VIDEO: Watch Senator Miller discuss the LETRS program. 

(St. Paul) – A bill was recently introduced to again affirm the Minnesota Senate’s commitment to student literacy by providing teachers the opportunity to enroll in an innovative training program that has proven to successfully improved student reading outcomes in other states – particularly for students with dyslexia.

The bill provides $1 million for grants to teachers who wish to enroll in the Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) instructional program, which provides teachers with the skills needed to master the fundamentals of reading instruction. Those fundamentals include phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, writing, and language. LETRS provides comprehensive and consistent content in flexible, online, and face-to-face delivery models to best meet schedule and staff development needs. This instructional program is entirely voluntary.

“Education should be an issue that cuts across party lines,” said Senator Jeremy Miller (R-Winona). “Minnesota has always scored highly in national measurements, but in recent years, progress in the state has stagnated. In 2019, only about 40% of Minnesota fourth-graders were reading proficiently according to National Assessment of Educational Progress scores. Implementing a training program with a proven track record like LETRS here in Minnesota will help more students learn how to read and put them in a position to have a bright future.”

LETRS has become the consensus approach to training educators on how to properly teach reading to young students. It is backed by 30 years of scientific research with over a decade of proven success. Ohio, Mississippi, and Alabama are all currently using LETRS as part of efforts to improve reading outcomes.

There are a limited number of educators in Minnesota that have received a grant through the Department of Education to participate in LETRS; the Senate’s bill expands that opportunity to significantly more teachers.