OKLAHOMA CITY (OBV) — The Oklahoma Senate passed SB 1778 on third reading and final passage Wednesday.
The presiding officer announced 45–2 in favor. The bill now moves to the House. Sen. Adam Pugh is the Senate author. Rep. Kyle Hilbert is the principal House author.
What SB 1778 does. The measure updates the Strong Readers Act. It shifts Oklahoma to one statewide K–3 screening instrument beginning in the 2026–27 school year so districts use the same tool for beginning, midyear and end‑of‑year checks. It requires at least monthly written progress updates to parents for any student on an individual reading intervention plan. Each district must explain how transitional instruction will be delivered to students who need targeted support. Interventions begin earlier. Third‑grade retention remains a last resort and the bill adds a retest window up to two weeks before the next school year so students who catch up over the summer are not retained. The bill also clarifies transfer continuity so a student cannot bypass a retention decision by switching schools.
What supporters said. “Our goal should be 100% of our kids should be able to read. I would never step foot on an airplane and be told 95% of the planes are going to make it back. I shouldn’t have accepted that it was unattainable,” Sen. Pugh said.
“At the end of the day, this bill is pretty simple. If we get reading right early, everything else gets better. If we don’t, everything else gets harder for our students and really for our state and our long term outcomes. This bill is a step in the right direction, and I encourage a yes vote, appreciate the author for bringing in,” Sen. Dusty Deevers said.
“I have two boys. As a family doctor in a small town, you see kids grow up in groups. In second grade, my second child was identified as not reading proficiently. Within three weeks, a teacher made the correction and he was reading at a sixth‑grade level. That is the point of early intervention. This bill is near and dear to my heart. We will change lives with it. I will be a yes vote and I encourage your yes vote,” Sen. Randy Grellner said.
The bill heads to the House next.
