Rep. Jason Ortitay announced on Apr. 1 a plan to fund Pennsylvania’s recently passed early literacy law without increasing taxes or adding pressure to the state’s General Fund.
The proposal aims to provide financial support for schools as they transition to new reading instruction methods required by the law, which was enacted in 2025. Ortitay said that while passing the legislation was important, “implementation is what solves the problem.” He explained that schools face upfront costs such as changing curriculum, purchasing new reading screeners, training teachers, and setting up intervention programs.
“We have to stop thinking about this like it’s just another expense,” Ortitay said. “This is an investment, and it’s one of the few investments government makes that actually pays us back. Kids who can read become workers who can work, taxpayers who pay taxes, and citizens who don’t need as many government services later in life. If we get reading right early, we save money later, and a lot of it.”
The funding package has two parts: first, moving $50 million in unspent state funds into a restricted Early Literacy Implementation Fund so schools can start making changes immediately; second, introducing the Keystone Literacy Investment Act—a financing model similar to those used for economic development projects—to raise additional funds now and spread out costs over several years.
Ortitay emphasized that these funds would be strictly limited to evidence-based reading curriculum materials, early screening tools, programs for struggling readers, teacher training in structured literacy methods, and implementation support—not general school expenses or administrative overhead.
“We told schools to fix reading,” Ortitay said. “This plan gives them the resources to do it. That’s what finishing the job looks like.” The legislation is expected to be introduced in coming weeks.
