Illinois House committee approves bill for comprehensive literacy plan

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — Nearly 40% of fourth graders in Illinois read below a basic level. Now, lawmakers want the Illinois State Board of Education to create a comprehensive literacy plan.

Senate Bill 2243 would require ISBE to work with education stakeholders to develop and adopt a plan by January 31, 2024.

Advocates told the House School Curriculum & Policies Committee Wednesday that the literacy plan should help young students with phonics, writing, spelling, vocabulary, and comprehension.

"I think that we really need to get back to the basics which is reading, writing, and arithmetic," said Rep. Rita Mayfield (D-Waukegan). "So, I think the core of a school day should be focused on those three areas."

Yet, some House Republicans said they were concerned the plan could require students to read 90 minutes each day and possibly shorten time for other subjects.

"I caution anyone when we mandate additional materials that there's only so many minutes and hours in a school day," said Rep. Dan Swanson (R-Alpha). "And if we start adding more to the reading of 60 minutes and we make it 70 minutes, where do those minutes come from?"

Senate Bill 2243 passed out of the committee on a 12-1 vote. The legislation now moves to the House floor for further consideration.

"Learning content knowledge and background knowledge is a huge indicator of how well a student can comprehend when they read," said Jessica Handy, the government affairs director for Stand For Children. "If we think about reading as just being within the confines of 60 minutes a day, then we're really not doing the best by our students because all subject areas should also be teaching literacy in addition to whatever whatever content or subject matter they are."

The Senate unanimously approved this plan on March 24. Handy told the committee that she expects a floor amendment to be filed in the coming days, so the bill would need to return to the Senate for concurrence after approval from the House.