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Committee backs pilot early-literacy program; raises questions about funding and vendor choice
Summary
The House Education Committee voted unanimously to recommend passage of a bill that would allow the state to support a short, daily early‑literacy program for preschoolers, but members pressed state officials about past sole‑source contracting, how the program was funded during the COVID period and whether future procurement should be competitive.
CONCORD — The House Education Committee on Tuesday voted 18-0 to recommend House Bill 671, authorizing a state‑supported early‑literacy program aimed at 4‑ and 5‑year‑olds and modeled on a short, daily interactive curriculum that was piloted during the COVID era.
Supporters said the program is a low‑time, supplemental approach intended to improve readiness for kindergarten; opponents and several committee members pressed state officials over costs, procurement and whether the program would be limited to nonprofit vendors.
Representative Freeman (sponsor), who moved the “ought to pass” recommendation, said the program’s 15‑minute daily sessions are “another tool in the toolbox for our youngest learners” and that the committee had vetted questions raised at earlier hearings. “Given the 15 minutes that it entails, it won't be a long shot to keep their attention,” Freeman said.
Melissa White, division director for learner support at the Department of Education, told the committee the…
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