II 

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. 

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 ‘‘Literacy Improvement 

5 for Transformation Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘elementary 

2 school’’, ‘‘English learner’’, ‘‘institution of higher 

3 education’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘multi-tier 

4 system of supports’’, ‘‘secondary school’’, and ‘‘State 

5 educational agency’’ have the meanings given those 

6 terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec7 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

8 (2) IDEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘child with a 

9 disability’’, ‘‘individualized education program’’ or 

10 ‘‘IEP’’, ‘‘special education’’, and ‘‘specific learning 

11 disability’’ have the meanings given those terms in 

12 section 602 of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu13 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1401). 

14 (3) BILINGUAL.—The term ‘‘bilingual’’ means a 

15 program that makes instructional use of both 

16 English and a child’s native language. 

17 (4) BILITERACY.—The term ‘‘biliteracy’’ means 

18 the ability to read and write with high levels of pro19 ficiency in 2 languages through the appropriate and 

20 effective use of grammatical, syntactic, 

21 graphophonic, semantic, and pragmatic systems of 

22 the 2 languages. 

23 (5) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti24 ty’’ means— 

25 (A) a local educational agency; 


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1 (B) a partnership between a State edu2 cational agency and one or more local edu3 cational agencies in the State, entered into for 

4 the purposes of a grant under this section; 

5 (C) a nonprofit entity with expertise in 

6 reading intervention or specific learning disabil7 ities, in partnership with a State educational 

8 agency or one or more local educational agen9 cies; 

10 (D) a school operated by the Bureau of In11 dian Education or operated by an Indian tribe, 

12 or an organization controlled or sanctioned by 

13 an Indian tribal government, for the children of 

14 that tribe under a contract with, or grant from, 

15 the Department of the Interior under the In16 dian Self-Determination Act (25 U.S.C. 5321 et 

17 seq.) or the Tribally Controlled Schools Act of 

18 1988 (25 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.); or 

19 (E) an institution of higher education (in20 cluding a Tribal College or University (as de21 fined in section 316 of the Higher Education 

22 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c)). 

23 (6) ENGLISH LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT.—The 

24 term ‘‘English language development’’ means in25 struction designed specifically for English language 


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1 learners to develop their listening, speaking, reading, 

2 and writing skills in English. English language de3 velopment instruction may include English as a Sec4 ond Language, English for Speakers of Other Lan5 guages, English as a New Language, English Lan6 guage Learner instruction, and English Learner in7 struction. 

8 (7) HIGH-NEED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN9 CY.—The term ‘‘high-need local educational agency’’ 

10 has the meaning given such term in section 200 of 

11 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

12 1021). 

13 (8) READING, LITERACY, OR BILITERACY SPE14 CIALIST.—The term ‘‘reading, literacy, or biliteracy 

15 specialist’’ means a certified professional— 

16 (A) whose primary responsibility is work17 ing with students who struggle with reading 

18 and writing; 

19 (B) who has completed additional certifi20 cations or course of study and is able to dem21 onstrate the ability to implement intervention 

22 strategies for the building of reading and lit23 eracy or biliteracy skills; and 


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1 (C) who may also be referred to as an 

2 interventionist, reading teacher, or by an alter3 native title. 

4 (9) SECTION 504 PLAN.—The term ‘‘section 504 

5 plan’’ means a reasonable accommodation developed 

6 for students with disabilities to receive the appro7 priate educational support services to fully partici8 pate in school activities and have equal access to 

9 educational opportunities, in accordance with section 

10 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 

11 794). 

12 (10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

13 means the Secretary of Education. 

14 (11) SUBGROUP OF STUDENTS.—The term 

15 ‘‘subgroup of students’’ means— 

16 (A) each major racial and ethnic group; 

17 (B) economically disadvantaged students 

18 as compared to students who are not economi19 cally disadvantaged; 

20 (C) children with disabilities as compared 

21 to children without disabilities; 

22 (D) English proficiency status; and 

23 (E) gender. 


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1 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

2 The purpose of this Act is to assist State educational 

3 agencies and local educational agencies with ensuring that 

4 every elementary school and secondary school has at least 

5 one full-time certified reading, literacy, or biliteracy spe6 cialist on staff, and to support the recruitment, hiring, re7 tention, and development of certified reading, literacy, or 

8 biliteracy specialists. 

9 SEC. 4. FINDINGS. 

10 Congress finds the following: 

11 (1) According to the Annie E. Casey Founda12 tion, children who struggle to read proficiently by 

13 fourth grade are 4 times more likely to not graduate 

14 from high school than their peers with grade-level 

15 reading skills. 

16 (2) According to the 2022 National Assessment 

17 of Educational Progress, 33 percent of fourth grad18 ers and 31 percent of eighth graders scored at or 

19 above proficient in English reading. In 2019, 37 per20 cent of twelfth graders scored at or above proficient 

21 in English reading. 

22 (3) In 2022, 66 percent of fourth graders and 

23 69 percent of eighth graders scored at or below the 

24 National Assessment of Educational Progress Basic 

25 English reading level. 


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1 (4) According to leading researchers Thomas 

2 and Collier, students that have access to high-quality 

3 bilingual instruction tend to exhibit higher edu4 cational outcomes long-term, as demonstrated by 

5 academic performance and engagement, than their 

6 peers who are not enrolled in bilingual programs. 

7 SEC. 5. LITERACY IMPROVEMENT AND TRANSFORMATION 

8 GRANT PROGRAM. 

9 (a) GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

11 a program to award grants, on a competitive basis, 

12 to eligible entities to carry out the activities de13 scribed under subsection (d). 

14 (2) DURATION.—Grants awarded under this 

15 section shall be for a period of 5 years. 

16 (b) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity desiring a grant 

17 under this section shall submit an application to the Sec18 retary at such time, in such manner, and containing such 

19 information as the Secretary may require, including— 

20 (1) a needs assessment of the eligible entity 

21 that demonstrates the existence of persistent short22 ages of reading, literacy, or bilteracy specialists or 

23 persistent shortages of full-time reading, literacy, or 

24 biliteracy specialists; 


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1 (2) demographic information about the student 

2 population served by the eligible entity, 

3 disaggregated (to the extent that such information 

4 complies with applicable privacy law and protects 

5 personally identifiable information), by— 

6 (A) subgroups of students and grade level; 

7 and 

8 (B) status as a student that— 

9 (i) has a section 504 plan; 

10 (ii) has an IEP; and 

11 (iii) is an English learner; 

12 (3) a description of the relevant academic needs 

13 of the student population served by the eligible enti14 ty, including— 

15 (A) the ratio of reading and literacy spe16 cialists to whole student population; and 

17 (B) an overview of student performance re18 lated to reading, literacy, and comprehension on 

19 formative and summative reading assessments, 

20 standardized tests, and district and State 

21 benchmarks, including such information 

22 disaggregated (to the extent that such informa23 tion complies with applicable privacy law and 

24 protects personally identifiable information), 

25 by— 


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1 (i) subgroups of students and grade 

2 level; and 

3 (ii) status as a student that— 

4 (I) has a section 504 plan; 

5 (II) has an IEP; and 

6 (III) is an English learner; 

7 (4) graduation rates, attendance data, and dis8 ciplinary data (as determined by the Secretary), 

9 disaggregated (to the extent that such information 

10 complies with applicable privacy law and protects 

11 personally identifiable information) by— 

12 (A) subgroups of students and grade level; 

13 and 

14 (B) status as a student that— 

15 (i) has a section 504 plan; 

16 (ii) has an IEP; and 

17 (iii) is an English learner; 

18 (5) a comprehensive plan for the use of grant 

19 funds to address persistent shortages described in 

20 the needs assessment under paragraph (1), including 

21 a description of— 

22 (A) how grant funds will be used in ac23 cordance with subsection (d); 

24 (B) how such activities will improve or 

25 strengthen intervention strategies; and 


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1 (C) how such funds will be used to ensure 

2 that the eligible entity will continue to employ 

3 and retain reading, literacy, or bilteracy special4 ists after the completion of the grant period; 

5 (6) a description of how the eligible entity will 

6 prioritize recruiting individuals from the commu7 nities served by the eligible entity and from under8 represented populations in the field of education (as 

9 determined by the Secretary by regulation) to serve 

10 as full-time reading, literacy, or bilteracy specialists, 

11 and how the eligible entity will track progress in 

12 meeting any specified hiring goals; 

13 (7) an assurance that the eligible entity will en14 sure compliance with the requirement described in 

15 subsection (e); 

16 (8) a description of how the eligible entity is 

17 meeting the literacy and second language acquisition 

18 needs of English learners through English language 

19 development, English as a Second Language, or bi20 lingual program offerings; 

21 (9) an assurance that the second language de22 velopment needs of English learners will not result 

23 in English learners being placed in remedial reading 

24 courses; and 


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1 (10) an assurance that Native American 

2 English learners whose home language is orally 

3 based are not disadvantaged when those English 

4 learners begin to learn English, especially by pro5 viding an assurance of culturally and linguistically 

6 responsive, engaging, and evidence-based strategies 

7 that promote student success. 

8 (c) SELECTION AND PRIORITY.—In awarding grants 

9 under this section, the Secretary shall— 

10 (1) give a first priority to eligible entities that 

11 are located in a State that is in the lowest quartile 

12 of States, in a ranking of all States, ranked in de13 scending order by the percentage of students in 

14 grades 4 and 8 in the State who score at or above 

15 a level of Proficient on the National Assessment of 

16 Educational Progress reading assessments for stu17 dents in grades 4 and 8; and 

18 (2) if the priority in paragraph (1) has been 

19 satisfied, or if no applicants described in paragraph 

20 (1) apply, then the Secretary shall give priority to 

21 applicants that— 

22 (A) are a high-need local educational agen23 cy, or are a partnership between a State edu24 cational agency and a consortium of high-need 

25 local educational agencies; and 


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1 (B) describe and set specific hiring goals 

2 towards increasing the share of reading, lit3 eracy, or bilteracy specialists who are from 

4 underrepresented populations in the field of 

5 education. 

6 (d) ACTIVITIES.—Grant funds awarded under this 

7 section shall be used by an eligible entity to carry out one 

8 or more of the following activities: 

9 (1) Recruiting, hiring, and developing full-time 

10 reading, literacy, or biliteracy specialists. 

11 (2) Providing resources necessary to support 

12 the development of reading, literacy, or biliteracy 

13 specialists from a part-time to full-time capacity at 

14 elementary schools or secondary schools served by 

15 the eligible entity, including through full funding for 

16 teachers who are employed by the eligible entity at 

17 the time of the grant to earn an evidence-based 

18 reading, literacy, or biliteracy specialist certification 

19 from an accredited institution of higher education. 

20 (3) Supporting the retention of reading, lit21 eracy, or biliteracy specialists, including by increas22 ing salaries. 

23 (4) Ensuring that at least 1 full-time reading, 

24 literacy, or biliteracy specialist is on staff at each elVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Mar 18, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3907.IS S3907

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1 ementary school and secondary school served by the 

2 eligible entity. 

3 (5) Supporting biliteracy development, teaching, 

4 and assessment strategies. 

5 (6) Providing continual professional develop6 ment opportunities regarding reading difficulties in 

7 students with disabilities, including how to identify 

8 reading disabilities in students with other diagnoses. 

9 (e) REQUIREMENT; RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

10 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Each grant recipient shall 

11 ensure that any reading, literacy, or biliteracy spe12 cialist whose position is partially or fully funded by 

13 grant funds spends not less than 80 percent of their 

14 time in that position working with teachers and stu15 dents to improve student outcomes. 

16 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

17 Act shall be construed to limit the preservation or 

18 use of Native American languages. 

19 (f) REPORT.—Each eligible entity awarded a grant 

20 under this section shall submit to the Secretary an annual 

21 report for each year of the grant award. Such report shall 

22 include— 

23 (1) a summary of the eligible entity’s progress 

24 in employing at least 1 full-time reading, literacy, or 


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1 biliteracy specialist at each elementary school and 

2 secondary school served by the eligible entity; 

3 (2) data on the number of full-time and part4 time reading, literacy, or biliteracy specialists, 

5 disaggregated by major racial and ethnic groups and 

6 gender, employed at each elementary school and sec7 ondary school served by the eligible entity, and data 

8 on the ratio of students to reading, literacy, or 

9 bilteracy specialists at each such school; 

10 (3) a summary of any progress made by the eli11 gible entity in addressing reading, literacy, and com12 prehension, as identified in the needs assessment re13 quired under subsection (b)(2), as a result of the ac14 tivities carried out with a grant under this section; 

15 and 

16 (4) a summary of the number of students in 

17 each subgroup of students who were served by the 

18 reading, literacy, or biliteracy specialist (to the ex19 tent that such information complies with applicable 

20 privacy law and protects personally identifiable in21 formation). 

Æ 


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