Reading instruction; early literacy curricula and instructional materials
Wis. Stat. § 118.015
in effect(1) Purpose and intent. It is the purpose and intent of this section to provide for a developmental reading program for pupils at all grade levels.
(1c) Definitions. In this section:
(a) “Phonics” means the study of the relationships between sounds and words; this includes alphabetic principle, decoding, orthographic knowledge, encoding, and fluency.
(b) “Science-based early reading instruction” means instruction that is systematic and explicit and consists of at least all of the following:
1. Phonological awareness, including word awareness, rhyme recognition, repetition and creation of alliteration, syllable counting or identification, onset, and rime manipulation.
2. Phonemic awareness, including phoneme identification, isolation, blending, segmentation, addition, substitution, and deletion.
3. Phonics.
4. Building background knowledge.
5. Oral language development.
6. Vocabulary building to develop lexical and morphological knowledge.
7. Instruction in writing.
8. Instruction in comprehension.
9. Reading fluency.
(c) “Three-cueing” means any model, including the model referred to as meaning, structure, and visual cues, or MSV, of teaching a pupil to read based on meaning, structure and syntax, and visual cues or memory.
(1m) Early literacy curricula and instructional materials.
(a) Beginning in the 2023-24 school year and annually thereafter, the council on early literacy curricula shall recommend to the department early literacy curricula and instructional materials for use in the following school year in grades kindergarten to 3. The council on early literacy curricula may recommend only early literacy curricula and instructional materials that satisfy the following criteria:
1. The curricula and instructional materials include all of the components of science-based early reading instruction.
2. The curricula and instructional materials do not include 3-cueing.
(b)
1. By no later than 30 days after the department receives recommendations under par. (a), the department shall submit to the joint committee on finance proposed recommendations on early literacy curricula and instructional materials that satisfy the criteria under par. (a) 1. and 2. for use in the following school year. If the cochairpersons of the joint committee on finance do not notify the department within 14 working days after the date of the submittal of the proposed recommendations that the committee has scheduled a meeting to review the proposed recommendations, the department shall adopt the proposed recommendations for use in the following school year. If, within 14 working days after the date of the submittal of the proposed recommendations, the cochairpersons of the committee notify the department that the committee has scheduled a meeting to review the proposed recommendations, the department may not adopt the proposed recommendations unless the committee approves or modifies the proposed recommendations. If the committee modifies the plan, the department may adopt the recommendations only as modified by the committee.
2. The department shall maintain on its website a current list of the early literacy curricula and instructional materials recommendations adopted under this paragraph.
(c) The department shall award grants to reimburse school boards, operators of charter schools, and governing bodies of private schools participating in a program under s. 118.60 or 119.23 that adopt a literacy curriculum from the recommendations adopted under par. (b) after January 1, 2024. A grant under this paragraph shall be an amount equal to one-half of the costs of purchasing the literacy curriculum and instructional materials adopted from the recommendations adopted under par. (b). If the amount appropriated for this purpose is insufficient to pay the full amount to all grant recipients under this paragraph, the department shall prorate the grant awards among all grant recipients.
(d) Beginning on July 21, 2023, no school board, operator of a charter school, or governing body of a private school participating in a program under s. 118.60 or 119.23 may purchase curricula or instructional materials that include 3-cueing.
(2) Employment of reading specialists. Each school district shall employ a reading specialist certified by the department to coordinate a comprehensive reading curriculum in grades kindergarten to 12. At the discretion of the state superintendent, a school district may contract with other school districts or cooperative educational service agencies to employ a certified reading specialist on a cooperative basis.
(3) Duties of reading specialist. The reading specialist shall:
(a) Implement a reading curriculum in grades kindergarten to 12.
(b) Act as a resource person to classroom teachers to implement the reading curriculum.
(c) Work with administrators to support and implement the reading curriculum.
(d) Conduct an annual evaluation of the reading curriculum.
(e) Coordinate the reading curriculum with other reading programs and other support services within the school district.
(4) School board duties. The school board shall:
(a) Develop a program of reading goals for the district for grades kindergarten to 12.
(b) Make an assessment of existing reading needs in grades kindergarten to 12 in the district based on the reading goals established under par. (a).
(c) Make an annual evaluation of the reading curriculum of the school district.
(d) If the school board maintains an Internet site for the school district, include a link to the guidebook related to dyslexia and related conditions that is published on the department’s Internet site under s. 115.28 (56) (b).
(5) Prohibited instructional practices; 3-cueing. Beginning in the 2024-25 school year, no public school, including a charter school, or private school participating in a program under s. 118.60 or 119.23 may provide instruction that incorporates 3-cueing in the core reading curriculum for grades kindergarten to 3 or in supplemental materials, including materials used for reading intervention, for pupils in grades kindergarten to 3.
Source: WI Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/118.015Fetched: 10/7/2026