Kansas''s Blueprint for Literacy aims to train teachers in ''structured literacy, seeks $10M to $20M in funding

Dr. Cindy Lane, lead of Kansas''s Blueprint for Literacy, told a Midwestern Higher Education Compact meeting that Senate Bill 438, "the blueprint for literacy," was signed into law by Governor Kelly on April 25, 2024, and establishes a higher-education''led effort to improve student reading outcomes. Lane said the initiative treats literacy as an "economic imperative" in light of projections that Kansas will add tens of thousands of high-skilled jobs requiring postsecondary credentials.

Lane pointed to National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) trends to underline the problem: "Since 2020, we have been declining, and since the year 1990, we have the largest drop ever in the ability of our students in K'—2 to read at or above grade level." She said roughly a third of children nationally read below grade level and that many states in the Midwestern Higher Education Compact cohort have 25% or more of students scoring below basic on reading assessments.

The law requires the Board of Regents to establish an Office of Literacy and an advisory committee composed of gubernatorial and legislative appointees and K'—2 and higher-education…