Bill to prohibit three-cueing reading method passes committee

A bill prohibiting the use of an education strategy known as the three-cueing system received a favorable report from the House Education Policy Committee on Wednesday. 

The three-cueing system is a method of teaching reading that uses meaning, structure/syntax, and visual cues. Rep. Leigh Hulsey, R-Helena, the sponsor of the bill, said the system allows children to guess a word based on pictures surrounding it. 

“Three cueing does not emphasize phonic based learning and causes students to be overly dependent on visual clues, which leads to guessing or seeking to memorize cues,” Hulsey said.

Three-cueing is a teaching strategy that is affiliated with “balanced literacy,” a compromise between whole language and phonics-based instruction that became prominent in the 1990s, according to the Hechinger Report. Hulsey said the bill is aimed at strengthening the implementation of the Literacy Act. 

The State Department of Education banned the teaching method at its May board meeting. 

Chairwoman Terri Collins, R-Decatur, said the system does not teach children what letters mean in the context of words. 

“It is very dangerous as far as interfering with how children learn to read,” Collins said.

Hulsey carried the bill last year, but it was not voted on in the Senate. An amendment from Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, updated the effective date in the bill from the 2024-2025 school year to 2025-2026.