The reading skills of Louisiana students aren’t even close to what they need to be, but $2 million added to the $34 billion state operating budget could be a major step towards improving those skills. The $2 million will fund pilot projects on reading in up to 12 urban and rural school districts.

A January report from a state panel said only 43 percent of kindergarten students in Louisiana were reading on grade level, 54 percent of first graders, 56 percent of second graders and 53 percent of third graders.

Shea Brittain used to teach at St. Helena College and Career Academy in St. Helena Parish, one of the poorest in the state. She said she knows how big an issue the inability to read can be. Brittain said she had ninth graders who couldn’t read.

The Advocate reported the $2 million means between 1,000 and 1,500 teachers will be supplied with research-based coaching and professional development from 12 literacy coaches teaching teachers how to teach reading. The funds will also pay for professional development, conferences, materials and costs to evaluate the pilot projects.

State Sen. Bodi White, R-Central, and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said everybody knows the earlier a child can read, the better it is. However, the $2 million wasn’t added to the budget in the regular session because of the nearly $1 billion hole in the state budget caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Brittain made a pitch to White, who said, “The money was what they needed. I told them (supporters) if the opportunity came along and we had some dollars that we could use by the time we finished (the special session), I would plug them in.”

That is exactly what happened, thanks to the $900 million in federal funding that all but wiped out the budget shortfall caused by the pandemic. It also didn’t hurt to have support from Cade Brumley, state superintendent of education, the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, the Council for a Better Louisiana, the Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools, the state branch of Democrats for Education Reform and state Sen. Cleo Fields, chairman of the Senate Education Committee.

The widespread support for better reading skills helped get the $2 million in funding. We hope this is just the beginning of a continuing effort to help Louisiana students get the reading skills they need to succeed in life.