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- 2025
69th Legislature 2025 HB0262.2
- 1 - Authorized Print Version – HB 262
1 HOUSE BILL NO. 262
2 INTRODUCED BY L. REKSTEN, M. NIKOLAKAKOS, L. BENNETT, E. TILLEMAN, D. BEDEY, M.
3 BERTOGLIO, L. JONES, C. KEOGH, M. ROMANO
4
5 A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: “AN ACT ESTABLISHING STATE POLICY ON READING INSTRUCTION;
6 REQUIRING THAT EARLY LITERACY INSTRUCTION BE EVIDENCE-BASED AND INCLUDE
7 SCIENTIFICALLY SUPPORTED COMPONENTS; DISALLOWING INEFFECTIVE APPROACHES TO
8 READING INSTRUCTION; PROVIDING A DEFINITION; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.”
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10 WHEREAS, THERE IS A GROWING CONVERGENCE OF EVIDENCE REGARDING THE SCIENCE OF READING; AND
11 WHEREAS, THE SCIENCE OF READING IS GROUNDED IN RIGOROUS RESEARCH THAT ENCOMPASSES COGNITIVE
12PSYCHOLOGY, NEUROSCIENCE, AND EDUCATION; AND
13 WHEREAS, EFFECTIVE READING INSTRUCTION INVOLVES PHONEMIC AWARENESS, PHONICS, VOCABULARY,
14FLUENCY, AND COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES, ALL OF WHICH ARE ESSENTIAL FOR LITERACY DEVELOPMENT; AND
15 WHEREAS, SYSTEMATIC PHONICS INSTRUCTION IS CRITICAL FOR TEACHING CHILDREN HOW TO DECODE
16WORDS AND UNDERSTAND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LETTERS AND SOUNDS; AND
17 WHEREAS, SUCCESSFUL COMPREHENSION STEMS FROM THE ABILITY TO INTEGRATE BACKGROUND
18KNOWLEDGE WITH THE TEXT, NECESSITATING STRATEGIES THAT BUILD THIS CONNECTION; AND
19 WHEREAS, STUDIES SHOW THAT IMPLEMENTING SCIENCE-BASED READING INSTRUCTION SIGNIFICANTLY
20IMPROVES LITERACY RATES AMONG ALL STUDENTS, ESPECIALLY THOSE AT RISK FOR READING DIFFICULTIES; AND
21 WHEREAS, EDUCATORS MUST BE EQUIPPED WITH KNOWLEDGE OF THE SCIENCE OF READING TO EFFECTIVELY
22TEACH THESE FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS AND SUPPORT DIVERSE LEARNERS; AND
23 WHEREAS, EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT ACCESS TO QUALITY READING INSTRUCTION BASED ON THE SCIENCE
24OF READING CAN REDUCE ACHIEVEMENT GAPS AMONG STUDENTS FROM VARIOUS BACKGROUNDS; AND
25 WHEREAS, THE STATE HAS BEEN AUTHORIZED TO DEFINE THE BASIC SYSTEM OF FREE QUALITY SCHOOLS
26UNDER ARTICLE X OF THE MONTANA CONSTITUTION; AND
27 WHEREAS, THE LEGISLATURE WISHES TO EXPRESS ITS INTENT AS A FULL PARTNER WITH THE BOARD OF
28 PUBLIC EDUCATION AND ELECTED SCHOOL BOARDS IN ENSURING A BASIC SYSTEM OF FREE QUALITY SCHOOLS AND
- 2025
69th Legislature 2025 HB0262.2
- 2 - Authorized Print Version – HB 262
1BELIEVES THAT PROFICIENT READING SKILLS ARE LINKED TO BETTER ACADEMIC OUTCOMES, ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES,
2AND OVERALL SOCIETAL ENGAGEMENT THROUGHOUT AN INDIVIDUAL’S LIFE.
3
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
5
6 NEW SECTION. Section 1. Early literacy instruction -- policy -- instructional requirements. (1)
7 Affirming that reading and language skills are generally the foundation on which a person's educational
8 potential is developed, the legislature declares that it is the policy of this state that reading instruction is based
9 on literacy strategies that are scientifically researched.
10 (2) Textbooks, THE DEVELOPMENT OF ACCREDITATION STANDARDS BY THE BOARD OF PUBLIC
11EDUCATION, THE ADOPTION OF POLICY BY SCHOOL DISTRICTS, AND THE LOCAL PROCESS OF CURRICULUM
12DEVELOPMENT, INCLUDING THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS AND instructional materials, and THE DEVELOPMENT OF
13 teaching methods for reading instruction in the public schools of this state, may not include instruction related to
14 strategies or approaches that teach students to read based on meaning drawn from context, structure, syntax,
15 visual cues and pictures, or memory, including the instructional model commonly known as the three-cueing
16 system MUST MEET OR EXCEED THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS OF SUBSECTION (3).
17 (3) Early literacy instruction in the public schools of this state must AT A MINIMUM:
18 (a) be evidence-based AND SUPPORTED BY RESEARCH;
19 (b) follow a scope and sequence;
20 (c) be direct, systematic, explicit, and responsive; and
21 (d) include all of the following:
22 (i) phonics, including decoding and encoding and instruction in writing;
23 (ii) phonemic awareness and phonological awareness;
24 (iii) fluency, including oral language development;
25 (iv) vocabulary; and
26 (v) comprehension, including building background knowledge.
27 (4) As used in this section, "evidence-based" means demonstrating a rationale based on high-
28 quality research findings or positive evaluation that the activity, strategy, or intervention is likely to improve
- 2025
69th Legislature 2025 HB0262.2
- 3 - Authorized Print Version – HB 262
1 student outcomes or other relevant outcomes and includes ongoing efforts to examine the effects of the activity,
2 strategy, or intervention.
3
4 NEW SECTION. Section 2. Codification instruction. [Section 1] is intended to be codified as an
5 integral part of Title 20, chapter 7, part 1, and the provisions of Title 20, chapter 7, part 1, apply to [section 1].
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7 NEW SECTION. Section 3. Effective date. [This act] is effective July 1, 2025.
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