Senator Jolley Praises Decision on Reading Program Funding

State Senator Clark Jolley today praised State Superintendent Janet Barresi and members of the state Board of Education for funding reading programs throughout the state.

“Our recent reforms to end social promotion for students who can’t read after the third grade can only succeed with the appropriate level of support,” said Jolley (R-Edmond). “I appreciate the hard work that Superintendent Barresi did in making sure that reading sufficiency funding was addressed in this tight fiscal climate.”

Superintendent Barresi today recommended that the board approve an approximately $401 million school activities budget for fiscal year 2012 that includes more than $6 million for reading sufficiency programs.

Earlier this year, the Legislature passed and Governor Fallin signed Senate Bill 346, a reform to end social promotion after the third grade for children who can’t read at proficient levels.

Jolley said the reforms in SB 346 will help children succeed in their most critical learning years by focusing on early intervention, so that educators can identify problems and adopt individualized learning strategies with children in pre-K and kindergarten.

“Children make an important shift in learning after the third grade. If they aren’t prepared they fall significantly behind,” said Jolley. “Moving forward, educators will be able to identify problems and adopt individualized learning strategies with children early so they’re prepared for academic success later on.”