Ga. lawmakers push to ban controversial teaching methods
ATLANTA, Ga. – Georgia lawmakers could soon ban a controversial method used to teach children to read in Georgia for decades.
State Rep. Bethany Ballard (R-Warner Robins) filed a bill last month to prohibit public schools from using “three cueing,” a theory where kids are often encouraged to sample the letters and the words in the text, relying mostly on prediction and context for comprehension.
Some experts believe cueing doesn’t put enough emphasis on phonetics, or sounding out words. It’s currently banned in at least 19 states.
Ballard’s bill would also remove Reading Recovery as a state-approved intervention program used for decades to help struggling readers in first grade. While many schools stopped using it over recent years, it’s codified in Georgia law.
Reading Recovery’s teaching methods are often associated with using three-cueing strategies. Two years ago, a University of Delaware study found its teaching methods harm children’s ability to read. Reading Recovery requested the study, which tracked thousands of students over 13 years.
“Reading Recovery is not in line with the science of reading,” Ballard, a former high school English teacher, said. “We [want to] make sure our schools and our teacher preparation schools will be teaching the right thing and making sure everybody’s aligned with the science of reading.”
The Reading Recovery of North America opposes Ballard’s bill and criticized the idea of banning three cueing. “Reading Recovery is the most studied, most successful short-term reading intervention in the world,” said Billy Molasso, executive director of Reading Recovery Community. “While Reading Recovery certainly does not claim to ‘cure’ all reading problems for every child, there are 40 years of documented success.
“It is of critical importance to note that laws that ban three-cueing inadvertently ban teachers from teaching phonics, grammar, comprehension, and any number of other ways children approach text,” Molasso said.
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The Georgia School Superintendents Association also expressed concern about the bill. It worries that banning any kind of reading strategy could make teachers anxious about getting in trouble if they used unapproved methods.
“To use the word ‘ban’ from the classroom instills a sense of fear in teachers,” said Dr. Bubba Longgrear, superintendent of the Candler County School District.
Ballard said the ban on three cueing would not ban teachers from using picture books. “All of this can be used as supplemental material in the classroom, but they may not be used as the primary means of instruction,” Ballard said during a February state House Education Committee meeting.
Ballard has championed similar legislation in the past. In 2023, she helped pass The Georgia Early Literacy Act, which now mandates kindergarten through third-grade teachers be trained in the science of reading. According to the National Center on Improving Literacy, the science of reading is an approach to teaching reading that is based on decades of research and evidence. It’s not a specific program.
State Sen. Rashawn Kemp (D-Atlanta) filed a companion bill about the same time. “[It] takes a big step toward making GA #1 in literacy!” the Atlanta Democrat said on X after filing his bill. Kemp is a former schoolteacher and principal.
The legislation is supported by an important ally, Sen. Billy Hickman (R-Statesboro), chairman of the Senate Committee on Education and Youth. Hickman’s wife is a former educator.
All three lawmakers say the goal of the legislation is to address Georgia’s literacy crisis. By fourth grade, only on in three Georgia students can read proficiently. “This is Georgia’s most solvable problem,” Hickman said.
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
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