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Governor Cox urges expansion of SB 127, calls for stronger implementation and phone policies to protect reading
Summary
At a statewide Literacy and Reading Symposium in Ogden, Governor Spencer Cox and U.S. Assistant Secretary Kristen Basler pushed implementation steps for SB 127, including more paraprofessionals, individual reading plans and stricter phone policies to help raise third-grade reading proficiency.
Governor Spencer Cox told an audience of educators and policymakers that recent research and the rise of social media prompted a renewed push on reading. "It's 97 to 99 percent of kids, given the right interventions, can actually learn to read," Cox said, arguing the state must choose to invest resources to reach them.
Cox and other panelists pointed to SB 127 (passed in 2022) as the policy framework that is now being implemented. He said the governor's office is working with legislators on a second phase of efforts to accelerate results: expanding training, adding paraprofessionals, adopting individual reading plans for students who fall behind and considering policies such as third-grade retention "done with dignity." "We need more paraprofessionals in our classrooms," Cox said. "We need those interventions earlier."
U.S. Department of Education Assistant Secretary Kristen Basler, who joined the panel, emphasized that passing laws is only the first step. "Policy is the first step. The implementation and the support to actually achieve that change in adult behavior is the real struggle," Basler said. She urged states to fund teacher professional development in the "science of reading," adopt approved curricular materials and build regional coaching supports.
Both speakers flagged the role of phones and social media in eroding attention. Cox said Utah has been among the first states to confront the problem and previewed state announcements about phone policies. "It's a phone problem...we cannot compete," he said, and urged legislation and media campaigns to shift adult behavior as part of a broader community effort.
What happens next: Cox said his administration will press the legislature this year for resources that support implementation of SB 127 and to pilot or expand additional policies to reduce distractions and increase volunteer and paraprofessional support in classrooms.
