With the deadline looming for implementation of new state-mandated elementary school reading guidelines, area superintendents continue to call for changes to the law.

The “Right to Read” legislation was enacted in 2021 to address the fact that more than half of the state’s third graders are not proficient in reading. The result was the creation of a short list of instructional programs for students in kindergarten through grade three that districts must choose from.

Superintendent of Schools Ian Neviaser, of the Lyme-Old Lyme regional school district, lauded the Connecticut State Department of Education’s goal to have all students in the state reading independently and proficiently by grade three.

But his district already accomplishes that goal by the end of the kindergarten, according to Neviaser.

“Clearly, the programs we have in place are effective,” he said in a letter to state lawmakers. “It would be completely illogical and irresponsible of me or the Board of Education to ask our citizens to pay additional taxes to support a change to what is already a highly successful program.”

He put the cost at $350,000 to $400,000 to change the district’s curriculum for young readers. His budget proposal for the 2024-25 school year does not include a request for money to implement the program.

Instead, he’s focused on advocating for an exemption for high-performing districts by reaching out to state Sen. Martha Marx, D-New London, state Sen. Norm Needleman, D-Essex and state Rep. Devin Carney, R-Old Lyme.

“While I can appreciate the intent of this statute, its one-size-fits-all approach is attempting to create a solution to a problem that does not exist for all,” he wrote in the letter.

The state education department initially approved seven programs for kindergarten through grade three. Each was meant to be a one-stop shop for scientifically based instruction in oral language, phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, rapid automatic fluency and reading comprehension.

Lyme-Old Lyme was among more than half of school districts in the state that sought waivers they hoped would allow them to use programs other than the ones approved by the state. Many decried the state-prescribed curriculum options as expensive to implement and too limiting.

Seventeen districts, including New London and Waterford, were granted waivers. Those districts convinced a reading research consulting group and state education officials that their more individualized compendium of reading programs would accomplish the goals laid out in the “Right to Read” law.

Twenty-five waiver applications were rejected outright, including those from Groton, Montville and the Lyme-Old Lyme regional school district.

Groton Superintendent of Schools Susan Austin, who has been critical of the way the law was rolled out, on Thursday emphasized her district has implemented the phonics-based portion of the requirement. Partial implementation of the law is required by July 1 and full implementation by the beginning of the 2025-26 school year.

Connecticut State Department of Education Deputy Commissioner Charles E. Hewes addressed the Groton Board of Education via Zoom earlier this week to tout the district’s cooperation. He said approval of the phonics programs in advance of the summer deadline opens up the district to focus on selecting the rest of the curriculum models.

“Your district is really taking the care to understand the components of the other vocabulary and comprehension pieces,” he said.

Austin remains concerned about the law, which she said happened too fast with too little guidance and not enough financial support.

“This is a million-dollar project,” she said.

The district received a $95,000 grant from the state using federal pandemic-relief funds earmarked for implementation of the “Right to Read” law. She said the money will go toward purchasing decodable texts – which help students learn to sound out words – at a cost of $60,000 per grade level.

“It’s not even enough to buy the decodable texts,” she said of the grant amount.

Neviaser said the district’s record of success is proof it can effectively make its own curriculum decisions.

He pointed to data putting his district at number seven on the top ten list of average reading and writing SAT scores in 2022-23. The district’s fifth-grade students ranked 21st in the state for English language arts that same year, down from fourth the prior year.

“The one-size-fits-all methodology does not work in a classroom, and it certainly doesn't work when you’re looking at the entire state,” he said. “You wouldn’t teach every kid the same way as a good teacher. Why does the state mandate that every district has to do the exact same thing? It’s just not rational.”

Carney, the state representative and a member of the legislature’s Education Committee, said he will be advocating for a bill to make it easier for schools to seek waivers or exemptions.

He said he has support from the Republican caucus, but he does not know how the proposal will fare in the Education Committee. In even-numbered years, any legislation on issues that are not fiscal in nature must be introduced by the committee rather than individual lawmakers.

“From what I’m seeing and hearing, this isn’t necessarily a partisan issue,” he said. “A one-size-fits-all solution is not going to work in this situation.”

e.regan@theday.com