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September 12, 2025
LANSING – All grades K-5 educators in Michigan should be required to complete training in the science of reading to help improve children’s early literacy skills, the State Board of Education says in a resolution approved this week.
Through the resolution, the board is asking the Michigan Legislature to mandate and fund Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading (LETRS) training for K-5 teachers. The resolution also promotes statewide family literacy initiatives to provide free books and support at-home reading and affirms that literacy is a statewide priority essential to Michigan’s educational and economic future.
“Improving early literacy achievement is a top priority for the board and one of the eight goals in Michigan’s Top 10 Strategic Education Plan,” said co-Vice President Ms. Tiffany Tilley. “We are grateful that the legislature and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have funded LETRS training, which is research-based and gives educators the skills they need to teach reading effectively to our children. More than 5,000 educators in the state have completed this rigorous training, while another 7,000 have begun the training. However, because the training is not mandated, some teachers do not have access to LETRS or decide not to take advantage of this important professional development. We need mandatory LETRS training.”
The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) and State Superintendent Dr. Michael F. Rice have advocated that the state legislature approve mandatory LETRS training for K-5 educators, along with the expansion of Section 35m funding for research-based, early literacy materials, the piloting of a low class size grant for high poverty K-3 classrooms, and more in-person time for students, consistent with statutory time requirements prior to 2019, when the state legislature made the first of two changes that diminished the amount of in-person student instructional time required in each school. Dr. Rice noted, “These four research-based strategies strategies—mandatory science of reading professional development for our K-5 educators, high-quality early literacy materials, low class sizes in high poverty K-3 classrooms, and more in-person student instructional time--would give our students and staff additional tools to improve reading achievement.”
As Michigan works to improve literacy achievement, the State Board of Education and MDE are committed to working with local and intermediate school districts to fully implement historic 2024 laws to address early literacy and dyslexia, including a literacy coaching model, a recommended list of benchmark assessments and dyslexia screeners, screening for characteristics of dyslexia and intervention when these characteristics are found in children, and lists of recommended high-quality early literacy materials.
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