I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1939 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to improve 

the Reading First program. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 19, 2007 

Mr. MCKEON (for himself and Mr. CASTLE) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

of 1965 to improve the Reading First program. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reading First Im5 provement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PROGRESS REPORT. 

7 Section 1202(e)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary 

8 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6362(e)(5)) is amended 

9 by striking ‘‘peer review panel’’ and inserting ‘‘Com10 mittee’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. PEER REVIEW. 

2 Section 1203(c)(2) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 

3 6363(c)(2)) is amended— 

4 (1) in subparagraph (A)— 

5 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘a 

6 panel’’ and inserting ‘‘a Reading First Advisory 

7 Committee’’; and 

8 (B) in the second sentence, by striking 

9 ‘‘panel’’ and inserting ‘‘Committee’’; 

10 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and 

11 (C) as subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively; 

12 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The Committee shall 

15 not be comprised of a majority of members se16 lected by one individual or entity described in 

17 subparagraph (A).’’; 

18 (4) in subparagraph (C) (as redesignated by 

19 paragraph (2)) by striking ‘‘panel’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘Committee’’; 

21 (5) in subparagraph (D) (as redesignated by 

22 paragraph (2)) by striking ‘‘panel’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘Committee’’; and 

24 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

25 ‘‘(E) SUBCOMMITTEES.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—At its sole discre2 tion, the Committee may form one or more 

3 subcommittees to assist the Committee 

4 with the functions described in this para5 graph. 

6 ‘‘(ii) REPRESENTATION.—If the Com7 mittee chooses to form such subcommit8 tees, each subcommittee shall include at 

9 least one member selected by each indi10 vidual or entity described in subparagraph 

11 (A), and in no case shall be comprised of 

12 a majority of members selected by one 

13 such entity. Members of the Committee 

14 may serve on one or more subcommittees. 

15 ‘‘(iii) COMMITTEE REVIEW.—The 

16 Committee shall review the recommenda17 tions of each subcommittee, and, following 

18 such review, make a final recommendation 

19 to the Secretary in accordance with sub20 paragraph (D). 

21 ‘‘(F) GOVERNANCE.—The Federal Advi22 sory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall gov23 ern the activities of the Committee. 

24 ‘‘(G) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

2 shall establish a process through which 

3 members of the Committee or any sub4 committees will be screened for potential 

5 conflicts of interest. 

6 ‘‘(ii) SCREENING.—Such screening 

7 process shall— 

8 ‘‘(I) be reviewed and approved by 

9 the Office of General Counsel of the 

10 Department; 

11 ‘‘(II) include, at a minimum, a 

12 review of each potential Committee or 

13 subcommittee member’s connection to 

14 any State’s program under this sub15 part, each potential Committee or 

16 subcommittee member’s potential fi17 nancial interest in products that 

18 might be purchased by a State edu19 cational agency or local educational 

20 agency in the course of such agency’s 

21 implementation of the program under 

22 this subpart, and each potential Com23 mittee or subcommittee member’s pro24 fessional connections to teaching 


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1 methodologies that might require the 

2 use of specific products; and 

3 ‘‘(III) be designed to prevent, to 

4 the extent possible, bias or the ap5 pearance thereof in the Committee’s 

6 performance of its responsibilities 

7 under this paragraph. 

8 ‘‘(H) GUIDANCE.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

10 shall develop guidance for how the Com11 mittee and any subcommittees created in 

12 accordance with subparagraph (E) will re13 view applications submitted under this sec14 tion and provide feedback to State edu15 cational agencies and recommendations to 

16 the Secretary. The Secretary shall also de17 velop guidance for how the Secretary will 

18 review the recommendations of the Com19 mittee and any subcommittees and make 

20 final determinations of approval or dis21 approval of an application submitted under 

22 this section. 

23 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS.—Such guidance 

24 shall, at a minimum— 


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1 ‘‘(I) create a transparent process 

2 through which the Committee and 

3 subcommittees provide clear, con4 sistent, and publicly available docu5 mentation in support of all rec6 ommendations; 

7 ‘‘(II) ensure that the Committee 

8 reviews any subcommittee feedback 

9 prior to that feedback being submitted 

10 to a State educational agency; 

11 ‘‘(III) ensure that State edu12 cational agencies have the opportunity 

13 for direct interaction with the Com14 mittee and any subcommittee, as ap15 propriate, when revising an applica16 tion under this section as a result of 

17 feedback submitted by the Committee 

18 or a subcommittee; 

19 ‘‘(IV) require that the Com20 mittee, any subcommittee, and the 

21 Secretary clearly and consistently doc22 ument that all criteria contained in 

23 subsection (b) are met before an ap24 plication submitted under this section 

25 is approved; and 


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1 ‘‘(V) create a transparent process 

2 through which the Secretary clearly, 

3 consistently, and publicly documents 

4 decisions to approve or disapprove an 

5 application submitted under this sec6 tion and the reasons for such deci7 sions.’’. 

8 SEC. 4. TARGETED ASSISTANCE GRANTS. 

9 Section 1204(c)(2) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

10 6364(c)(2)) is amended— 

11 (1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘peer re12 view panel’’ and inserting ‘‘Committee’’; and 

13 (2) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘panel’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘Committee’’. 

15 SEC. 5. EXTERNAL EVALUATION. 

16 Section 1205 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 6365) is amend17 ed by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ensure 

20 that the independent organization described in sub21 section (a) does not hold a contract or subcontract 

22 to implement any aspect of the program under this 

23 subpart. 

24 ‘‘(2) SUBCONTRACTORS.—The contract entered 

25 into under subsection (a) shall prohibit the indeVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:40 Apr 20, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1939.IH H1939

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1 pendent organization conducting the evaluation from 

2 subcontracting with any entity that holds a contract 

3 or subcontract for any aspect of the implementation 

4 of this subpart.’’. 

5 SEC. 6. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES. 

6 Section 1206 of that Act (20 U.S.C. 6366) is amend7 ed— 

8 (1) by inserting before ‘‘From funds’’ the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(a) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND EVALUATION.—’’; 

11 and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(b) CONTRACTS FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter 

15 into contracts with independent entities to perform 

16 the activities described in subsection (a)(1). 

17 ‘‘(2) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary en19 ters into such contracts, the Secretary shall— 

20 ‘‘(i) ensure that such contracts re21 quire the contracted entity to screen for 

22 conflicts of interest when hiring individuals 

23 to carry out the responsibilities under the 

24 contract; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) ensure that such contracts re2 quire the contracted entity to include the 

3 requirement in clause (i) in any sub4 contracts such entity enters into to fulfill 

5 the responsibilities described in paragraph 

6 (1). 

7 ‘‘(B) SCREENING PROCESS.—The screen8 ing process described in subparagraph (A) 

9 shall— 

10 ‘‘(i) include, at a minimum, a review 

11 of each individual performing duties under 

12 the contract or subcontract for connections 

13 to any State’s program under this subpart, 

14 potential financial interests in, or other 

15 connection to, products that might be pur16 chased by a State educational agency or 

17 local educational agency in the course of 

18 such agency’s implementation of the pro19 gram under this subpart, and connections 

20 to teaching methodologies that might re21 quire the use of specific products; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) be designed to prevent, to the ex23 tent possible, bias or the appearance there24 of in the performance of the responsibilVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:40 Apr 20, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1939.IH H1939

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1 ities outlined in the contract or sub2 contract. 

3 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION DISSEMINATION.—If the 

4 Secretary enters into such contracts, and if a con5 tracted entity enters into such subcontracts, those 

6 contracts and subcontracts shall require the tech7 nical assistance providers to clearly separate tech8 nical assistance provided under such contract or sub9 contract from information provided, or activities en10 gaged in, as part of the normal operations of the 

11 contractor or subcontractor. Efforts to comply with 

12 this paragraph may include, but are not limited to, 

13 the creation of separate web pages for the purpose 

14 of fulfilling a contract or subcontract entered into 

15 under this subsection.’’. 

16 SEC. 7. PROHIBITION ON FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 

17 Subpart 1 of part B of title I of that Act is amended 

18 by adding after section 1208 (20 U.S.C. 6368) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 1209. PROHIBITION ON FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this subpart shall be 

22 construed to alter or lessen the prohibition contained in 

23 section 9527(b) of this Act or section 103(b) of the De24 partment of Education Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 

25 3403(b)). 


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1 ‘‘(b) GUIDANCE.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 

3 guidance for Department employees responsible for 

4 the implementation of this subpart that will assist 

5 those employees in complying with the prohibitions 

6 included in subsection (a). 

7 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—Such guidance shall em8 phasize the importance of consultation with the Of9 fice of General Counsel of the Department on issues 

10 related to such prohibitions. 

11 ‘‘(3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Such guidance 

12 shall stress that any information disseminated, or 

13 technical assistance provided, related to this subpart, 

14 shall represent multiple perspectives and not in any 

15 way endorse or appear to endorse any particular 

16 product or service that might be purchased by a 

17 State educational agency or local educational agency 

18 in the course of such agency’s implementation of the 

19 program under this subpart.’’. 

Æ 


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