New KY Law Changes How Reading Will Be Taught (Teacher Misconduct Addressed as Well)

A Kentucky law that was passed during the 2026 General Assembly session will change how schools teach students how to read.
House Bill 253, signed by Gov. Andy Beshear in April, also addresses teacher misconduct.

Three-cueing model to be phased out
HB 253 effectively bans teaching reading through visual cues. School districts must begin phasing out the “three-cueing teaching method,” and it must be out of the classroom completely by 2029.

The bill defines the “three-cueing system” as any model that teaches students to read based on meaning, structure and syntax, and visual cues.
“If you teach a student to memorize what ten words look like, they will know how to read ten words,” Rep. James Tipton, the bill’s sponsor, said. “But if you teach them ten sounds through phonetics, they will speak and read thousands of words. It is time that we teach our students how to read and comprehend instead of memorizing and guessing.”

Instead, the bill promotes phonics-based teaching, which focuses on teaching students to read by sounding out letters to pronounce words. Phonics instruction aims to teach students to understand how letters are linked to sounds.
Teacher misconduct addressed

HB 253 also prohibits schools from entering non-disclosure agreements when misconduct with a minor or student is involved.
Protections are also established against hiring individuals with a history of misconduct involving a minor or student.