S 8044 New York Senate · 2025 Regular Session

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

571
Passed · 5 other
Total votes 63
May 29, 2026
D Democratic41
36 Yea 5
87% Yea
R Republican22
21 Yea 1 Nay
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