Sora Releases Texas-Specific Guide to Empower 1.26 Million Emergent Bilinguals Through Student-Driven Literacy

New advocacy guide details funding pathways and research-backed strategies to help Texas school districts shift from permanent scaffolding to independent reading success.

Key Takeaways from the Texas Guide:

• Transition to student-driven scaffolding: Texas districts can accelerate literacy by replacing permanent modifications with flexible, student-controlled tools that fade as reading confidence grows.
• Support Texas's growing EB population: Designed specifically for Texas's 1.26 million Emergent Bilinguals (accounting for 20% of state enrollment), addressing STAAR and TELPAS performance gaps.
• Maximize state and federal funding: Provides actionable strategies to tap into HB 3 Bilingual Education Allotment funds, Federal Title III grants, Title I allocations and HB 2256 funding frameworks.
• Ensure state policy compliance: Aligns platform adoption directly with Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 89 mandates and Texas Reading Academies objectives while mitigating bilingual teacher shortages.

CLEVELAND - Oct. 29, 2026 - As Texas public schools navigate stagnant state reading benchmarks and educator shortages, Sora-the award-winning student reading app by OverDrive-has released a comprehensive action guide tailored specifically for Texas district leaders: Expanding Literacy Support for Texas's Emergent Bilinguals.

Building on recent research from the national white paper co-authored by Sora and Instructure, From Dependency to Independence, this state-specific guide addresses the urgent needs of Texas's 1.26 million Emergent Bilinguals (EBs). With EBs now accounting for 20% of total state enrollment, the guide provides school and district leaders with a roadmap to transition students from continuous classroom dependency to grade-level reading ability.

Core Focus Areas of the Texas Advocacy Guide:

• Data-Driven Analysis of Texas Literacy: Examines recent STAAR and TELPAS assessment challenges, high chronic absenteeism rates and the impact of severe bilingual teacher shortages across the state.
• Research-Aligned Scaffolding Principles: Outlines how dynamic tools such as native language transfer, bimodal learning (text-to-speech audio), and student-controlled supports help accelerate English vocabulary acquisition while maintaining grade-level text rigor.
• Strategic Funding Alignment: Connects digital reading technology directly to available Texas funding streams, including House Bill 3 (HB 3) Bilingual Education Allotments, Federal Title III Grants, Title I Funds and HB 2256 Bilingual Special Education Frameworks.
• Compliance and Policy Integration: Shows administrators how student-led reading models satisfy Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 89 mandates and align seamlessly with Texas Reading Academies objectives.

"Emergent Bilinguals bring tremendous potential to Texas classrooms, but far too many are falling behind on state reading benchmarks simply because they lack the targeted language tools needed to master grade-level content," said Renee Davenport, Vice President of Education for Sora. "Our new Texas guide shows district leaders how to give Multilingual Learners full access to grade-level reading, paired with flexible tools that help them master complex academic language. When we give students the ability to navigate difficult texts confidently, we close persistent performance gaps and set them up for lifelong success."

To learn more, view the guide here.

About OverDrive

OverDrive is a mission-based company that supports libraries and schools. Named a Certified B Corp in 2017, OverDrive serves more than 80,000 libraries and schools in 115 countries with the industry's largest digital catalog of eBooks, audiobooks, magazines, video, and other content. Award-winning apps and services include the Libby library reading app, the Sora student reading app, the Kanopy video streaming app, and TeachingBooks. Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland, Ohio USA. www.overdrive.com