Manitoba government announces early reading screening and supports for students
Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Tracy Schmidt announced the Manitoba government passed Bill 225, the Public Schools Amendment Act (Universal Screening for Learning Disabilities), which ensures every student in Kindergarten to Grade 4 in the province receives early reading screenings to identify and address potential reading difficulties.
“We know parents and teachers want kids to excel in school. We supported and strengthened Bill 225 to focus squarely on early reading, which is the foundation of all future learning,” said Schmidt during the Nov. 4 announcement. “By acting early, we can support students before reading difficulties become learning barriers. This bill will ensure educators have the right tools and families have the right information to help children thrive.”
Schools will be required to apply:
• universal early reading screening for all students in kindergarten through Grade 4 using standardized, evidence-based tools that meet criteria established by the minister;
• two screenings per year in at least three of the five early school years, to identify students at risk of future reading difficulties including dyslexia;
• parent communication through report cards, ensuring families receive timely updates on their child’s progress; and
• ongoing supports and progress monitoring for students identified as needing additional help.
Evergreen School Division (ESD) has used the DIBELS 8 screening tool in their schools for the past three years.
Scott Hill, ESD superintendent said all of their students are screened three times per year and they have already seen the benefits.
“With regard to early literacy, we have a target for end of 2026 to have 80 per cent of grade 3 students at benchmark. In 2023-2024, we had 57 per cent of grade 3 students meeting that benchmark and in 2024-2025 we had 77 per cent meeting benchmark, so we’re very close and hope to meet our target at the end of this school year,” he explained. “We believe that our board’s investment in full time kindergarten, combined with our embrace of structured literacy, is really going to prove to be a game-changer in our pursuit of enhanced literacy outcomes for our students.”
He noted they’ve opted for DIBELS 8 as its screener due to its “gold standard” and meets or exceeds the criteria experts have set regarding reading screening.
Once students are screened, their results will be shared with their parents or guardians in addition to the regular reports that are already shared. Any intervention suggestions will be provided for those needing additional support.
Hill said if a parent has concern regarding their child’s reading progress to speak with their teacher first.
“In our school division our teachers and divisional clinicians and consultants work as a team to do our best to provide timely access to assessments and supports that kids need to support their learning,” he explained.
Since initiating the program, ESD has already hired several support staff as well as made strategic investments towards full-time kindergarten and single-grade classrooms to better support their students’ literary needs. Staff have also been trained thoroughly on the screening program, support implementation for students and about structured literacy practices.
“We undertook a significant investment in professional learning for teachers, and our clinicians and consultants have a very deep, thorough understanding of these tools and support the implementation in schools,” Hill added. “Some of our screening is now undertaken by ‘assessment teams’ that include our divisional clinicians and school-based student services staff. Teachers also use a tool called the Quick Phonics Screener and this informs their classroom practice.”
Overall, Hill is satisfied with this announcement as it will hopefully lead to stronger students.
“I believe that early reading screening provides a helpful step toward closing learning gaps among our students,” he said. “We view our commitment to evidence-based literacy instruction and intervention as part of our responsibility to all students and especially those students who may historically have been less successful.”
Lakeshore School Division superintendent, Darlene Willetts, is hopeful about the prospective impacts on students in her division.
“I think we have a lot of information about our students and their reading habits right now, but this may give us a different perspective on what might be hampering our students’ learning,” she said.
Lakeshore is piloting the Acadience and EasyCBM screeners at some of their elementary schools, with plans on implementing full screening in fall 2026.
“In Lakeshore, supporting our students in literacy has been a priority for many years which has included using assessments to support planning for our students. While some of the details in Bill 225 are new, overall, the adjustments required will be extensions of our current practice and will not require large changes,” she added. Lakeshore will select their screening program based off of ease of use and time it takes to administer the screenings and plan to train all early year’s staff who will then work with the literacy lead teach to support consistent, division wide screenings.
She doesn’t expect any new staff needing to be hired to support the initiative, but understands the additional stress it might impose on staff and is looking into ways to best support them.
As for students, she says those identified as needing extra support will work with the students in small groups, as well as have specific targeted intervention work. Their screening reports will be shared with parents, and she asks anyone with concerns about their child’s reading skills, to discuss with their teacher.
“While we already utilize tools for assessment, we are hopeful that the additional information we gathered will give us further insight into developing next steps for all of our students,” she said.
