Chair Cassidy Outlines Solutions to Improve Child Literacy, Fix Broken K-12 Education System in New Report

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released a new report outlining ways to improve child literacy and fix the broken K-12 education system to better serve American children and families. According to the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results, reading scores among 4th and 8th graders declined 2 points from 2022, and 5 points from 2019 pre-pandemic levels. The percent of students performing “below basic” in reading is at its highest point ever for 8th grade and highest point since 2000 for 4th grade.

This report builds on Cassidy’s years-long effort to address declining child literacy in the United States.

“Teaching students how to read effectively should be the top priority of America’s K-12 education system. The challenges in achieving this points to a deeper problem: an education system that for too long has accepted a status quo that fails our children,” wrote Dr. Cassidy. “Every student is unique and has different learning needs. In medicine, we used to treat all people with cancer in the same manner with limited results. Now, we have specialized care for each type of cancer, dramatically improving patient outcomes. We need the same approach with improving literacy.”

“Improving student literacy is a crucial step in fixing our broken K-12 education system. It will be an all-hands-on-deck endeavor,” continued Dr. Cassidy. “Furthermore, parents’ rights must be protected. They must have a seat at the table and be equipped with the information necessary to ensure their child’s needs are met. Schools putting barriers between parents and their kids should not be tolerated.”

In the report, Cassidy underscores the devastating effects of illiteracy, including increasing rates of high school incompletion and incarceration. It also impacts our nation’s ability to fill STEM jobs, raising serious concerns about our global economic competitiveness, and worse, our military’s preparedness.

To address child literacy and reform the K-12 system, Cassidy proposes:

• Strengthening accountability to ensure taxpayer dollars support proven methods that effectively teach kids how to read, including through the “science of reading.”
• Moving federal education dollars from unelected Washington bureaucrats directly to families so they can access tutoring and other literacy support programs.
• Empowering parents with information about school achievement in literacy so they can choose the best education option for their children.
• Ensuring federal resources can be used towards early-detection screening for learning needs, like dyslexia, that cause students to struggle with literacy.
• Equipping teachers with the tools and strategies to best teach children in the classroom.

Read the full report here.

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