Kentucky lawmakers advance bill changing the way children learn to read

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A bill to change the way Kentucky children learn to read advanced through the legislature this week.

House Bill 253 would focus early literacy education on the science of reading, teaching children phonetic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension.

The bill would prohibit other teaching methods, such as "three-cueing" — which has been considered controversial — by the 2029-30 school year.

According to the Kentucky Department of Education, the three-cueing systems model includes "visual memory as the primary basis for teaching word recognition or reading based on meaning, structure and syntax and visual cues."

The new law wouldn't be fully implemented until 2029 to give teachers time to prepare.

The bill received several amendments in the Senate and was sent back to the House.

To learn more about the legislation, click here.