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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3907 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3907

To authorize the Secretary of Education to carry out a grant program to 
 assist local educational agencies with ensuring that each elementary 
  school and secondary school has at least one reading, literacy, or 
                    biliteracy specialist on staff.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 12, 2024

 Mr. Heinrich introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To authorize the Secretary of Education to carry out a grant program to 
 assist local educational agencies with ensuring that each elementary 
  school and secondary school has at least one reading, literacy, or 
                    biliteracy specialist on staff.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Literacy Improvement for 
Transformation Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) ESEA terms.--The terms ``elementary school'', ``English 
        learner'', ``institution of higher education'', ``local 
        educational agency'', ``multi-tier system of supports'', 
        ``secondary school'', and ``State educational agency'' have the 
        meanings given those terms in section 8101 of the Elementary 
        and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
            (2) IDEA terms.--The terms ``child with a disability'', 
        ``individualized education program'' or ``IEP'', ``special 
        education'', and ``specific learning disability'' have the 
        meanings given those terms in section 602 of the Individuals 
        with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401).
            (3) Bilingual.--The term ``bilingual'' means a program that 
        makes instructional use of both English and a child's native 
        language.
            (4) Biliteracy.--The term ``biliteracy'' means the ability 
        to read and write with high levels of proficiency in 2 
        languages through the appropriate and effective use of 
        grammatical, syntactic, graphophonic, semantic, and pragmatic 
        systems of the 2 languages.
            (5) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
                    (A) a local educational agency;
                    (B) a partnership between a State educational 
                agency and one or more local educational agencies in 
                the State, entered into for the purposes of a grant 
                under this section;
                    (C) a nonprofit entity with expertise in reading 
                intervention or specific learning disabilities, in 
                partnership with a State educational agency or one or 
                more local educational agencies;
                    (D) a school operated by the Bureau of Indian 
                Education or operated by an Indian tribe, or an 
                organization controlled or sanctioned by an Indian 
                tribal government, for the children of that tribe under 
                a contract with, or grant from, the Department of the 
                Interior under the Indian Self-Determination Act (25 
                U.S.C. 5321 et seq.) or the Tribally Controlled Schools 
                Act of 1988 (25 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.); or
                    (E) an institution of higher education (including a 
                Tribal College or University (as defined in section 316 
                of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c)).
            (6) English language development.--The term ``English 
        language development'' means instruction designed specifically 
        for English language learners to develop their listening, 
        speaking, reading, and writing skills in English. English 
        language development instruction may include English as a 
        Second Language, English for Speakers of Other Languages, 
        English as a New Language, English Language Learner 
        instruction, and English Learner instruction.
            (7) High-need local educational agency.--The term ``high-
        need local educational agency'' has the meaning given such term 
        in section 200 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        1021).
            (8) Reading, literacy, or biliteracy specialist.--The term 
        ``reading, literacy, or biliteracy specialist'' means a 
        certified professional--
                    (A) whose primary responsibility is working with 
                students who struggle with reading and writing;
                    (B) who has completed additional certifications or 
                course of study and is able to demonstrate the ability 
                to implement intervention strategies for the building 
                of reading and literacy or biliteracy skills; and
                    (C) who may also be referred to as an 
                interventionist, reading teacher, or by an alternative 
                title.
            (9) Section 504 plan.--The term ``section 504 plan'' means 
        a reasonable accommodation developed for students with 
        disabilities to receive the appropriate educational support 
        services to fully participate in school activities and have 
        equal access to educational opportunities, in accordance with 
        section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794).
            (10) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Education.
            (11) Subgroup of students.--The term ``subgroup of 
        students'' means--
                    (A) each major racial and ethnic group;
                    (B) economically disadvantaged students as compared 
                to students who are not economically disadvantaged;
                    (C) children with disabilities as compared to 
                children without disabilities;
                    (D) English proficiency status; and
                    (E) gender.

SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to assist State educational agencies and 
local educational agencies with ensuring that every elementary school 
and secondary school has at least one full-time certified reading, 
literacy, or biliteracy specialist on staff, and to support the 
recruitment, hiring, retention, and development of certified reading, 
literacy, or biliteracy specialists.

SEC. 4. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, children 
        who struggle to read proficiently by fourth grade are 4 times 
        more likely to not graduate from high school than their peers 
        with grade-level reading skills.
            (2) According to the 2022 National Assessment of 
        Educational Progress, 33 percent of fourth graders and 31 
        percent of eighth graders scored at or above proficient in 
        English reading. In 2019, 37 percent of twelfth graders scored 
        at or above proficient in English reading.
            (3) In 2022, 66 percent of fourth graders and 69 percent of 
        eighth graders scored at or below the National Assessment of 
        Educational Progress Basic English reading level.
            (4) According to leading researchers Thomas and Collier, 
        students that have access to high-quality bilingual instruction 
        tend to exhibit higher educational outcomes long-term, as 
        demonstrated by academic performance and engagement, than their 
        peers who are not enrolled in bilingual programs.

SEC. 5. LITERACY IMPROVEMENT AND TRANSFORMATION GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Grant Program Authorized.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a program to 
        award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to 
        carry out the activities described under subsection (d).
            (2) Duration.--Grants awarded under this section shall be 
        for a period of 5 years.
    (b) Application.--An eligible entity desiring a grant under this 
section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in 
such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may 
require, including--
            (1) a needs assessment of the eligible entity that 
        demonstrates the existence of persistent shortages of reading, 
        literacy, or bilteracy specialists or persistent shortages of 
        full-time reading, literacy, or biliteracy specialists;
            (2) demographic information about the student population 
        served by the eligible entity, disaggregated (to the extent 
        that such information complies with applicable privacy law and 
        protects personally identifiable information), by--
                    (A) subgroups of students and grade level; and
                    (B) status as a student that--
                            (i) has a section 504 plan;
                            (ii) has an IEP; and
                            (iii) is an English learner;
            (3) a description of the relevant academic needs of the 
        student population served by the eligible entity, including--
                    (A) the ratio of reading and literacy specialists 
                to whole student population; and
                    (B) an overview of student performance related to 
                reading, literacy, and comprehension on formative and 
                summative reading assessments, standardized tests, and 
                district and State benchmarks, including such 
                information disaggregated (to the extent that such 
                information complies with applicable privacy law and 
                protects personally identifiable information), by--
                            (i) subgroups of students and grade level; 
                        and
                            (ii) status as a student that--
                                    (I) has a section 504 plan;
                                    (II) has an IEP; and
                                    (III) is an English learner;
            (4) graduation rates, attendance data, and disciplinary 
        data (as determined by the Secretary), disaggregated (to the 
        extent that such information complies with applicable privacy 
        law and protects personally identifiable information) by--
                    (A) subgroups of students and grade level; and
                    (B) status as a student that--
                            (i) has a section 504 plan;
                            (ii) has an IEP; and
                            (iii) is an English learner;
            (5) a comprehensive plan for the use of grant funds to 
        address persistent shortages described in the needs assessment 
        under paragraph (1), including a description of--
                    (A) how grant funds will be used in accordance with 
                subsection (d);
                    (B) how such activities will improve or strengthen 
                intervention strategies; and
                    (C) how such funds will be used to ensure that the 
                eligible entity will continue to employ and retain 
                reading, literacy, or bilteracy specialists after the 
                completion of the grant period;
            (6) a description of how the eligible entity will 
        prioritize recruiting individuals from the communities served 
        by the eligible entity and from underrepresented populations in 
        the field of education (as determined by the Secretary by 
        regulation) to serve as full-time reading, literacy, or 
        bilteracy specialists, and how the eligible entity will track 
        progress in meeting any specified hiring goals;
            (7) an assurance that the eligible entity will ensure 
        compliance with the requirement described in subsection (e);
            (8) a description of how the eligible entity is meeting the 
        literacy and second language acquisition needs of English 
        learners through English language development, English as a 
        Second Language, or bilingual program offerings;
            (9) an assurance that the second language development needs 
        of English learners will not result in English learners being 
        placed in remedial reading courses; and
            (10) an assurance that Native American English learners 
        whose home language is orally based are not disadvantaged when 
        those English learners begin to learn English, especially by 
        providing an assurance of culturally and linguistically 
        responsive, engaging, and evidence-based strategies that 
        promote student success.
    (c) Selection and Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, 
the Secretary shall--
            (1) give a first priority to eligible entities that are 
        located in a State that is in the lowest quartile of States, in 
        a ranking of all States, ranked in descending order by the 
        percentage of students in grades 4 and 8 in the State who score 
        at or above a level of Proficient on the National Assessment of 
        Educational Progress reading assessments for students in grades 
        4 and 8; and
            (2) if the priority in paragraph (1) has been satisfied, or 
        if no applicants described in paragraph (1) apply, then the 
        Secretary shall give priority to applicants that--
                    (A) are a high-need local educational agency, or 
                are a partnership between a State educational agency 
                and a consortium of high-need local educational 
                agencies; and
                    (B) describe and set specific hiring goals towards 
                increasing the share of reading, literacy, or bilteracy 
                specialists who are from underrepresented populations 
                in the field of education.
    (d) Activities.--Grant funds awarded under this section shall be 
used by an eligible entity to carry out one or more of the following 
activities:
            (1) Recruiting, hiring, and developing full-time reading, 
        literacy, or biliteracy specialists.
            (2) Providing resources necessary to support the 
        development of reading, literacy, or biliteracy specialists 
        from a part-time to full-time capacity at elementary schools or 
        secondary schools served by the eligible entity, including 
        through full funding for teachers who are employed by the 
        eligible entity at the time of the grant to earn an evidence-
        based reading, literacy, or biliteracy specialist certification 
        from an accredited institution of higher education.
            (3) Supporting the retention of reading, literacy, or 
        biliteracy specialists, including by increasing salaries.
            (4) Ensuring that at least 1 full-time reading, literacy, 
        or biliteracy specialist is on staff at each elementary school 
        and secondary school served by the eligible entity.
            (5) Supporting biliteracy development, teaching, and 
        assessment strategies.
            (6) Providing continual professional development 
        opportunities regarding reading difficulties in students with 
        disabilities, including how to identify reading disabilities in 
        students with other diagnoses.
    (e) Requirement; Rule of Construction.--
            (1) Requirement.--Each grant recipient shall ensure that 
        any reading, literacy, or biliteracy specialist whose position 
        is partially or fully funded by grant funds spends not less 
        than 80 percent of their time in that position working with 
        teachers and students to improve student outcomes.
            (2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be 
        construed to limit the preservation or use of Native American 
        languages.
    (f) Report.--Each eligible entity awarded a grant under this 
section shall submit to the Secretary an annual report for each year of 
the grant award. Such report shall include--
            (1) a summary of the eligible entity's progress in 
        employing at least 1 full-time reading, literacy, or biliteracy 
        specialist at each elementary school and secondary school 
        served by the eligible entity;
            (2) data on the number of full-time and part-time reading, 
        literacy, or biliteracy specialists, disaggregated by major 
        racial and ethnic groups and gender, employed at each 
        elementary school and secondary school served by the eligible 
        entity, and data on the ratio of students to reading, literacy, 
        or bilteracy specialists at each such school;
            (3) a summary of any progress made by the eligible entity 
        in addressing reading, literacy, and comprehension, as 
        identified in the needs assessment required under subsection 
        (b)(2), as a result of the activities carried out with a grant 
        under this section; and
            (4) a summary of the number of students in each subgroup of 
        students who were served by the reading, literacy, or 
        biliteracy specialist (to the extent that such information 
        complies with applicable privacy law and protects personally 
        identifiable information).
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