Evidence-based literacy bill green-lit by House committee February 4, 2026 Rep. James Tipton, R-Taylorsville, explains why Kentucky needs to end the three-cuing system teaching model of reading in schools through House Bill 253. The discussion was part of Wednesday’s House Primary and Seconda ry Education meeting. A high-resolution photo can be found here. FRANKFORT — Literacy curriculum similar to the “Mississippi Miracle” may be coming to elementary school classrooms across Kentucky by 2029. Rep. James Tipton, R-Taylorsville, and Rep. Tina Bojanowski, D-Louisville, are the primary co-sponsors of House Bill 253. Tipton presented the legislation to the House Primary and Secondary Education Committee on Wednesday. Tipton said Mississippi implemented new literacy curriculum in 2013 that has transformed the state’s literacy rates. Other states inspired by Mississippi’s success have begun to implement similar curriculum. Under HB 253, the three-cuing system teaching model for reading would be banned in Kentucky public schools by the 2029-30 school year. “We have seen research recently that shows that it is not nearly as productive as the Science of Reading’s five essential components of reading: phonetic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension,” Tipton said. “In fact, there is a detriment to using the three-cuing method.” Under the three-cuing method, students memorize what words look like instead of developing the ability to understand letter sounds and decode language, Tipton said. “If you teach a student to memorize what 10 words look like, they will know 10 words,” Tipton said. “But if you teach them 10 sounds through phonetics, they will be able to speak thousands of words.” In 2022, the general assembly passed Read to Succeed Act. Since then, 7,000 teachers have completed the KY LETRS program through the Kentucky Department of Education, which is a two-year intensive training initiative for Kentucky teachers on the Science of Reading, Tipton said. Under HB 253, the department would offer several training programs on the Science of Reading, including LETRS. One program would be about 50 hours, Micki Marinelli, chief academic officer for the department, said. An earlier version of HB 253 called for an immediate ban on the three-cuing system. Rep. Josh Calloway, R-Irvington, asked Tipton why the bill now delays the implementation to 2029. “The concern was if we just stopped cold turkey immediately, that a lot of teachers have had no training at all in the Science of Reading,” Tipton said, while adding that 19,000 more teachers need to complete LETRS training. Marinelli told Calloway the department hopes that as more teachers complete Science of Reading training, they will see the curriculum is an evidence-based approach and in the best interest of the students. Rep. Adrielle Camuel, D-Lexington, told Tipton and Marinelli she’s been talking to teachers and reading specialists in her districts who use structured literacy programs that include the three-cuing system. Camuel asked what enforcement of a ban on the curriculum would look like. “If it’s prohibited from being utilized, what does enforcement look like? Are you going to put a whole prohibition on teachers using the tools that they know help students?” Camuel asked. Tipton said the legislation would require KDE to counsel school districts who are not in compliance with the law. Marinelli said enforcement of the three-cuing ban would not be about punishment. “It would be about support,” she said. “Everything that we’re doing around Read to Succeed is about making an investment in educators for the benefit of students, and so we would want to be in conversation with them.” The House Primary and Secondary Education Committee voted unanimously to advance HB 253 to the House floor. Camuel was the lone pass vote. “I have a lot of reservations,” she said while explaining her vote, adding she has concerns about prohibiting tools that have shown success with certain students. Bojanowski, who serves as the ranking minority member on the committee, said she’s completed the LETRS training and has seen firsthand with her own students how the three-cuing system is not beneficial. She said having students guess the words is not helping her students become stronger readers. “I support this bill,” Bojanowski said. The post Evidence-based literacy bill green-lit by House committee appeared first on The Lexington Times. ...read more read less