State Legislative Efforts

In the aftermath of COVID-19, learning losses are among the most devastating, persistent consequences of the pandemic. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds were disproportionately impacted, creating both a learning and inequality crisis. Studies from the California School Boards Association and University of Chicago hail high-impact tutoring as a key solution for both issues.

In Guilford County Schools, implementation of high-impact tutoring has produced impressive results. All student groups improved their test proficiency scores this year. 

Updates this 2021 law to allow school districts to advance students who score in the “approaching” category on their third grade Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) ELA test and score in the 50th percentile on the third-grade reading screener test if they complete summer school or tutoring in fourth grade. Students who score in the “below basic” category must complete both summer school and tutoring in 4th grade in order to advance.

“Michigan, by having their policy come out now, is certainly behind several states but ahead of probably at least half of the states, I’m sure,” said Kathy Bendheim, managing director at the National Student Support Accelerator (NSSA), a group out of Stanford University that shares tutoring research and helps create evidence-based programs. 

She said Michigan’s program incorporates “high-quality standards” in its policy but must ensure tutoring programs are actually implemented as designed.

“The urgency of the situation makes you want to do it for all kids immediately,” she said. “But what we have learned is that starting small — smaller — getting it right and building those real champions makes the expansion so much easier.”

As the main focus of Future Forward Ohio, high-dosage tutoring, which is characterized by an average of at least 90 minutes of tutoring per week, promises lasting academic improvements. Studies have shown that students consistently benefit from it, as evidenced by Stanford University's National Student Support Accelerator, which underscores its effectiveness, particularly for those lagging academically.

"Cignition's program aligns with what the research tells us are the most promising practices in high-impact tutoring, with consistent, effective tutors who develop strong relationships with students and provide engaging, personalized instruction," said Susanna Loeb, professor and director of the education policy initiative at the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University. "Moreover, recent studies provide good evidence that Cignition's program has been successful for the students that they reach, meaningfully improving their learning and performance on key assessments."

As dean of Bowling Green State University’s College of Education in Ohio, Dawn Shinew has watched aspiring teachers struggle to make ends meet.

Often, they can’t afford to work as unpaid student-teachers in schools while paying tuition and the usual costs of living. It’s doubly discouraging, Shinew said, because few will earn a high salary after they graduate and enter the teaching profession.

“We do have students, who, I think, would be interested, really talented, the kinds of people we want to be in classrooms, [for whom] it isn’t a matter of commitment, it’s a practical reality,” Shinew said.

Offers $30 million Learning Acceleration Grants for Virginia families. Approved families will receive $1,500 for tutoring in English, math, science, history, and foreign languages. Grants can also be used for speech pathology and reading intervention. Any student meeting Virginia’s school-age requirements and attending a public, private, parochial, or homeschool qualify. Students whose family income is at 300% or less of the federal poverty level are eligible to receive $3,000 in grant money.

Allocates $10M in American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) funding to local education agencies (LEAs) to implement the Connecticut High-Dosage Tutoring (HDT) Program in Grades 6-9, Mathematics in accordance with evidence-based guidelines.

The Connecticut HDT Program will provide successful applicants with grant funding for the 2023-2024 school year,

Reallocates $34.7 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to LEARNS Act initiatives. $8.5 million will go to supplemental education such as tutoring and $20 million will go toward high-impact tutoring. The remaining funds will go to literary coaches. The LEARNS Act is a broad bill passed in March 2023 that changes many parts of Arkansas’ education system.

Funds learning recovery initiatives. The State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced the availability of $4 billion in funding for intensive tutoring, additional instructional time, accelerated learning strategies, early literacy intervention, and other learning supports. This is the second disbursement of funds, following one of $4 billion in November 2022. The funds are intended to aid in pandemic learning loss.

Launches High Impact Tutoring program in which districts can apply for reimbursement of high-impact tutoring programs that focus on third and fourth grade students using pre-qualified tutoring providers (including district programs). The $17 million for the high-impact tutoring program comes from Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund.

Provides a $28 million grant to extend the New York Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness Program (NY GEAR UP). This grant has been awarded to New York for four consecutive years and has served more than 6,200 students. The program supports students in low-income communities with tutoring, college and career advisement, mentoring, and college-related services from 7th grade through their college freshman year. The grant will be housed in colleges and universities across New York State and will be responsible for recruiting, hiring, and training college students to serve as tutors.

Launches the New Mexico Math Tutoring Corps in January of 2023. The statewide tutoring initiative provides math tutoring for 8th-12th grade students with a significant focus on Algebra 1. Virtual tutoring includes a 1:5 tutor to student ratio for 45 minute sessions, three days a week. The New Mexico State Department of Education will be responsible for the hiring, onboarding, and training of eligible tutors. A portion of training consists of a review of the SAGA curriculum that is implemented in sessions.

Proposes the establishment of the High Efficiency Accelerated Learning (HEAL) Grant Program and the Tutoring Advisory Commission. HEAL is intended to provide high-impact tutoring opportunities to students around the state in order to mitigate the effect of learning loss or interrupted learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tutoring Advisory Commission is responsible for overseeing the development, implementation, and evaluation of the HEAL program.

The program profiles below provide a few examples of the variety of ways in which a HEI - District tutoring partnership can be designed and implemented. 

Additional program profiles may be found in Saga's Leveraging the Federal Work-Study Program for P-12 Tutoring.

If you would like to suggest a program to be profiled, please email info@studentsupportaccelerator.org.

Requires The Iowa Department of Education to form a learning recovery task force to evaluate the degree of learning loss experienced by students due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The task force is expected to study, identify, and recommend remedial measures, of which specialized, individualized tutoring is outlined as an option. The bill outlines requirements for the make-up of the task force which includes: demographics, educator types, and other stakeholders.

Provides families in South Dakota with an educational savings account (ESA). The bill requires The Department of Education to create a savings account for students who withdrew from public schools and currently attend a non-public school. Public funds are deposited into SEAs and are used to aid students in receiving various educational resources, most relevant is private tutoring.