'Education changed my life': Cassidy introduces reading reform bill

Cassidy's proposal is aimed at improving reading outcomes for children.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., is introducing a proposal on Monday that aims to improve reading outcomes for America's youth and combat illiteracy nationwide.

The Reading Excellence and Achievement for Development -- or "READ" -- Act focuses on evidence-based reading instruction, implementation and intervention through a growing practice called the "science of reading."

Cassidy, who lost the Republican primary in Louisiana to an opponent backed by President Donald Trump two weeks ago, has spent nearly two decades on Capitol Hill championing health and education legislation. He told ABC News in an exclusive interview that education helped shape his legacy in office.

"Education changed my life," Cassidy said.

"Education is the one great thing in our society that can take somebody and transform their future," he said, adding, "Reading is the kernel within education that makes it work."

Education advocates are calling the READ Act the largest federal reading reform proposal in years. If passed, the bipartisan bill would use a combination of foundational literacy components, including phonemic awareness, fluency, language structure, vocabulary, background knowledge and literacy knowledge to teach reading, according to the bill's text.

The bill requires state grantees to craft literacy instruction plans aligned with the science of reading.

Critics warn that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to the literacy crisis. Some experts suggest reading to children -- and incorporating a balanced literacy approach -- should also be employed to help students achieve better results.

With multiple Democratic co-sponsors, including New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan and Colorado Senator John Hickenlooper, the bill is expected to make it out of Cassidy’s committee and could receive a floor vote.

The reading crisis is widespread. Only 35% of 8th-grade students were proficient in reading in 2024, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

"In the greatest country in the world, we cannot resign ourselves to the fact that many children still struggle to read at grade level and that only one in three students leave high school as proficient readers," co-sponsor Maggie Hassan, D-NH., said in a statement.

The science of reading literacy practice anchored by phonics instruction has fueled academic turnarounds throughout parts of the South, including the "Mississippi miracle" and recent gains in Cassidy's home state of Louisiana.

Kareem Weaver, a longtime literacy advocate, praised the bill.

"The READ Act moves us from slogans to systems: screen children early, tell parents the truth, use instruction that matches the evidence, prepare teachers before day one, and make the data public enough that no one can hide failure behind averages," he told ABC News in a statement.

"That's not red or blue. That's the floor we owe every child," Weaver said.

Education is 'transformational'

Cassidy is the first physician to lead the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee in the Senate. But during the 119th Congress, Cassidy has held hearings on K-12 student learning progress and his Educational Choice for Children Act was signed into law under President Donald Trump's Working Families Tax Cuts Act last summer. The liver doctor, who has long fought for healthcare initiatives, argued that education can more acutely change a child's life.

"Why don't we spend more money on education?" he said, adding, "It's important that hospitals do well, but you can spend everything on healthcare, and if you do that, then you're not educating and education is what is transformational."

Education is deeply personal to the Louisiana Republican. He said that science of reading instruction is critical to the one in five individuals living with dyslexia, including his daughter.

"There should not be a stigma of being dyslexic," the senator told ABC News. "
It is just a condition where you learn to read differently, it can be compensated for, but there are strengths associated with it, and it's just what makes you and I different," he said.

When Cassidy discusses his daughter's learning habits, the senator gets emotional. At a congressional roundtable on supporting students with dyslexia, Cassidy couldn't finish his remarks before breaking down because witnessing his daughter's struggles with a learning disorder have been "painful."

Cassidy said he is tackling this issue in support of the families who deal with the pain and frustration that comes with experiencing dyslexia.

The bill would reform the Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) Grant to help states strengthen instruction in K-12 schools by requiring them to use the federal grant funding to create literacy instruction plans and early literacy screenings. Cassidy said he is confident that it could be a solution for those living with dyslexia because the bill mandates early screening for young children.

With the correct identification, Cassidy said that a child can overcome that initial hump and instead of being a poor reader, "they can go to a regular school" and matriculate normally.

Cassidy said before he leaves the Senate next year he’s focused on promoting education issues so that children -- like his daughter -- can achieve their fullest potentials.

"If we can get this [READ Act] done, I think this can be profound," he said.

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