Over the past five years, 42 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws or adopted policies requiring schools to teach reading using evidence-based, Science of Reading-aligned methods. That’s a remarkable shift considering that just a decade ago, balanced literacy and three-cueing dominated most classrooms. The momentum is real, the laws vary widely, and parents who understand what their state actually requires have a much stronger position when advocating for their child’s reading instruction.
What Triggered the Wave of Legislation
The catalyst was data. The 2024 Nation’s Report Card revealed that 40% of fourth graders and 33% of eighth graders scored below the basic reading level, the highest percentages in decades. No state improved in fourth or eighth-grade reading in 2024. Eight states posted worse scores than they had a year or two prior. That kind of headline forces political action, and over 20 states passed new Science of Reading laws in 2023 and 2024 alone.
The other catalyst was Mississippi. After the state passed its Literacy-Based Promotion Act in 2013 and paired it with mandatory teacher training, Mississippi went from 49th in the country in fourth-grade reading to ninth by 2024. Fourth-grade reading proficiency rose 11 percentage points while the national average dropped four points over the same period. A2024 study published in the Economics of Education Review estimated that students who received the full intervention from kindergarten through third grade gained roughly a year of academic progress in reading. That outcome gave every other state a working model and a political case.
What These Laws Actually Require
The Science of Reading legislation isn’t a single template. State laws generally fall into four buckets:
- Curriculum requirements
- Teacher training mandates
- Universal screening requirements
- Intervention requirements (sometimes including third-grade retention)
A useful tracker from Education Week breaks down what’s in each state’s legislation. The strongest laws include all four components plus accountability mechanisms. Weaker versions encourage evidence-based practices without requiring them, which gives districts permission to keep doing what they were doing.
States Leading the Way
Mississippi remains the gold standard. The 2013 Literacy-Based Promotion Act paired evidence-based instruction with extensive teacher training, literacy coaches in every district, universal screening, and a third-grade retention policy. The state spends roughly $15 million annually on the program, about $32 per student, with 60% of that budget going to coaching and intervention staff.
Tennessee followed a similar playbook and now offers literacy coaching, district networks, and one of the strongest teacher professional development programs in the country. Texas requires elementary teachers to complete a reading academy or demonstrate proficiency in the Science of Reading methods. North Carolina has required all elementary teachers to complete LETRS training.
Indiana passed a 2024 law requiring elementary teachers to earn a literacy endorsement through 80 hours of training and a written exam by June 2025, plus universal K-8 screening and parent notification. The training mandate drew pushback from teachers who argued the load was burdensome.
Florida was actually first to this game. The state passed early literacy reform with retention in 2002, and over the following decade, NAEP fourth-grade reading scores gained the equivalent of one and a half grade levels.
States Recently Strengthening Their Approach
Alabama’s State Board of Education adopted an administrative code that officially banned the three-cueing method and aligned teacher preparation programs to the science of reading. Alabama also added $10 million in its 2025 budget to extend literacy support into grades four through eight.
New Jersey passed legislation requiring twice-yearly literacy screenings for K-3 students starting in the 2025-2026 school year, with parents notified of results within 30 days. Virginia expanded its early literacy policy in 2025 from K-3 through grade 8, adding interventionists, coaches, and professional development for upper elementary and middle school teachers.
Massachusetts moved fast. The state Senate passed S.2924 on January 29, 2026, in a 38-0 vote, following House passage of a similar version in October 2025. The bill creates statewide standards for early literacy education, requires twice-yearly assessments for K-3 students, mandates parent notification within 30 days when a student falls significantly behind, and establishes a $25 million Early Literacy Fund. The bill is in the Conference Committee and expected to reach Governor Maura Healey’s desk shortly.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul allocated $10 million to train 20,000 teachers in the Science of Reading and required district curriculum reviews. Ohio’s biennial budget included $86 million for educator professional development, $64 million for curriculum, and $18 million for literacy coaches.
California: The Biggest Recent Win
California is worth its own section. As the largest state in the country, with 2.6 million elementary-age students, California spent decades resisting the Science of Reading mandates. The state popularized the whole language approach in the 1980s and watched reading scores stagnate for a generation. In October 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1454 into law, capping a five-year campaign.
AB 1454 requires the state to provide training for elementary teachers in evidence-based reading instruction, requires the State Board of Education to adopt a list of approved instructional materials for grades one through eight, and updates teacher preparation standards. Newsom committed $480 million in the 2025-26 budget to support implementation, including $200 million for teacher training.
The catch: California’s version is significantly less prescriptive than Mississippi’s or Indiana’s. Districts can opt out of the state-approved materials list if they self-certify that their materials align with evidence-based methods. Researchers at Stanford and USC are conducting a five-year study to measure actual implementation.
Federal Action on the Horizon
In March 2026, the Science of Reading Act of 2026 (H.R. 7890), sponsored by Representative John Mannion of New York, passed out of the House Education and Workforce Committee with bipartisan support. The bill would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to require that federal Comprehensive Literacy State Development grants align with the Science of Reading and would limit federal funding for the three-cueing model.
Where the Laws Fall Short
Strong legislation on paper doesn’t always equal strong implementation. Illinois passed a state literacy plan in 2023, but the plan is only guidance, meaning districts aren’t required to adopt evidence-based instruction. Today, only three in ten Illinois third and fourth-graders read at grade level.
Michigan repealed the retention provision of its third-grade reading law in 2023, just as Mississippi’s data was proving the policy effective. Predictably, Michigan trails Mississippi by significant margins in fourth-grade reading.
Oklahoma is moving in the opposite direction. In April 2026, the state House passed Senate Bill 1778 in an 87-5 vote, adopting a Mississippi-style third-grade retention policy along with $5 million for teacher academies and $5 million to expand the state’s literacy coach program.
What This Means for Parents
If you’re trying to figure out whether your child’s school is using evidence-based reading instruction, the first step is to find out what your state actually requires. The Council of Chief State School Officers maintains an implementation scan, and the Reading League’s state-by-state Compass tool offers detailed summaries of legislation in each state.
Then ask your child’s school three questions.
- What curriculum is being used to teach foundational reading skills, and is it on your state’s approved list if one exists?
- What training have classroom teachers received in the science of reading, and how recently?
- How does the school screen for reading difficulties, and what interventions happen when a student falls behind?
If the answers are vague or evasive, that’s information. State law may be on your side even if local implementation hasn’t caught up.
The Movement Isn’t Slowing Down
More states are passing Science of Reading legislation every year, existing laws are getting stronger as implementation gaps become visible, and federal legislation is now in motion. The reading wars are not entirely over, particularly around how laws should handle English learners and how prescriptive mandates should be, but the policy environment increasingly supports what the research has said for decades: kids need explicit, systematic phonics instruction delivered by trained teachers.
For more on what evidence-based reading instruction should look like in your child’s classroom, and how to advocate effectively when it isn’t, visit Phonics.org for trusted resources from literacy experts.
