K-3 reading program change

Key facts

• Program chosen: Reading Horizons Discovery, for K-3 phonics, starting 2026-27¹
• Adopted: Apr. 23, 2026, on the consent list¹
• Teacher teams’ feedback: 82 for, 13 for the other choice¹
• Community feedback: 7 for, 4 for the other choice¹
• Paid to the seller, 2025-26: $1,295,250²

In short

Phonics is how kids learn to match letters to sounds. In April 2026 the board chose Reading Horizons Discovery as the main phonics program for kindergarten to 3rd grade.¹ Most teacher teams who gave feedback picked it.¹ The district paid the seller about $1.3 million in 2025-26. We don’t know exactly what each payment was for.²

Related: consent votes · money out

Layer 1: What happened

On April 23, 2026, the board adopted Reading Horizons Discovery. It is sold by HEC Software, Inc. It will be the main (“Tier 1”) phonics program for kindergarten through 3rd grade, starting in 2026-27.¹ It was approved on the consent list, where many items pass in one vote.¹

The other choice was Amplify Phonics. Feedback favored Reading Horizons:¹

Who gave feedback	Reading Horizons	Amplify
Teacher teams	82	13
Community	7	4

The board item did not list a cost.¹

Layer 1: What was paid

The district’s check list for 2025-26 shows three payments to HEC Software:²

Date	Amount
Oct. 1, 2025	$99,750
Jan. 14, 2026	$17,500
May 29, 2026	$1,178,000
Total	$1,295,250

The biggest payment came about five weeks after the vote.²

Layer 2: The other side

• The payments can cover more than one year of licenses, plus teacher coaching. The check list does not say what each payment was for.²
• Reading Horizons was already being piloted at five campuses in K-3 during 2025-26, before the vote.³ It was one of five programs that met the district’s criteria. The list was cut to two, and it got the most “top choice” votes from the review committee.⁴
• The board item that adopted the program lists no cost.¹ The cost figures on this page come from the district’s own check register.²

Layer 1: Reading materials in use

A required state form, approved the same night, lists the reading and phonics products for K-5 in 2026-27.⁵ They include:

• Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling and Word Study (Heinemann)
• Units of Study (Lucy Calkins and TCRWP)
• Reading Horizons Discovery K-3
• Saxon Phonics and Spelling (HMH)
• Heggerty (sound awareness, K-1)
• Amira
• Journeys leveled readers

This is a list of products. It does not show how each one is used in class.⁵

Layer 1: The state’s approved list

The State Board of Education keeps a list of approved teaching materials. Reading Horizons Discovery K-3 is on the 2024 list for phonics. So is Amplify, the runner-up.⁶ Fountas & Pinnell Phonics and Units of Study are not on that list.⁶

Counterweight

Being off the list does not ban a product. It only affects whether state money set aside for approved materials can pay for it.⁶

The state also offers free state-made reading lessons called Bluebonnet Learning. Districts that use them can get $20 per student a year for printing. For Leander ISD that was $766,960 for 2025-26.⁷ On the 2026-27 state form, the district answered “N/A” for the Bluebonnet reading products.⁷ We found no public district statement on why.

Layer 1: Grade 3 reading scores

Share of Leander ISD 3rd graders at “Meets Grade Level” or above on the state reading test (STAAR), next to the state:⁸

Year	Leander ISD	Texas
2018	57%	43%
2019	57%	45%
2021	56%	39%
2022	65%	51%
2023	63%	50%
2024	58%	48%
2025	65%	52%

There was no test in 2020. In 2025, 85% of district 3rd graders reached “Approaches” or above, vs. 77% statewide.⁸

Counterweights

• The test changed in 2023 (online, new question types), so years before and after are hard to compare.
• The new program starts in 2026-27, so there are no “after” scores yet.
• The district has stayed 10 to 17 points above the state every year.⁸

What you can do or watch next

• Watch for the next state test results each summer.

What we still don’t know

• We have not seen the contract for the reading program.
• We do not know which five schools tried it in 2025-26.
• There are no test scores yet from after the switch.

Layer 3: Sources

Questions to ask

• Where does the district post the contract for the reading program?
• Which schools tried the program first, by the district’s records?

Changes to this page

• Nov. 2, 2026: We removed a line that guessed at a cause our sources do not show.
• Nov. 2, 2026: We took internal document numbers out of the source notes.
• Nov. 2, 2026: Added questions to ask.
• Nov. 2, 2026: We removed a cost figure from another district that we could not match to a saved source.

Footnotes

1. Board packet, Apr. 23, 2026, consent item 5.E, page 65. Packet page 65. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹

2. Leander ISD check register, 2025-26: HEC SOFTWARE, INC DBA, “Contracted Svcs-Miscellaneous,” three payments. Our math for the total. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

3. Board packet, Nov. 6, 2025: “Phonics: SBOE-approved Material, Reading Horizons, 5 campuses, K-3”. Packet. ↩

4. Board packets, Jan. 22, 2026 (vendor list) and Apr. 2, 2026 (selection update). Jan. 22 packet · Apr. 2 packet. ↩

5. Board packet, Apr. 23, 2026, consent item 5.B, 2026-27 Certification of Provision of Instructional Materials. Packet. ↩ ↩²

6. State Board of Education, Instructional Materials Review and Approval (IMRA) Cycle 2024 approved list (SBOE vote Nov. 22, 2024), sboe.texas.gov. ↩ ↩² ↩³

7. Board packet, Nov. 6, 2025, HB 1605 update, entitlement table Packet; board packet, Apr. 23, 2026, consent item 5.B Packet. ↩ ↩²

8. Texas Education Agency, Texas Academic Performance Reports (TAPR), Leander ISD, 2018-19 to 2024-25, Grade 3 Reading STAAR. ↩ ↩² ↩³