On The Record Utah
Menu

Bills / S.B. 241

S.B. 241 Early Literacy

Became lawWritten by Sen. Ann Millner · carried in the House by Rep. Karen M. Peterson

  1. Introduced
  2. Senate committee
  3. Senate vote
  4. House committee
  5. House vote
  6. Signed into law

What this bill does

The bill would require Utah schools to screen kindergarten through third-grade students for reading skills and create individual reading plans for students who fall below benchmark, with parent involvement. It would also expand teacher and paraprofessional training and paraprofessional tutoring, and require third-grade students not reading at grade level to be held back, with good-cause exemptions, beginning in 2030.

Plain-English summary written by AI from the sponsor’s presentation in committee and on the floor. Check the official text below.

Official description
  • defines terms
  • establishes a third-grade level reading goal for 2030
  • requires a local education agency (LEA) to, based on the student's performance on a benchmark reading assessment, provide a student with an individualized reading plan that identifies specific reading interventions to remediate a reading deficiency, including considering retention in lower grades and requiring retention in grade 3 except in cases of certain good cause exemptions
  • requires regional education service agencies and certain school districts to provide formal professional learning and information training in the science of reading
  • dedicates a certain amount of funding to provide literacy training and paraprofessionals who support literacy
  • requires certain school performance monitoring
  • excludes the practice of "three-cueing" from an LEA's reading curriculum
  • requires the State Board of Education (state board) to distribute funding to regional education service agencies and certain school districts for literacy coaching and training
  • requires the Utah Board of Higher Education to partner with the state board in certain duties regarding teacher preparation programs
  • requires the use of a certain portion of a school's allocation under the Teacher and Student Success Program on literacy interventions if the school's third grade students score below the statewide benchmark goal
  • includes science of reading and literacy as components of an elementary educator evaluation
  • requires the Center for the School of the Future at Utah State University, in collaboration with the Utah Board of Higher Education, to develop a plan to improve science of reading knowledge and ability in teacher graduates from a state institution of higher education
  • makes technical and conforming changes
Full text and history on le.utah.gov →
Embed this on your site

Paste this code into a news story, blog, or newsletter page. It updates automatically. Change “county=Weber” to any Utah county to show how that county's legislators voted, or remove it.

What it costs you

From the bill's latest official fiscal note, counting the state's tax funds (General, Income Tax, Education, Uniform School, and Transportation) in the first full budget year after the session. Some bills take effect partway through that year, so later years can be larger; the note shows each year. Household count: U.S. Census Bureau. An average is a starting point, not your bill.

Your legislators on this bill

Enter your address to see what your own representative and senator did on this bill.

Quotes come from the official recordings' automatic captions, which can mishear words. Speakers and summaries are identified by AI and can be wrong. Use the ▶ links to check the recording.

Take action

This bill's session is over, but your legislators still want to hear from you. Ideas that died often come back next year.

Enter your address to get your legislators' contact information and a ready-to-send message about this bill.

Every vote

Hearings and debates