Reading

Painting a picture based on the classical ideals of the United States, Gov. Spencer Cox took time in his annual speech to address the national mood and highlight work that will “improve the welfare of the citizens of Utah.”

Solo la mitad de los estudiantes de tercer grado en Utah están leyendo al nivel de su grado. El gobernador Spencer Cox cree que tener una ley para hacer que los estudiantes con dificultades en lectura repitan el grado ayudaría a aumentar ese número.

Only half of Utah third-graders are reading at grade level. Gov. Spencer Cox thinks having a law to hold students struggling with reading back a grade would help boost that number.

Award-winning authors and two Utah high school students say the law that has banned 22 books in all Utah public schools violates their First Amendment rights.

Twenty-two books are now banned in Utah K-12 schools. In addition to “Wicked,” the popular young adult novel “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” and “Nineteen Minutes” were also added to the ban list.

Gov. Spencer Cox said this year's budget was tight, but he carved out $25 million in one-time money plus an ongoing $20 million for Utah’s new approach to homelessness that aligns with a Trump executive order.

In January, the Utah State Board of Education said students could not bring banned books to campus — even their own copies. But after more legal review, the board is reversing course.

The latest Education Recovery Scorecard places Utah students more than half a grade level behind in reading in the spring of 2024 compared to achievement levels before the pandemic.

While Utah largely outperformed national averages, fourth and eighth grade math and reading scores still haven’t returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Utah isn’t just a hot spot for fantasy readers, the state has also produced several best-selling authors like Orson Scott Card and Shannon Hale.

“Our second and our third graders stayed very stagnant; it was about exactly the same as where we were the year before. We've kind of hit a plateau,” Julie Clark with the Utah State Board of Education said of reading at grade level by the end of the 2023-2024 school year.

According to a KUER analysis of public records, 25 books are teetering on the edge of being banned statewide.