Governor Tony Evers Official Portrait
Wisconsin’s governor has signed a groundbreaking new law aimed at transforming how children are taught to read in the state.
The plan, signed Wednesday, prioritizes a return to phonics-based teaching methods in Wisconsin schools and places significant emphasis on ensuring that children can read at grade level before reaching the fourth grade.
The original provision of the law, which would have held back students until they achieved fourth-grade reading proficiency, was not included in the final version.
Instead, the law now requires children to participate in summer reading classes and pass a newly designed reading test to demonstrate their reading abilities.
According to the governor, this new law draws inspiration from successful reading education reforms implemented in other states.
Republican State Representative Joel Kitchens, who authored the law, considers this reading overhaul to be one of the most significant accomplishments by lawmakers throughout the year.
However, not all parties are in favor of the state’s new reading law.
The Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), the state’s largest teachers union, expressed discontent and criticized the law.
WEAC’s Peggy Wirtz-Olsen stated that the law was the result of “backroom deals” with politicians and did not involve collaboration with teachers across the state.
The focus of the new law will be on implementing effective phonics-based teaching approaches to ensure that students acquire strong reading skills and reach grade-level proficiency by the time they enter fourth grade.
The authorities believe that this strategic shift in reading education will pave the way for improved literacy rates among Wisconsin’s children.
