HB388 Alabama 2019 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Terri CollinsRepresentative

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2019

Title

Education, K-3 grades, Alabama Literacy Act, established, steps to improve reading proficiency

Summary

HB 388 creates the Alabama Literacy Act to ensure all public school students in kindergarten through third grade read at or above grade level by the end of third grade through screening, targeted interventions, and coordinated supports.

What This Bill Does

It sets up the Alabama Reading Initiative with regional and local literacy specialists to screen students, assess reading skills, and provide targeted instruction. It requires districts to offer a comprehensive core reading program based on the science of reading, plus explicit, systematic interventions for students who fall behind, including dyslexia-specific supports. It creates summer reading camps and an Alabama Summer Achievement Program to address reading deficiencies and boost progress. Starting in 2021-22, third-graders must demonstrate sufficient reading skills to move to fourth grade through approved assessments, an alternative assessment, or a portfolio, with exemptions and processes to limit retention.

Who It Affects

• K-3 public school students who will be screened, receive interventions, and face promotion requirements based on reading proficiency.
• Educators and local education agencies, including teachers, reading specialists, and administrators, who implement reading instruction, run interventions, administer assessments, and communicate with families.

Key Provisions

• Establishes the Alabama Literacy Act and the Alabama Reading Initiative to monitor and improve reading proficiency in K-3.
• Convenes a task force to recommend core reading programs, teacher development for science-based reading, and approved assessments for screening, diagnostic testing, and progress monitoring.
• Provides funding for local reading specialists, regional literacy specialists, summer programs, and teacher professional learning related to reading.
• Creates regional and local literacy specialists with specified qualifications to coach teachers and monitor student reading progress.
• Requires a comprehensive core reading program based on the science of reading and mandates instructional time for K-3 curricula.
• Identifies and intervenes for students with reading deficiencies or dyslexia through reading improvement plans and differentiated instruction, with parental notification and home strategies.
• Requires summer reading camps and the Alabama Summer Achievement Program to address deficiencies and measure progress with state-approved assessments.
• Implements third-grade promotion rules beginning in 2021-2022, offering three options to demonstrate reading proficiency and allowing good-cause exemptions to limit retention.
• Mandates annual reporting by districts on reading deficiency, dyslexia identification, progress, interventions, retention, and teacher training, with a standardized format.
• Creates a dyslexia therapist endorsement, expands teacher preparation and licensure requirements related to reading and dyslexia, and supports ongoing professional development in the science of reading.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Education