestnut and others also pressed staff to alter budget language so Alabama Reading Initiative (ARI) coaches could work with fourth- through sixth-grade students in addition to K-3.
Department staff explained the request was intended to sustain a pilot called the "Ability" program that had been launched with federal funds and routed through the governor's Office of Minority Affairs; that funding has ended and the department said it was attempting to keep the pilot alive while exploring a larger rollout. "We brought Peter to pay Paul to keep it going on life support," a department presenter said, describing how federal and one-time funds have been used to maintain the pilot.
Board members offered direction rather than taking a vote. Doctor Chestnut urged asking at least the $3 million that had been requested the prior year. Other board members suggested a focused intermediate-grades approach (4—6) rather than a broad 4—12 scope. Doctor Payne, the department presenter, said staff would calculate a per-child cost and provide a recommended dollar amount — the presenter indicated it would likely fall in the $20—to—30 million range if the board chose to support a statewide entitlement for struggling intermediate-grade readers — and promised a revised request in advance of next month's meeting.
The board emphasized two structural changes: removing a restriction that prevented ARI coaches from working with grades above third and developing clearer budget language showing how funds would be distributed and measured. Members warned that federal ESSER funds that have supported related interventions are expiring, and they urged a transition to stable state funding if the state intends to continue intervention programs.
No formal vote was taken; staff were directed to provide a revised cost estimate and language options for the board's next review.
