Maryland · MD
Maryland literacy law: the READ Act and Blueprint for Maryland's Future
Maryland's READ Act (2019) requires K-3 dyslexia and reading-risk screening; Blueprint for Maryland's Future funds structured-literacy training. Plain-English summary for district leaders.
At-a-glance reference
- Law name
- READ Act (Ready to Read Act) + Blueprint for Maryland's Future (2020)
- Year passed
- 2019
- Applies to
- K-3 (screening + intervention); K-5 (teacher training)
- Screening
- Required
Key requirements
What the law requires of districts.
- Ready to Read Act (READ Act, 2019) requires universal K-3 reading screening for dyslexia and reading risk
- Blueprint for Maryland's Future (passed 2020) frames structured-literacy alignment within Maryland's broader K-12 reform funding plan
- MSDE provides approved K-3 ELA instructional materials guidance for districts to consult during adoption
- LETRS-aligned teacher training pathways expanded through Blueprint for Maryland's Future funding
- Tier 2 and Tier 3 intervention required for students screened as at-risk for reading difficulty
- Parent notification of screening results required so families can engage with intervention planning
- Local school systems submit annual literacy plans and reporting to MSDE
Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) provides Science-of-Reading-aligned curriculum guidance and approved instructional materials lists for K-3 ELA.
A note on Maryland’s literacy framework
Maryland’s structured-literacy direction is set by two interlocking policies rather than a single signature bill, and it helps to keep them straight from the start:
- READ Act (Ready to Read Act) — passed in 2019. Requires universal K-3 reading screening for dyslexia and reading risk, Tier 2 / Tier 3 intervention for students flagged as at-risk, and parent notification of results. This is the statutory backbone of Maryland’s K-3 literacy obligations. It shares a name with Colorado’s READ Act but is a separate Maryland law.
- Blueprint for Maryland’s Future — passed in 2020. The state’s broader K-12 reform and funding plan. It provides the budget and policy scaffolding for expanded early-literacy teacher training, instructional coaching, and accountability reporting that operationalizes the READ Act’s direction.
- MSDE (Maryland State Department of Education) — issues curriculum guidance, reviewed instructional materials lists, and implementation guidance for both the READ Act and Blueprint literacy provisions.
Local school systems (Maryland’s term for school districts) carry the day-to-day implementation responsibility, with MSDE setting the policy and reporting structure above them.
What this means for district adoption decisions
When evaluating literacy products for use in Maryland local school systems, curriculum offices typically check:
- Structured-literacy methodology — does instruction use explicit, systematic, cumulative phonics consistent with Science of Reading principles? This is the core expectation under both the READ Act and Blueprint guidance.
- MSDE instructional materials guidance alignment — does the product appear on, or align with, MSDE’s reviewed K-3 ELA materials guidance? Local school systems make the final adoption call, but MSDE guidance is the reference point.
- Screening and progress-monitoring compatibility — does the product produce data compatible with the screener your local school system has adopted under the READ Act?
- Intervention support — for Tier 2 and Tier 3 use, does the product support the supplemental instruction the READ Act requires for at-risk students?
- ESSA evidence tier — for federally-funded supplemental purchases, what tier of evidence does the product carry? This is a separate federal bar that sits alongside Maryland’s state-level expectations.
For supplemental and intervention purchases, ESSA evidence tier remains the key federal-funding gate. Storytime’s ESSA Tier 4 evidence rationale supports federal-fund procurement of supplemental practice tools alongside a Maryland-aligned core.
Common implementation challenges
Three issues come up repeatedly as Maryland local school systems implement the READ Act + Blueprint framework:
1. Connecting screener results to daily instruction. The READ Act requires screening and intervention, but most screeners output a risk level, not a specific instructional next step. Teachers then have to translate “at-risk for reading difficulty” into a phonics lesson, a decodable book, and a fluency target. Storytime’s decodable library + on-demand generation lets teachers pull lesson-tagged decodable text aligned to the structured-literacy scope and sequence the student is working in.
2. ORF data for progress monitoring. Maryland’s Tier 2 / Tier 3 intervention obligations require ongoing progress monitoring. ORF (oral reading fluency) is the standard measure, but capturing it weekly across a full caseload is operationally hard. Storytime’s ORF assessment lets every student record reading passages with automatic WCPM and prosody scoring, producing the kind of trendline parent-notification and intervention-review meetings need.
3. Differentiation without leaving the structured-literacy scope. Blueprint-funded teacher training emphasizes systematic, cumulative phonics — which only works if every student is on a coherent sequence. But student variation within a classroom is large, and the READ Act explicitly contemplates students moving in and out of intervention. Storytime’s customizable-phonics-curriculum layer gives teachers per-student journey overrides without breaking the class baseline scope and sequence.
How Storytime supports Maryland districts
ESSA Tier 4 evidence rationale + structured-literacy alignment.
Storytime sits on top of the structured-literacy curricula Maryland districts adopt (UFLI Foundations, Wilson Fundations, Amplify CKLA, IMSE Orton-Gillingham, and 3 others) and provides the digital practice layer: decodable library + on-demand generation, adaptive journeys, ORF assessment with WCPM scoring, and Skill Tree analytics across the six SoR pillars. Our published ESSA Tier 4 evidence rationale documents the logic model + research base.
Storytime does not replace your phonics curriculum — it extends its reach to every student on the exact lesson they're on, with universal screening and progress monitoring data designed for MD's MTSS framework.
FAQ
Common questions about Maryland's literacy law.
- What does the Maryland READ Act require?
- Maryland's Ready to Read Act (READ Act), signed in 2019, requires every local school system to screen students in kindergarten through grade 3 for reading difficulties — including indicators of dyslexia — and to provide supplemental instruction for students identified as at-risk. The READ Act also requires parent notification of screening results and ongoing progress monitoring through intervention. Note: Maryland's READ Act is a separate law from Colorado's similarly named READ Act; the two are not interchangeable.
- How does Blueprint for Maryland's Future relate to the READ Act?
- Blueprint for Maryland's Future, passed in 2020, is Maryland's broader K-12 reform and funding plan. It does not replace the READ Act; instead it provides the funding and policy scaffolding — including expanded teacher training, early-literacy coaching, and accountability reporting — that operationalizes the structured-literacy direction the READ Act established. Districts typically describe their structured-literacy work as 'READ Act + Blueprint' rather than choosing one frame.
- What screening is required under the READ Act?
- Maryland requires K-3 reading screening using a state-approved or locally selected screener that flags dyslexia indicators and broader reading risk. Screening is typically conducted multiple times per year. Students identified as at-risk receive Tier 2 or Tier 3 intervention, and parents are notified of results. MSDE does not mandate a single statewide instrument — local school systems choose from instruments that meet the law's criteria.
- Are specific curricula approved or required in Maryland?
- MSDE provides guidance and reviewed lists of Science-of-Reading-aligned K-3 ELA instructional materials, but Maryland does not operate a single statutorily mandated 'approved curriculum list' in the way some other states do. Local school systems make adoption decisions and are expected to align with structured-literacy principles. Always consult current MSDE guidance and your local school system's adopted materials list before procurement.
- Does Maryland ban three-cueing?
- Maryland statute does not contain an explicit statewide ban on three-cueing as some other states (such as Arkansas or Florida) do. However, MSDE guidance and Blueprint-funded teacher training emphasize structured literacy and explicit phonics, and many Maryland local school systems have moved away from three-cueing-based practices on their own. The direction of policy is clear even where statutory prohibition is not.
- What teacher training does Maryland require?
- Blueprint for Maryland's Future funding has supported expanded Science-of-Reading professional development, including LETRS-aligned training pathways for K-3 (and in many cases K-5) teachers, reading specialists, and instructional coaches. Specific requirements are operationalized through MSDE-issued guidance and local school system implementation plans rather than a single statewide certification mandate.
- Do charter schools and nonpublic schools have to comply?
- Maryland public charter schools are part of their local school system and are generally subject to the READ Act screening and intervention requirements. Nonpublic schools are not directly bound by the READ Act, though many adopt the same structured-literacy practices voluntarily. Districts should consult MSDE guidance for specifics on charter applicability in their county.
- Where does Storytime fit in a Maryland-aligned literacy stack?
- Storytime is the digital practice and assessment layer that sits on top of a Maryland-aligned core curriculum. It supports the ORF and decoding progress monitoring the READ Act intervention process requires, cross-tags decodable books to structured-literacy scope and sequences used in Maryland, and our ESSA Tier 4 evidence rationale documents the theory of action for supplemental procurement under federal funding rules.
Disclaimer: This page summarizes publicly-available information about Maryland's literacy law and is provided for educational reference. It is not legal advice. State requirements evolve — verify current rules with the Maryland Department of Education and your district legal counsel before making compliance decisions. Last reviewed: May 2026.