Michigan Lawmakers Push to Require Science of Reading Training for K-5 Teachers

Michigan Lawmakers Push to Require Science of Reading Training for K-5 Teachers

Lansing — Michigan lawmakers are introducing legislation that would make science of reading training mandatory for K-5 teachers and require that teacher preparation programs include reading instruction training for would-be educators.

The legislative action comes as Governor Gretchen Whitmer has made addressing literacy a priority for 2026, her final year in office. During her State of the State address last month, Whitmer detailed steps already underway to improve literacy and recommended investments in high-impact literacy tutoring, high-quality curriculum, literacy training for teachers, and hiring of literacy coaches.

The problem remains severe. Just 38.9 percent of third graders were proficient on the English language arts portion of the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress last year, which was the lowest performance of third graders in the exam's 11-year history. On the national front, just 24 percent of Michigan fourth graders were proficient in 2024 on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, an exam known as the nation's report card. That compares to 30 percent being proficient nationally.

Michigan students' performance has been stagnant and declining even as other states that have invested heavily in early literacy have improved. Michigan now ranks 44th in the nation for fourth-grade reading on the NAEP.

This is not the first time Michigan lawmakers have taken aim at the state's challenges with literacy. In 2016, fueled by similarly troubling test results in reading, lawmakers passed a Read by Grade 3 law that required early intervention, the hiring of literacy coaches, and the retention of third graders struggling to read. The retention rule has since been rescinded.

Ten years since that broad effort, Michigan's student literacy problem continues. Now, new bills are moving through the Legislature to address the crisis.

House Bill 5697 would require that by the 2031-32 school year, all K-5 educators who provide, support, or oversee instruction, including in literacy, must have been trained in the science of reading, which refers to a body of knowledge that emphasizes phonics along with building vocabulary and background knowledge. The bill does not specify a specific training program, but a legislative analysis by the House Fiscal Agency says the current training being encouraged for Michigan teachers Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling, or LETRS, meets the requirements of the legislation.

House Bill 5646 would require that, beginning Sept. 30, 2027, an individual seeking a teaching certificate in Michigan must have completed a teacher preparation program that included training in the science of reading.

House Bill 5520 would bring back the third-grade retention policy Michigan previously had in place. The bill would require struggling third graders, who would be identified based on their state test scores, repeat the grade. There would be some good cause exemptions, such as for students with disabilities whose educational plan team leader exempts them from the requirement.

Michigan's previous third-grade retention law, which went into effect during the 2020-21 school year, was rescinded in 2023 when Democrats controlled the legislature and the governor's office. They argued the law was punitive and was not working.

During a Wednesday hearing of the House Education and Workforce committee, Rep. Nancy DeBoer, a Republican from Holland who chairs the committee, said reading gives children the independence to pick up a book and go anywhere.

Unless you're in the state of Michigan and you're three-quarters of the students in eighth grade who can't read or do math in a competent manner, she said. That is a tragedy we are responsible for.

DeBoer introduced the bipartisan bill that would make training in the science of reading a requirement for K-5 teachers. The state has funded LETRS training, but thus far has not made it a requirement.

In September, the State Board of Education urged that it become a mandate for all K-5 teachers, saying the lack of one has led to inconsistent participation of Michigan educators and inconsistent access to instruction based on the science of reading for Michigan's students.

The science of reading also figures prominently in a bipartisan bill introduced by Rep. Tim Kelly, a Republican from Saginaw Township. He described the bill as a long overdue rescue mission for the next generation of Michigan's workers, citizens, and leaders.

Kelly said Wednesday that teacher preparation programs that do not equip teachers with the tools needed to teach children to read have forfeited their right to operate in Michigan. We must stop subsidizing failure, he said.

The bills are expected to face consideration in the Michigan Senate during the remainder of the 2026 legislative session.

Sources

• https://www.chalkbeat.org/detroit/2026/03/18/michigan-lawmakers-push-science-of-reading-training/
• https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/michigan-lawmakers-aim-fixing-state-143000346.html
• https://bridgemi.com/talent-education/michigan-lawmakers-push-reading-training-for-future-teachers-to-improve-scores/
• https://www.cadillacnews.com/news/the-science-of-reading/article_040634f4-4cc6-488f-8724-8dd3232bc1b1.html
• https://www.michiganpublic.org/politics-government/2026-03-12/michigan-considering-requiring-literacy-training-for-elementary-school-teachers