Michigan Literacy Crisis Hits West Michigan Schools as State Pushes Teacher Training Mandates

West Michigan Schools Struggle With Lowest Reading Scores in Decade as Legislature Debates Teacher Requirements

By West Michigan State News

HOLLAND — West Michigan school districts are bracing for another round of state-mandated teacher training as the state grapples with what officials call the worst reading crisis in Michigan history.

Michigan fourth-graders scored among the lowest in the nation on reading tests, with just 24 percent proficient in 2024 on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The state now ranks 44th in the nation for fourth-grade reading.

This is a serious problem, our kids deserve better, Governor Gretchen Whitmer said in her State of the State address last month.

Whitmer is recommending $625 million for literacy efforts in her 2026-27 budget proposal. The money is meant for buying new learning materials, hiring more tutors, and training teachers on a course known as Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling, or LETRS.

West Michigan Schools Already Struggling With Resources

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenn Maleyko said he wants to support efforts to get everyone trained up across the state. He said doing so will be key to student success.

We are not talking about an unfunded mandate here, we are talking about a mandate with funding the governor has put in her executive budget to make this happen, Maleyko said.

The governor plan sets aside $50 million across five years for districts to get their staff trained on LETRS.

Waterford School District leadership said the district teachers had all been trained on LETRS, leading to better classroom results. But it took a lot of resources to do so.

State Officials Push Back Against Previous Administration

During her State of the State address last month, Whitmer detailed steps already underway to improve literacy and recommendations in her budget proposal for the coming fiscal year.

Among them is additional money she wants to invest in high-impact literacy tutoring, high-quality curriculum, literacy training for teachers, and hiring of literacy coaches.

Whitmer and state officials have faced pushback from their predecessors on this issue. In 2023, when Democrats took majorities in both chambers of the Legislature, they argued a previous third-grade retention law was punitive and was not working. They rescinded the law that required struggling third graders to repeat the grade.

House Bill Would Mandate Science of Reading Training

Lawmakers in Lansing are moving aggressively to address Michigan K-12 literacy crisis with multiple pieces of legislation that target training for teachers, retention for struggling third graders, and consequences for teacher preparation programs.

House Bill 5697 would require that by the 2031-32 school year, all K-5 educators who provide, support, or oversee instruction, including in literacy, must have been trained in the science of reading. The bill does not specify a specific training program, but a legislative analysis by the House Fiscal Agency says the current training being encouraged for Michigan teachers meets the requirements of the legislation.

Rep. Nancy DeBoer, a Republican from Holland who chairs the House Education and Workforce committee, introduced the bipartisan bill that would make training in the science of reading a requirement for K-5 teachers.

Unless you are in the state of Michigan and you are three-quarters of the students in eighth grade who cannot read or do math in a competent manner, that is a tragedy we are responsible for, DeBoer said.

Third-Grade Retention Back On The Table

House Bill 5520 would bring back the third-grade retention policy Michigan previously had in place. The bill would require struggling third graders, who would be identified based on their state test scores, repeat the grade.

There would be some good cause exemptions, such as for students with disabilities whose educational plan team leader exempts them from the requirement.

Michigan previous third-grade retention law, which went into effect during the 2020-21 school year, was rescinded in 2023 when Democrats controlled the legislature and the governors office.

Teacher Certification Requirements Under Scrutiny

House Bill 5646 would require that, beginning September 30, 2027, an individual seeking a teaching certificate in Michigan must have completed a teacher preparation program that included training in the science of reading.

Rep. Tim Kelly, a Republican from Saginaw Township, described the bill as a long overdue rescue mission for the next generation of Michigans workers, citizens, and leaders.

We must stop subsidizing failure, Kelly said.

Kelly said Wednesday that teacher preparation programs that do not equip teachers with the tools needed to teach children to read have forfeited their right to operate in Michigan.

Reading Scores Continue To Decline

Just 38.9 percent of third graders were proficient on the English language arts portion of the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress last year. It was the lowest performance of third graders in the exams 11-year history.

On the national front, Michigan students performance has been stagnant and declining even as other states that have invested heavily in early literacy have improved.

Ten years since the Read by Grade 3 law, Michigan student literacy problem continues.

West Michigan School Districts Already Implementing Training

Waterford School District leadership said the district teachers had all been trained on LETRS, leading to better classroom results. But it took a lot of resources to do so.

The state has funded LETRS training, but thus far has not made it a requirement. In September, the State Board of Education urged that it become a mandate for all K-5 teachers, saying the lack of one has led to inconsistent participation of Michigan educators and inconsistent access to instruction based on the science of reading for Michigans students.

Read by Grade 3 law requires early intervention, the hiring of literacy coaches, and the retention of third graders struggling to reade.

Lawmakers are now considering whether to make LETRS training mandatory for all teachers in West Michigan schools, where resource constraints have already strained district budgets.

Sources:

• Michigan Public Radio Network, State education officials gather support for Whitmers literacy plans, https://www.michiganpublic.org/politics-government/2026-03-13/state-education-officials-gather-support-for-whitmers-literacy-plans
• Yahoo News / Chalkbeat, Michigan Lawmakers Aim to Fix State's K-12 School Literacy Crisis, https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/michigan-lawmakers-aim-fix-state-183000565.html
• Mackinac Center, Keep Michigans budget sustainable, https://www.mackinac.org/blog/2026/keep-michigans-budget-sustainable
• Mackinac Center, Where did Michigans surplus go?, https://www.mackinac.org/blog/2026/where-did-michigans-surplus-go