Legislature Needs to Increase Funding for High-Quality Early Literacy Materials

Michigan Children Would Benefit from Added Support

LANSING – The strong response to the opportunity for Michigan school districts to apply for grants for high-quality early literacy materials demonstrates the importance of legislative approval of additional funding for that purpose.

As of Thursday, 215 districts had applied for grants to pay for recommended high-quality, early literacy materials, tools and professional development during the first three-plus weeks that the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) had accepted applications.

“It’s exciting to see so many school districts have already applied for grants that will make a huge difference in the literacy achievement of Michigan children,” said State Superintendent Dr. Michael F. Rice. “I encourage the legislature to provide further financial support for improving early literacy instruction, a priority of MDE, the State Board of Education, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and a bipartisan coalition of legislators.”

MDE is asking the legislature to double funding for early literacy materials in fiscal year 2026 from $87 million to $174 million so districts are incentivized to begin work on Michigan’s major new literacy/dyslexia law a year early. Budget negotiations are ongoing. MDE has expressed concerns about the State House budget, which would include no funding dedicated specifically to further early literacy improvements.

The existing early literacy grant is funded through Section 35m of the state School Aid Act for fiscal year 2025. The legislature provided $87 million to form a Committee for Literacy Achievement made up of experts to recommend tools and strategies to improve student literacy and award funds to districts.

Evaluations by the committee resulted in three rankings lists—Tier 1 Early Literacy Materials and Series, Early Literacy Intervention Materials and Series, and Professional Development. The lists are based on a request for submission process that included a demonstrated history of increasing student outcomes. MDE will award grant dollars to districts and intermediate school districts based on their use of highly rated literacy instruction tools.

Districts may apply for funding for one literacy item from one of the rankings lists. Lists are published on the Section 35m Committee for Literacy Achievement/HQ Literacy Materials Grant webpage.

A second grant that also opened on June 2 is funded through Section 35n of the state School Aid Act for fiscal year 2025. It provides $10 million to MDE to administer the competitive Reading Excellence and Advancing District (READ) Innovation Grant. Winning districts will receive incentive money for literacy innovations that generate the greatest impact. As of Thursday, MDE had received 16 applications.

The application deadline for both grants is July 11, 2025.

Last October, the Michigan Legislature passed with strong bipartisan majorities and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed two historic and long-awaited laws to strengthen the effectiveness of literacy instruction and intervention for Michigan students. The new laws require strengthened pre-service and in-service training to educators to learn or enhance skills needed to identify students with characteristics of dyslexia. Among other efforts, these new laws also require use of high-quality literacy materials, screening of children for characteristics of dyslexia, and intervention when characteristics of dyslexia are found.

Other MDE legislative and budget priorities to improve early literacy include:

• Lowering class sizes in high-poverty grade K-3 classrooms, which research shows is associated with improved academic outcomes.
• Requiring mandatory training in Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) on the science of reading for teachers and administrators in grades K-5, as well as all literacy coaches. As of earlier this month, 4,560 Michigan educators had completed the training and more than 7,000 were participating in the professional development, but it’s important for more educators to participate.
• Rolling back changes that the legislature made in recent years to permit fewer days of instruction and in-person instruction. State law requires 180 days of instruction per school year, but many students experience fewer days of in-person instruction, and students can have as few as 149 in-person instructional days per state law based on changes that the state legislature made in 2019 and 2023.

# # #