Establishes the libraries literacy education guidance act
This bill establishes the "libraries literacy education guidance act," directing the State Librarian to provide guidance on evidence-based practices for literacy education. This guidance, focusing on reading competency areas like phonemic awareness, phonics, and comprehension, will be distributed to all public and association libraries in New York state. It is primarily for students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, with modified guidance for older students and adults. The State Librarian must update this guidance every two years, considering feedback from the libraries.
Bill status
passed both
4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
May 2025
Committee Review
May 2026
Senate Passage
May 2026
Assembly Passage
Jun 2026
Governor
Introduced May 15, 2025
Last action Jun 2, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
S8044
→
S8044A
·
4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was amended to narrow its educational focus from pre-kindergarten through grade five to pre-kindergarten through grade three, aligning the literacy guidance with early elementary standards. Procedurally, the bill was recommitted to the Committee on Libraries for further review and amendment before being discharged and sent back to the committee. The amendment also updated the bill number to reflect its amended status (S8044A) and revised the legal citation to refer to 'this chapter' instead of a specific section number.
Scope change
The bill's scope was narrowed to focus exclusively on students in pre-kindergarten through grade three, removing the previous requirement to provide guidance for students beyond grade five and adults.
SCOPE
The target student population was reduced from pre-kindergarten through grade five to pre-kindergarten through grade three.
ELIGIBILITY
The requirement for the state librarian to provide modified guidance for students beyond grade five and adults was removed.
TECHNICAL
The legal citation was updated to reference 'this chapter' rather than a specific section number.
TIMELINE
Procedural steps were added indicating the bill was recommitted to the Committee on Libraries for further consideration.
Floor votes · Senate May 29, 2026 · Assembly Jun 2, 2026
How they voted
57–1
Passed · 5 other
Total votes 63
May 29, 2026
D
Democratic41
87% Yea
R
Republican22
95% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
14
Key actions
4
Committee
3
Amendments
2
Jun 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
PASSED ASSEMBLY
lower
May 29, 2026
Committee
REFERRED TO WAYS AND MEANS
lower
May 29, 2026
Upper · Passed
PASSED SENATE
upper
May 5, 2026
Upper · Passed
PRINT NUMBER 8044A
upper
May 5, 2026
Upper · Passed
AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO LIBRARIES
upper
Jan 7, 2026
Committee
REFERRED TO LIBRARIES
upper
May 15, 2025
Committee
REFERRED TO LIBRARIES
upper
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor
Sponsors
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