Read Act provisions modified.

A bill for an act

relating to education; modifying provisions of the Read Act; amending Minnesota

Statutes 2024, section 120B.123, by adding a subdivision; Minnesota Statutes

2025 Supplement, sections 120B.12, subdivisions 1, 2, 4, 4a; 120B.123,

subdivisions 1, 5; 120B.124, subdivision 5.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2025 Supplement, section 120B.12, subdivision 1, is amended

to read:

Subdivision 1.

Literacy goal.

(a) The legislature seeks to have every child reading at

or above grade level every year, beginning in kindergarten, and to support multilingual

learners and students receiving special education services in achieving their individualized

reading goals in order to meet grade-level benchmarks. By the 2026-2027 school year,

districts must provide evidence-based reading instruction through a focus on student mastery

of the foundational reading skills of phonemic awareness, phonics, and fluency, as well as

the development of oral language, vocabulary, and reading comprehension skills. Students

must receive evidence-based instruction that is proven to effectively teach children to read,

consistent with sections
120B.118
to
120B.124
.

(b) To meet this goal, each district must provide teachers and instructional support staff

with responsibility for teaching reading
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and licensed library media specialists who select

district library materials
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with training on evidence-based reading instruction that is approved

by the Department of Education by the deadlines provided in section
120B.123, subdivision

5
.

(c) Districts are strongly encouraged to adopt a MTSS framework. The framework should

include a process for engaging families and communities, monitoring student progress,

evaluating program fidelity, and analyzing student outcomes and needs in order to design

and implement ongoing evidenced-based, culturally responsive instruction and interventions.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2025 Supplement, section 120B.12, subdivision 2, is amended

to read:

Subd. 2.

Identification; report.

(a) Each school district must screen every student

enrolled in kindergarten, grade 1, grade 2, and grade 3 using a screening tool approved by

the Department of Education three times each school year: (1) within the first six weeks of

the school year; (2) by February 15 each year; and (3) within the last six weeks of the school

year. Students enrolled in kindergarten, grade 1, grade 2, and grade 3, including multilingual

learners, students receiving special education services, and students enrolled in dual language

immersion programs, must be universally screened for mastery of foundational reading

skills, including phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, fluency, oral language, and for

characteristics of dyslexia as measured by a screening tool approved by the Department of

Education. The screening for characteristics of dyslexia may be integrated with universal

screening for mastery of foundational skills and expressive or receptive language mastery.

The screening tool used must be a valid and reliable universal screener that is highly

correlated with foundational reading skills. For students reading at grade level, beginning

in the winter of grade 2, the oral reading fluency screener may be used to assess reading

difficulties, including characteristics of dyslexia, without requiring a separate screening of

each subcomponent of foundational reading skills. A district must submit data on student

performance in kindergarten, grade 1, grade 2, and grade 3 on foundational reading skills,

including phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, fluency, and oral language to the

Department of Education in the annual local literacy plan submission due on June 15.

(b) For students enrolled in dual language immersion programs:

(1) if students are screened in the partner language, they must be screened at the same

interval as the screenings in English under paragraph (a);

(2) if the program provides instruction in foundational reading skills in English, the

students receiving that instruction must be screened in English;

(3) if the program provides instruction in foundational reading skills in the partner

language, the students receiving that instruction must be screened in the partner language;

(4) if no screener is available in the partner language, the districts must identify how

students' reading proficiency is assessed and how the districts determine and provide targeted

reading instruction in the partner language and supports to students identified as needing

additional support in developing mastery of foundational reading skills; and

(5) the partner language screening tool must be approved by the district for kindergarten

through grade 3 students.

(c) Students in grades 4 and above, including multilingual learners and students receiving

special education services, who are not reading at grade level must be screened for reading

difficulties, including characteristics of dyslexia, using a screening tool approved by the

Department of Education, and must continue to receive evidence-based instruction,

interventions, and progress monitoring until the students achieve grade-level proficiency.

A parent, in consultation with a teacher, may opt a student out of the literacy screener if the

parent and teacher decide that continuing to screen would not be beneficial to the student.

In such limited cases, the student must continue to receive progress monitoring and literacy

interventions.

(d) Reading screeners in English, and in the predominant languages of district students

where practicable, must identify and evaluate students' areas of academic need related to

literacy. The district also must monitor the progress and provide reading instruction

appropriate to the specific needs of multilingual learners. The district must use an approved,

developmentally appropriate, and culturally responsive screener and annually report summary

screener results to the commissioner by June 15 in the form and manner determined by the

commissioner.

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(e) After a student's initial screening for characteristics of dyslexia according to this

subdivision, a school district, at its discretion, may determine when to screen English

language learners who score below three on the annual ACCESS assessment for

characteristics of dyslexia.

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(e)
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(f)
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The district also must include in its local literacy plan under subdivision 4a, a

summary of the district's efforts to screen, identify, and provide interventions to students

who demonstrate characteristics of dyslexia as measured by a screening tool approved by

the Department of Education. Districts are strongly encouraged to use a MTSS framework.

With respect to students screened or identified under paragraph (a), the report must include:

(1) a summary of the district's efforts to screen for characteristics of reading difficulties,

including dyslexia;

(2) the number of students universally screened for that reporting year;

(3) the number of students demonstrating characteristics of dyslexia for that year; and

(4) an explanation of how students identified under this subdivision are provided with

alternate instruction and interventions under section
125A.56, subdivision 1
.

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2025 Supplement, section 120B.12, subdivision 4, is amended

to read:

Subd. 4.

Staff development.

(a) A district must provide training on evidence-based

structured literacy instruction to teachers and instructional staff in accordance with

subdivision 1, paragraphs (b) and (c). The training must include teaching in the areas of

phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development, reading fluency, reading

comprehension, and culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy.

(b) Each district shall use the data under subdivision 2 to identify the staff development

needs so that:

(1) elementary teachers are able to implement explicit, systematic, evidence-based

instruction in the five reading areas of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary,

and comprehension with emphasis on mastery of foundational reading skills as defined in

section
120B.119
and other literacy-related areas including writing until the student achieves

grade-level reading and writing proficiency;

(2) elementary teachers receive training to provide students with evidence-based reading

and oral language instruction that meets students' developmental, linguistic, and literacy

needs using the intervention methods or programs selected by the district for the identified

students;

(3) licensed teachers employed by the district have opportunities to improve reading

and writing instruction through approved professional development identified in the local

literacy plan;

(4) licensed teachers recognize students' diverse needs in cross-cultural settings and are

able to serve the oral language and linguistic needs of students who are multilingual learners

by maximizing strengths in their native languages in order to cultivate students' English

language development, including academic language development, and build academic

literacy;
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and
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(5) licensed teachers are trained in culturally responsive pedagogy that enables students

to master content, develop skills to access content, and build relationships
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.
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; and
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(6) licensed library media specialists employed by the district have sufficient training

to select appropriate materials to supplement classroom reading and writing instruction and

to serve the literacy needs of multilingual learners.

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(c) A district that offers early childhood programs, including voluntary prekindergarten

for eligible four-year-old children, early childhood special education, and school readiness

programs, must provide classroom teachers in early childhood programs training approved

by the Department of Education to provide children in early childhood programs with

explicit, systematic instruction in phonological and phonemic awareness; oral language,

including listening comprehension; vocabulary; and letter-sound correspondence.

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2025 Supplement, section 120B.12, subdivision 4a, is amended

to read:

Subd. 4a.

Local literacy plan.

(a) Consistent with this section, a school district must

adopt a local literacy plan to have every child reading at or above grade level every year

beginning in kindergarten and to support multilingual learners and students receiving special

education services in achieving their individualized reading goals. A district must update

and submit the plan to the commissioner by June 15 each year. The plan must be consistent

with the Read Act, and include the following:

(1) a process to assess students' foundational reading skills, oral language, and level of

reading proficiency and the approved screeners used, by school site and grade level, under

section
120B.123
;

(2) a process to notify and involve parents;

(3) a description of how schools in the district will determine the targeted reading

instruction that is
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evidence-based
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aligned
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and includes an intervention strategy for a student

and the process for intensifying or modifying the reading strategy in order to obtain

measurable reading progress;

(4)
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evidence-based
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aligned and targeted
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intervention methods for students who are not

reading at or above grade level and progress monitoring to provide information on the

effectiveness of the intervention;

(5) identification of staff development needs, including a plan to meet those needs;

(6) the curricula used by school site and grade level and, if applicable, the district plan

and timeline for adopting
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evidence-based
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aligned
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curricula and materials starting in the

2025-2026 school year;

(7) a statement of whether the district has adopted a MTSS framework;

(8) student data using the measures of foundational literacy skills and mastery identified

by the Department of Education for the following students:

(i) students in kindergarten through grade 3;

(ii) students who demonstrate characteristics of dyslexia; and

(iii) students in grades 4 to 12 who are identified as not reading at grade level;

(9) the number of teachers and other staff who have completed training approved by the

department;

(10) the number of teachers and other staff proposed for training in structured literacy;

(11) how the district used funding provided under the Read Act to implement the

requirements of the Read Act;

(12) beginning as soon as practicable after the end of fiscal year 2026, how the district

used literacy aid funding received under section
124D.98
;
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and
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(13) beginning on December 31, 2025, for a district with a dual language immersion

program:

(i) the program's partner language;

(ii) grade levels included in the program;

(iii) the language used to screen students' foundational reading skills;

(iv) the percentage of grade 3 students taking the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments;

and

(v) the number of students in the program in grades 4 to 12 who are identified as not

reading at grade level
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.
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; and
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(14) a description of how schools in the district will use the school library media center

to complement students' foundational reading skills with the guidance of a licensed library

media specialist.

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(b) Annually by June 15, the district must post its literacy plan on the official school

district website and submit it to the commissioner of education using the template developed

by the commissioner of education.

(c) Districts must use a streamlined template developed by the commissioner of education

for local literacy plans that meets the requirements of this subdivision and requires all

reading instruction and teacher training in reading instruction to be evidence-based. The

template must require a district to report information using the student categories required

in the commissioner's report under paragraph (d). The template must focus district resources

on improving students' foundational reading skills while reducing paperwork requirements

for teachers.

(d) By December 1, 2025, the commissioner of education must submit a report to the

legislative committees with jurisdiction over prekindergarten through grade 12 education

summarizing the local literacy plans submitted to the commissioner. The summary must

include the following information:

(1) the number of teachers and other staff, by grade level, who have completed training

approved by the Department of Education;

(2) the number of teachers and other staff, by grade level, required to complete the

training under section
120B.123, subdivision 5
, who have not completed the training;

(3) the number of teachers exempt under section
120B.123, subdivision 5
, from

completing training approved by the Department of Education;

(4) the statewide total number of teachers or other staff required to complete the training

under section
120B.123, subdivision 5
, that have received other training or education that

meets the requirements of the training approved by the Department of Education;

(5) by school site and grade, the approved screeners and the reading curriculum used;

(6) by school site and grade, using the measurements of foundational literacy skills and

mastery identified by the department, both aggregated data and disaggregated data on student

performance on the approved screeners using the student categories under section
120B.35,

subdivision 3
, paragraph (a), clause (2); and

(7) information about dual language immersion programs.

(e) By December 1, 2026, and December 1, 2027, the commissioner of education must

submit updated reports containing the information required under paragraph (d) and updates

and recommendations from the dual language immersion advisory committee established

under subdivision 6, to the legislative committees with jurisdiction over prekindergarten

through grade 12 education.

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2025 Supplement, section 120B.123, subdivision 1, is amended

to read:

Subdivision 1.

Approved screeners.

(a) A district must administer an approved

evidence-based reading screener to students in kindergarten through grade 3 within the first

six weeks of the school year, by February 15 each year, and again within the last six weeks

of the school year.
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A district must provide screening accommodations to students who need

accommodations.
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The screener must be one of the screening tools approved by the

Department of Education. A district must identify any screener it uses in the district's annual

literacy plan, and submit screening data with the annual literacy plan by June 15.

(b) Starting in the 2024-2025 school year, district staff and external partners offering

literacy supports in schools may only use screeners that have been approved by the

Department of Education.

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2025 Supplement, section 120B.123, subdivision 5, is amended

to read:

Subd. 5.

Professional development.

(a) A district must provide training from a menu

of approved evidence-based training programs to the following teachers and staff by July

1, 2026:

(1) reading intervention teachers working with students in kindergarten through grade

12;

(2) all classroom teachers of students in kindergarten through grade 3 and children in

prekindergarten programs;

(3) kindergarten through grade 12 special education teachers responsible for foundational

reading instruction;

(4) curriculum directors;

(5) instructional support staff, contractors, and volunteers who assist in providing reading

interventions under the oversight and monitoring of a trained licensed teacher;

(6) employees who select literacy instructional materials for a district; and

(7) teachers holding English as a second language teaching licenses.

(b) A district must provide training from a menu of approved evidence-based training

programs to the following teachers by July 1, 2027:

(1) teachers who provide foundational reading instruction to students in grades 4 to 12;

(2) teachers who provide instruction to students in a state-approved alternative program;
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and
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(3) teachers who provide instruction to students in dual language immersion programs
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.
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;

and
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(4) licensed library media specialists who select district library materials.

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(c) The commissioner of education may grant a district an extension to the deadlines in

this subdivision.

(d) Training provided by the following may satisfy the professional development

requirements under this subdivision:

(1) a certified trained facilitator; or

(2) a training program that the department has determined meets the professional

development requirements under the Read Act.

(e) Beginning July 1, 2027, an educator required to receive training under paragraph

(a), who is new to the state of Minnesota or is a newly licensed teacher who did not receive

instruction in the teaching of foundational reading skills based on structured literacy, must

complete one of the approved required trainings. Training must be offered through the

regional literacy network and facilitated by a local certified trained facilitator. The

Department of Education must review district literacy lead waiver requests and grant waivers

to educators new to the state or educators who provide reading instruction exclusively using

alternatives to sound-based approaches, and who have completed the professional

development requirements consistent with this subdivision.

(f) For the 2024-2025
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and
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,
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2025-2026
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, and 2026-2027
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school years only, the hours of

instruction requirement under section
120A.41
for students in elementary and secondary

school, as defined in section
120A.05
, subdivisions 9 and 13, is reduced by 5-1/2 hours for

a district that enters into an agreement with the exclusive representative of the teachers that

requires teachers to receive at least 5-1/2 hours of approved evidence-based training required

under this subdivision, on a day when other students in the district receive instruction. If a

charter school's teachers are not represented by an exclusive representative, the charter

school may reduce the number of instructional hours for students in elementary and secondary

school, as defined in section 120A.05, subdivisions 9 and 13, by 5-1/2 hours after consulting

with its teachers in order to provide teachers with at least 5-1/2 hours of evidence-based

training required under this subdivision on a day when other students receive instruction.

The hours of instruction reduction for secondary school students is applicable only for the

2025-2026
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and 2026-2027
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school
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year
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years
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.

Sec. 7.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 120B.123, is amended by adding a subdivision

to read:

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Subd. 8.

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Accessibility standards.

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(a) All professional development and digital curriculum

resources must comply with the accessibility standards developed according to section

16E.03, subdivision 9.

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(b) Professional development provided in accordance with the Read Act is subject to

the requirements of section 363A.43.

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Sec. 8.

Minnesota Statutes 2025 Supplement, section 120B.124, subdivision 5, is amended

to read:

Subd. 5.

Ongoing review of literacy materials.

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(a) By June 1, 2027, the department

must establish an ongoing review process in order to identify curriculum and intervention

materials that are evidence-based, focused on structural literacy, culturally and linguistically

responsive, and reflective of diverse populations.
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The department may partner with one or

more institutions of higher education
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or a third party
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to conduct independent and objective

reviews of curriculum and intervention materials. The department must determine whether

it will partner with an institution of higher education
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or a third party
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to conduct ongoing

reviews of literacy materials by June 1,
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2026
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2027
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. A publisher may submit curriculum or

intervention materials for review. The publisher is responsible for paying the cost of the

review directly to
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the
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a partnering
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institution of higher education
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or third party
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. The review

must use the
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Read Act
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rubric used to approve curriculum
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and post
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. The department may

modify the Read Act rubric to reflect the needs of grade levels and special populations,

including the Minnesota English Language Arts standards, culturally and linguistically

responsive criteria, and criteria reflective of diverse populations.
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The
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Read Act
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rubric
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must

be posted
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on the department website. The department and
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institution of higher education
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its partner
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may approve the curriculum or intervention materials if they determine that the

curriculum or intervention materials are evidence-based, focused on structured literacy,

culturally and linguistically responsive, and reflect diverse populations. The department

must add the approved curriculum or intervention materials to the list of curricula and

materials approved under the Read Act.
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Following each review cycle, the department must

post the findings of the curriculum and intervention materials review on the department

website.
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(b) The reviewed resources must be categorized as highly aligned, partially aligned,

minimally aligned, or not aligned to evidence-based structural literacy practices. For purposes

of this subdivision, the reviewed resource categories are defined as follows:

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(1) "highly aligned" means 100 percent of domains were at or above the cut point with

no significant red flags identified for the program. Curriculum and intervention materials

that are not reviewed do not meet criteria for Tier 1 interventions and must not be categorized

as highly aligned;

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(2) "partially aligned" means 60 to 99 percent of domains were at or above the cut point;

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(3) "minimally aligned" means 34 to 59 percent of domains were at or above the cut

point; and

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(4) "not aligned" means 33 percent or less of domains were at or above the cut point.

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When planning for curriculum implementation, it is a district's responsibility to verify that

curriculum and intervention materials align with evidence-based structured literacy practices.

A district must resolve any issues identified by the department in the review of materials

using the Read Act rubric and report of reviewed resources.

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(c) A district must ensure that any red flags for a program are resolved through district

enhancements to the selected program.

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(d) A program undergoing a full review cycle must be added to the reviewed curricula

and intervention program list after the review process is completed.

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(e) Resources that are categorized as highly aligned to evidence-based structural literacy

practices qualify for use of literacy aid under section 124D.98 or state funding provided

under the Read Act. Resources that are categorized as partially aligned, minimally aligned,

or not aligned to evidence-based structural literacy practices do not qualify for use of literacy

aid under section 124D.98 or state funding provided under the Read Act.

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EFFECTIVE DATE.

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This section is effective the day following final enactment.

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