'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 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 slog