Kansas taking steps toward improving literacy

Governor Laura Kelly today signed Senate Bill 438, establishing the Kansas Blueprint for Literacy, a Literacy Advisory Committee, and directing the Kansas Board of Regents to appoint a Director of Literacy Education. The Kansas Blueprint for Literacy will redesign the teaching of reading to focus on evidence-based research including phonemic awareness, phonetics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The bill prioritizes a comprehensive approach to retrain Kansas educators in the science of reading, structured literacy, and literacy screening and assessment tools.