The debate over how best to teach reading to young children is hitting the legislative floor in Georgia, where Sen. RaShaun Kemp has introduced a new bill targeting the three-cueing system. This instructional method, which encourages students to use context, syntax, and picture clues to predict unknown words, is facing criticism for potentially sidelining the importance of phonetics in early education. Kemp sees this approach as flawed, suggesting it leaves too many children struggling to read, as noted by the Senate Press.
Senate Bill 93, which has caught the attention of both sides of the aisle, aims to overhaul reading instruction methods by banning the use of three-cueing in educational materials. According to Senate Press, Kemp stated, “This method, which encourages students to guess words rather than decode them, sets our kids up for failure and contradicts the principles of the science of reading.” Should the bill passed, Georgia would join 11 other states that already have put a stop to using the three-cueing system, among them Ohio – the birthplace and one-time stronghold of the method.
The senator highlighted previous legislative efforts that align with Senate Bill 93's goals, such as the “Georgia Early Literacy Act” and the establishment of the Georgia Council on Literacy. These prior bills laid the groundwork for education based on evidence and scientific understanding to improve literacy rates among children. Kemp's new bill appears to be an extension of this trajectory, a step meant to further ensure the foundation of literacy education is backed by robust, research-led methodologies. Kemp is looking to collaborate with legislators across the aisle to get the bill over the line, a sentiment that speaks to the bipartisan nature moral support for the bill's objectives.
