This commentary is by Charlene Webster of Arlington and Dorinne Dorfman of Plainfield. Charlene has taught grades 3-6, special education and structured literacy in southwestern Vermont over her 40-year career. Dorinne teaches reading to grades 5-8 at Barre Town Middle and Elementary School, and has served as principal of Leland and Gray Union High School in Townshend and Champlain Elementary School in Burlington.
Although debate about transforming Vermont’s educational system has filled our news headlines for months, we are pleased to share that a small, but mighty provision in H.480 has expanded Vermont reading law for the better, effective immediately.
With its passage, now all students in any grade level (K-12) who significantly struggle in reading can receive supplementary reading instruction. This includes both public and approved independent schools. The revised Sec. 10. 16 V.S.A. § 2903, or “foundation for literacy,” guarantees additional instruction to all students significantly below proficiency in reading or whose poor reading skills impede school progress.
In May 2024, Act 139 — an act relating to supporting Vermont’s young readers through evidence-based literacy instruction — fundamentally changed K-3 classroom instruction, intervention, assessment, and teacher training. Act 139 marks the moment Vermont abandoned unfounded instructional approaches that taught children to guess and invent instead of directly decoding and spelling the English language.
The law requires K-3 students to be assessed and receive instruction in the five components of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. Assessments must be valid and reliable, and administered following the test’s technical specifications at least once a year. In addition, the parents/guardians of students found significantly below proficient must be notified. Some schools have chosen to inform all parents/guardians of their students’ progress.
Although H.480 does not require schools to assess reading in grades 4-12, many schools do assess these grades. For students found significantly below in reading, H.480 requires schools to inform parents/guardians of the results and provide supplemental instruction in reading.
Parents/guardians are often well aware of their children’s reading deficits. Schools screening the five reading components in grades 4-12 makes the best sense, since struggling readers can have these deficits no matter what age.
Only an education professional who is highly trained in evidence-aligned reading practices, such as in an Orton-Gillingham-based program, should administer screeners and interpret student performance. Parents/guardians can request all results of reading assessments the school has conducted over the years. This is especially helpful for monitoring progress and determining if reading gaps have narrowed or grown over time.
We commend the Vermont State Legislature for a job well done on H.480, guaranteeing supplementary reading instruction in all grades for those with significant reading deficits.
Parents/guardians with concerns about their children’s progress should contact their schools for reading data, learn what supplementary reading instruction is offered, and confirm that evidence-aligned teaching and testing practices are in place. Advocacy from parents/guardians can help speed up the process, from assessing the five components of reading to starting the supplemental instruction their children need to achieve reading proficiency.
