In a notable stride towards educational reform, the Georgia Senate recently saw the passage of Senate Bill 93, a significant piece of legislation aimed at revising the way reading is taught in schools. Under this new bill, the three-cuing method—a system that focuses on meaning, structure and syntax, and visual cues to aid word identification—is set for a ban due to concerns over its effectiveness in teaching students how to read.
The bill, which is now headed to the Georgia House of Representatives for evaluation, was championed by Sen. RaShaun Kemp (D–Atlanta) and has garnered bipartisan support. According to the Senate Press Office, Kemp stated, "Three-Cuing sets our students up for failure by teaching them to guess, preventing them from learning how to read properly, and going against the science of reading." He further went on to praise the collaborative efforts of his fellow legislators, including Sen. Billy Hickman (R–Statesboro), for their assistance in moving the bill through the Senate.
Senate Bill 93 calls upon the Professional Standards Commission to revise its guidelines, ensuring that future educators are trained in evidence-based methods of literacy instruction. As a precondition for certification, teacher preparation programs throughout Georgia will have to align with reading science and employ pedagogical strategies that have been proven to teach reading effectively.
In a statement obtained by Senate Press Office, Sen. Kemp expressed his pride in being a part of the legislative effort to improve Georgia's stance on literacy, stating, "I’m proud to be one of many legislators working to make Georgia the number one state for literacy."
