Foundations First: Reclaiming Reading and Math through Proven Instruction. Hearing before the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education of the Committee on Education and Workforce. U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Nineteenth Congress, First Session (September 3, 2025). Serial No. 119-25

Overview & Synopsis

This hearing before the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education examined reclaiming America's academic foundations by getting back to basics when it comes to reading and math through proven instruction. Opening statements were presented by: (1) Honorable Kevin Kiley, Chairman, Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education; and (2) Honorable Suzanne Bonamici, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education. The following witnesses presented statements: (1) Dr. Cade Brumley, State Superintendent of Education, State of Louisiana; (2) Chandra Roughton, Founder and CEO, Luminous Minds; (3) Dr. Jhanae Wingfield, Assistant Professor of Early Childhood and Literacy Education, Department of Urban Education at Rutgers University-Newark; and (4) Dr. Brent Harrison, Superintendent, Saraland City Schools. Additional material submitted by Ranking Member Bonamici and Honorable Summer L. Lee included: (1) Article dated February 14, 2025, from The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate Online, titled ''Despite lofty promises, Louisiana's private-school vouchers fall short''; (2) Report dated September 11, 2025, from the Education Policy Analysis Archives (EPAA), titled ''Taxpayer-Funded Private School Vouchers and Market Failure: A Policy Scan and Review From 1869 to 2024"; (3) Article dated July 3, 2025, from kpel965.com, titled ''Acadiana Schools Brace for Deep Cuts as Congress Slashes Education Funding''; and (4) Report dated 2022, from South Carolina Law Review, titled ''School District Secession in Mobile County, Alabama: A Case Study of Adaptive Discrimination and Threats to Multiracial Democracy.''