DPI Says Legislative Committee That Chose New Reading Curriculum Didn't Complete the Job

Thursday, February 22nd, 2024 -- 8:01 AM

(Corrinne Hess, Wisconsin Public Radio) A legislative committee of educators chose the new curriculum public and private schools will use to teach children how to read.

According to Corrinne Hess with Wisconsin Public Radio, the group, formed this fall, was tasked with the job following the passage of a sweeping bipartisan reading bill aimed at improving statewide test scores.

But this week, the Department of Public Instruction informed state legislators that despite months of meetings, the Early Literacy Curriculum Council did not fully complete its job. Instead, DPI is asking the Joint Committee on Finance to approve 11 early literacy curricula for kindergarten through third graders.

In a letter to the JFC this week, DPI said meetings with the literacy council were spent discussing how to rate materials instead of studying the curriculum for content. Because of this, DPI said deadlines were missed.

“As it became clear how much time was needed to review instructional materials, the council opted to rate materials based on date of submission and openly discussed not rating all submitted materials,” DPI’s letter to JFC states.“

After the Jan. 24, 2024 meeting, DPI determined statements and actions by the council’s section process had exposed the state of Wisconsin to an unacceptable level of risk that the process and ultimate recommendations could be successfully challenged,” the letter states.

The nine-member Early Literacy Curriculum Council was appointed in September by DPI, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and  Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu.

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