STATE FUNDING GUIDE

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania has phased in structured-literacy requirements: Act 135 of 2024 created a council that produces PDE lists of approved evidence-based reading curricula, universal screeners, structured-literacy trainings, and intervention approaches, and Act 47 of 2025 requires K-3 universal reading screening three times per year and targeted intervention for struggling readers by the 2027-28 school year. There is no standalone state literacy grant, but the state’s Ready to Learn Block Grant explicitly allows spending on evidence-based reading instruction consistent with structured literacy — including curriculum, screeners, PD, and tutoring for students with low reading performance.

Structured literacy laws: Act 55 of 2022, Act 135 of 2024, and Act 47 of 2025

How schools fund reading intervention in Pennsylvania

The state-level programs below are the streams Pennsylvania districts most often use for evidence-based reading intervention purchases, alongside the federal streams available everywhere.

Ready to Learn Block Grant

Districts receive annual RTL allocations from the state and may use them for evidence-based reading instruction consistent with structured literacy, including curriculum purchase and implementation, universal reading screeners, associated professional development, and small-group tutoring for students identified with low reading performance; Act 55 of 2024 requires districts to report RTL spending to PDE.

Approved-list note: Under Act 135 of 2024, PDE publishes lists of approved evidence-based reading curricula, screeners, structured-literacy trainings, and intervention approaches; districts must adopt evidence-based K-3 reading curriculum by 2027-28, though PDE states LEAs are not strictly required to choose from the published list.

Official state resource →