For several years, Oklahoma’s reading outcomes have been among the lowest in the nation. That prompted state lawmakers to overhaul literacy efforts in public schools during the 2026 legislative session, and those efforts are now fueling an increase in the number of teachers trained in scientifically valid reading instruction.

Senate Bill 1778, by state Sen. Adam Pugh and House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, strengthened the state’s Strong Readers Act, giving teachers additional training and support and directing more resources to help students learn to read.

The legislation’s best-known provision required third-grade students to score above the “below basic” level on the statewide reading test to be promoted to the fourth grade.

In effect, the law requires that students read at least on a second-grade level before beginning the fourth grade, or else they must repeat the third grade.

However, the new law also directs extra resources to struggling readers in the first and second grade and increases the number of regional literacy coaches employed by the Oklahoma State Department of Education who assist districts with the greatest challenges.

Under the new law, every school district is required to employ a reading specialist or a staff member with an early literacy microcredential. The Office of Educational Quality and Accountability has oversight of those academies, and the law provided a stipend of up to $3,000 for those attending. 

Over the summer, the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability partnered with seven universities across Oklahoma to train 22 cohorts of 30 teachers. Overall, 449 teachers participated, and 93 percent completed the microcredential training.

The partnering universities were East Central University, Langston University, Northeastern State University, Oklahoma Baptist University, Oklahoma State University, Oral Roberts University, and the University of Oklahoma. 

Michelle Seybolt, executive director of the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability, said the summer’s training sessions provide a good foundation for educational improvement at schools across Oklahoma.

“The Early Literacy Teacher Academies were very successful,” Seybolt said. “Our university partners did an outstanding job providing high-quality, practical training grounded in the science of reading. We saw a 93 percent completion rate, with teachers representing 71 counties and 247 school districts. Most importantly, teachers left with strategies and tools they can use immediately in their classrooms to help Oklahoma students become stronger readers.”

SB 1778 is modeled, in part, after Mississippi’s Literacy-Based Promotion Act (LBPA), which was first approved in 2013. Since the implementation of the LBPA, Mississippi has climbed from 49th to ninth for fourth-grade reading, as measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

While Oklahoma students performed near the national average in reading in 2015, outcomes have plummeted since then. Today, Oklahoma students trail their counterparts in peer states by more than a full grade level. NAEP tests show that only 23 percent of Oklahoma fourth-grade students scored at or above proficient in 2024. Only two states did worse on NAEP’s fourth-grade reading test.

Oklahoma’s reading outcomes declined even as school revenue surged by more than 50 percent on a per-pupil basis in recent years.