Our tax dollars should guarantee every child can read
This article has been written by Annie McGlothlin
Image: Hannah Habermann - Wyoming Public Media
Recently, while reviewing our property tax statement, I noticed what we all know: a significant portion of our taxes fund education. This is exactly as it should be. We should wholeheartedly support quality education and equal access to that education for all Wyoming children.
But here’s the question that keeps me up at night: Why do we continue paying property taxes for education when one in five of our children — those with dyslexia — are systematically denied the opportunity to learn to read?
This is not how our tax dollars are supposed to work.
Currently in Wyoming, dyslexic children receive evidence-based reading instruction if their parents can afford private tutoring or have the resources to hire special education attorneys. Let that sink in. We’re talking about approximately 18,897 students out of Wyoming’s 94,488 total enrollment — 20% of our student population whose right to literacy depends on their family’s income.
Of these nearly 19,000 students, approximately 11,338 fall within the mild-to-moderate range of dyslexia, while approximately 7,558 struggle with more severe or profound forms requiring intense, long-term support. These aren’t small numbers. These are thousands of Wyoming children being left behind.
This isn’t about local control — it’s about accountability
Some argue this is a “local control” issue. We at WYO Right to Read disagree. This is about school districts doing what they’re paid to do: teach our children to read. When we hand over our tax dollars, we have every right to expect results.
The science is clear. Reading instruction isn’t rocket science — but it does require proper training. A one- or three-day workshop doesn’t cut it. Professional development dollars must show results, and currently, they don’t.
Our special education teachers want to help. Most are eager to learn evidence-based methods that work. They need — and deserve — comprehensive training in programs approved by the International Dyslexia Association, delivered by experts who understand the neuroscience of reading. These dedicated educators shouldn’t be set up to fail, and our children shouldn’t pay the price for inadequate district support.
The science of reading isn’t new
Those of us over 40 remember learning to read through systematic phonics instruction. We were taught phonemic awareness first. Guessing strategies, contextual cues and picture prompts were never considered legitimate teaching methods — because they aren’t.
Decades of research confirm what we knew then: explicit, systematic instruction in phonics works for ALL students, because it does not rely on children figuring out the written code of spoken language on their own. The three-cueing method and balanced literacy approaches have been debunked repeatedly by scientific studies. Yet many Wyoming classrooms still rely on these disproven methods, leaving struggling readers farther behind each year.
Just like some children need more explicit instruction and practice learning to swim or to throw a football, some children need more explicit instruction and practice learning the written code of spoken language which structured literacy provides.
What about parents’ rights?
Parents have a right to expect more from our school districts. No parent should come home to find their child having an emotional breakdown because their teacher wasn’t trained in methods that actually work.
We want our children to feel confident and capable in school — not humiliated, isolated or depressed.
What’s happening to dyslexic students in Wyoming is beyond the pale. These are bright children. They can learn to read beautifully when taught with structured literacy approaches. Denying them this instruction is unthinkable, and we need to start talking about it that way.
A path forward
The Wyoming Joint Education Committee passed a K-12 Language and Literacy bill that will finally provide accountability. This upcoming legislation will be introduced in the Senate. The bill will ensure that all students receive structured literacy instruction grounded in the science of reading. It will hold school districts accountable to Wyoming Chapter 56 rules and federal requirements guaranteeing equal access to quality education.
This bill isn’t asking for anything radical. It simply requires that evidence-based methods — the kind approved by the International Dyslexia Association and supported by decades of research — be used to teach all children to read.
Call your legislator and tell them to vote YES on the JEC K-12 Language & Literacy bill.
The bottom line
Reading is a right, not a privilege reserved for children whose parents can afford private intervention.
When we pay our property taxes, we’re investing in the future of our state. We have every right to demand that school districts use proven methods, train teachers properly, and ensure every Wyoming child learns to read.
Annie McGlothlin, co-founder of WYO Right to Read, has spent decades advocating for children’s educational rights and for the rights of adults with disabilities to live with choice, dignity and opportunity. A paralegal, mother of an adult son with autism, and grandmother raising a grandson with dyslexia, she was instrumental in passing 2019 legislation to protect children in the court system and organized the 2014 Capitol march for disability funding.
