February 18, 2026
TO:
Representative Kenneth Gordon
Representative Simon Cataldo
Representative John Marsi
Senator Jason Lewis
Senator Sal DiDomenico
Senator Patrick O’Connor
RE: Differences between H.4672 and S.2940, An Act relative to teacher preparation and student literacy
Dear Conference Committee Members,
On behalf of the 25,000 American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts educators and staff working in our public schools, at our universities, and in our libraries and health offices, we thank you for your continued commitment to ensuring access to a high-quality public education – across the Commonwealth.
Literacy skills are foundational skills - ones that are crucial to supporting student development and long-term success. We share your commitment to supporting strong reading and literacy skills among all students, in every district. Our members know how vital these skills are to student learning long term and across curriculums, and we appreciate the opportunity to share our support for key areas as you begin your work to reconcile the differences between the two versions of An Act relative to teacher preparation and student literacy.
Three components in the House version of this legislation will allow us to lay a solid foundation and support our ongoing work to advance literacy in the Commonwealth:
- Public School Library Access and Literacy Educator Workforce Study: We respectfully request that the Conference Committee include the language from the House Bill to establish a commission to study the state of our education workforce in our public schools in the area of reading and literacy development. This will help the Commonwealth establish a statewide foundation to provide all districts with clear guidance on best practices, how to maintain district appropriate levels of staffing, and the tools necessary to best support their students.
- Expanding Literacy Launch Fund Uses: We respectfully request that the Conference Committee include the language from the House Bill that allows districts to use Literacy Launch funding to invest in reading specialists and other staff to provide instruction and support to students. These positions – including reading specialists, reading interventionists, literacy coordinators, school librarians, library aides, education support professionals, and others – are at risk in many districts across the Commonwealth because of ongoing budget challenges our communities are facing. Preserving these positions and the skilled educators working in these roles will be crucial going forward.
- Reporting on District Literacy Educator Staffing Levels: We respectfully request that the Conference Committee include the language from the House Bill that requires districts to report to DESE annually the number of educators and support professionals employed by the district to support student reading and literacy development.
We respectfully request that the reconciled version of this important legislation includes consistent tracking measures, expanded funding opportunities for critical positions, and brings together important stakeholders to make long-term recommendations as outlined above.
We fully support evidence-based literacy curriculum. We also know that it will take more than just curriculum for our students to fully thrive as they progress from learning to read to reading to learn. Our priority is to ensure all districts are using high-quality, proven curriculum without limiting access to successful, evidence-based resources, and existing best practices.
We respectfully request that the Conference Committee preserve the foundation as laid out in the Senate version of this bill, which more accurately reflects the expert perspective of educators who are working in the classroom every day to support student learning. We can ensure schools are using high-quality, proven curricula without explicitly banning important, proven tools our educators are currently using successfully, particularly with our English language learners and students with special needs.
Strong literacy instruction is both complex and responsive to the unique learning needs of individual students. The needs of our students vary from district to district, from school to school, even from desk to desk. For example, our educators in the classroom and national experts agree that using “picture cues” in certain contexts can provide important scaffolding in supporting their students, including multilingual learners in particular.
The Senate version will allow districts to select the high-quality and evidence-based curricula that best meets the specific needs of their students - without sacrificing the quality of instruction and without inadvertently limiting the professional experience and expertise of educators.
Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about any of these amendments or our support for high-quality, evidence-based literacy instruction.
We believe that, if these key areas are included, this bill will help us address existing gaps in literacy and reading skills while providing educators with the tools they need to ensure each student has the opportunity to succeed.
Thank you for having this important debate and for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
President Jessica Tang
American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts
33 Harrison Avenue, 6th Floor
Boston, MA 02111