Image Credit: Gov. Bill Lee / Facebook & Canva
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
Legislation that mandates that student reading levels be included with report cards has passed and is awaiting action by Governor Bill Lee.
The adopted amendment to the bill revises state law and requires that local boards of education and the governing bodies of public charter schools develop and implement policies providing students in grades K-8th with their score on the universal reading screener if administered in the current school year, or the results of the dyslexia screener most recently administered to a student, if applicable.
Once the bill becomes law, either with or without the governor’s signature, it will take effect in the fall with the 2025/2026 school year.
Sponsored by two Democrat lawmakers, Senator Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis-District 29) and Representative Torrey Harris (D-Memphis-District 91), the legislation gained the support of several Republicans who signed on as co-sponsors including Senator Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma-District 16) and Representatives Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka-District 64), David Hawk (R-Greeneville-District 5), and Freshman legislator Michele Reneau (R-Signal Mountain-District 27).
Senate Bill 1423 (SB1423) passed in the Senate on April 7th, 2025, with a unanimous and bipartisan vote of 31 to 0 while the companion House Bill 1377 (HB1377) received a favorable 93 to 0 vote on the House floor on April 15th.
The impetus for the bill was due to advocacy organization Nashville PROPEL who launched a campaign last year regarding parental concerns over a lack of transparency over student reading levels.
Public school students in Tennessee go through multiple benchmark assessments throughout the years in certain grade levels which measure student comprehension, however parents are often left in the dark about their student’s proficiency in reading, seeing only a letter grade on their child’s report cards.
While the General Assembly passed legislation in 2021 to require the universal reading screener, parents have not been kept in the loop as to whether their children are actually reading on grade level.
House sponsor Harris described the legislation as addressing “a fundamental gap in how we communicate student progress to parents.”
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
