II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 758 

To establish a comprehensive literacy program. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 18, 2013 

Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Mr. FRANKEN, Mr. REED, and Mr. SANDERS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To establish a comprehensive literacy 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Literacy Education for All, Results for the Nation Act’’ 

6 or the ‘‘LEARN Act’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Purposes. 

Sec. 4. Definitions. 

Sec. 5. Program authorized. 

Sec. 6. State planning grants. 


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Sec. 7. State implementation grants. 

Sec. 8. State activities. 

Sec. 9. Subgrants to eligible entities in support of birth through kindergarten 

entry literacy. 

Sec. 10. Subgrants to eligible entities in support of kindergarten through grade 

12 literacy. 

Sec. 11. National evaluation, information dissemination, and technical assistance. 

Sec. 12. Consequences of insufficient progress, reporting requirements, and 

conflicts of interest. 

Sec. 13. Rules of construction. 

Sec. 14. Authorization of appropriations. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that, in order for a comprehensive, ef3 fective literacy program to address the needs of readers 

4 and writers, it is critical to address the following: 

5 (1) Literacy development is an ongoing process 

6 that requires a sustained investment beginning in 

7 early childhood and continuing through elementary 

8 school and secondary school. 

9 (2) Developing literacy skills begins at birth as 

10 infants and toddlers associate sounds, gestures, and 

11 marks on paper with consequences and meaning. 

12 Many low-income children from birth through kin13 dergarten entry lack oral and print language-rich en14 vironments in their homes and early childhood edu15 cation programs and teachers and staff in early 

16 childhood education programs are often not provided 

17 with high-quality professional development on how to 

18 support children’s language and literacy develop19 ment. 


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1 (3) Early childhood educators whose profes2 sional preparation and ongoing development includes 

3 study of language learning and early childhood de4 velopment promote early language and literacy as 

5 part of the overall curriculum for children’s readi6 ness for school, particularly for young English lan7 guage learners and children with disabilities or de8 velopmental delays. 

9 (4) Research shows that writing leads to im10 proved reading achievement, reading leads to better 

11 writing performance, and combined instruction leads 

12 to improvements in both areas. Children in kinder13 garten through grade 12 need to be engaged in com14 bined reading and writing experiences that lead to a 

15 higher level of thinking than when either process is 

16 taught alone. 

17 (5) Environments rich in language and literacy 

18 experiences, books, resources, and models facilitate 

19 reading and writing development. Schools, prin20 cipals, librarians, and teachers must have the knowl21 edge, skills, and tools to create environments appro22 priate to meet the diverse literacy needs of children 

23 from birth through grade 12, especially for children 

24 whose home environments lack support for literacy 

25 development. 


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1 (6) Middle school and secondary school teachers 

2 need professional development to improve the read3 ing and writing abilities of students who are reading 

4 and writing several years below grade level. Middle 

5 school and secondary school teachers in core aca6 demic subjects must have the tools and skills to 

7 teach reading and writing for subject area under8 standing and to differentiate and provide instruction 

9 for students with varying literacy skills. 

10 (7) The intellectual and linguistic skills nec11 essary for writing and reading must be developed 

12 through explicit, intentional, and systematic lan13 guage activities, to which many low-income and mi14 nority students do not currently have access. 

15 (8) Between 1971 and 2004, the reading levels 

16 of America’s 17-year-olds showed little to no im17 provement at all. The ability of secondary school 

18 students to read complex texts is strongly predictive 

19 of their performance in college mathematics and 

20 science courses. 

21 (9) Fewer than 2 in 10 eighth graders who 

22 were in the secondary school graduating classes for 

23 2005 and 2006 met all 4 EXPLORE College Readi24 ness Benchmarks (English, Mathematics, Reading, 

25 and Science), the minimum level of achievement that 


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1 ACT has shown is necessary if students are to be 

2 college and career ready upon their secondary school 

3 graduation. 

4 (10) Seventy percent of eighth graders read 

5 below the proficient level on the 2007 National As6 sessment of Educational Progress, indicating that 

7 students in middle schools and secondary schools 

8 struggle to graduate because the students’ literacy 

9 achievement is alarmingly low. Only one-third of sec10 ondary school students who enter grade 9 each year 

11 can expect to graduate in 4 years with the skills the 

12 student needs to succeed in college and the work13 place. 

14 (11) Secondary school graduation rates for low15 income students and students of color hover around 

16 50 percent, as do graduation rates for students in 

17 urban school districts and students with disabilities. 

18 Graduation rates for English language learners are 

19 particularly low. 

20 (12) Only 71 percent of secondary school stu21 dents graduate on time with a diploma, meaning 

22 that every year 1,230,000 students fail to graduate 

23 from secondary school. These 1,230,000 nongrad24 uates cost the United States more than 


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1 $319,000,000,000 in lost wages, taxes, and produc2 tivity over the lifetimes of the nongraduates. 

3 (13) About 40 percent of secondary school 

4 graduates lack the literacy skills employers seek. 

5 The 25 fastest growing professions have far greater 

6 than average literacy demands, while the fastest de7 clining professions have lower than average literacy 

8 demands. 

9 (14) Research shows that low expectations for 

10 the reading and writing achievement of students in 

11 schools results in curricula that do not challenge or 

12 adequately support the student’s literacy learning 

13 and in subsequent low achievement, while high aca14 demic expectations can help boost student learning 

15 and achievement. 

16 (15) Children learn best in settings where 

17 teachers understand the developmental continuum of 

18 language, reading, and writing and are skilled in a 

19 variety of strategies that help the children achieve. 

20 (16) Meaningful engagement of families in their 

21 children’s early learning supports school readiness 

22 and later academic success. 

23 (17) Parental literacy habits are positively asso24 ciated with parental reading beliefs, parent-child lit25 eracy and language activities in the home, children’s 


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1 print knowledge, and parents’ and children’s interest 

2 in reading and writing. 

3 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

4 The purposes of this Act are— 

5 (1) to improve student academic achievement in 

6 reading and writing by providing Federal support to 

7 State educational agencies to develop, coordinate, 

8 and implement comprehensive literacy plans that en9 sure high-quality instruction and effective strategies 

10 in reading and writing from early education through 

11 grade 12; and 

12 (2) to assist State educational agencies in 

13 achieving the purpose described in paragraph (1) 

14 by— 

15 (A) supporting the development and imple16 mentation of comprehensive early learning 

17 through grade 12 literacy programs in every 

18 State that are based on scientifically valid re19 search, to ensure that every child can read and 

20 write at grade level or above; 

21 (B) providing children with learning oppor22 tunities in high-quality, language rich, lit23 erature rich, informational text rich, culturally 

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1 damental knowledge and skills necessary for lit2 eracy engagement, development, and achieve3 ment in kindergarten through grade 12; 

4 (C) educating parents in the ways that 

5 parents can support their child’s communication 

6 and literacy development; 

7 (D) supporting efforts to link and align 

8 standards and research-based instruction and 

9 teaching practices in early learning programs; 

10 (E) supporting high-quality and effective 

11 strategies for children to develop oral language, 

12 reading, and writing abilities through high-qual13 ity research-based instruction and teaching 

14 practices; 

15 (F) improving academic achievement by es16 tablishing adolescent literacy initiatives that 

17 provide instruction in oral language, reading, 

18 and writing across the curriculum; 

19 (G) identifying and supporting children 

20 reading and writing significantly below grade 

21 level by providing research-based, intensive 

22 interventions, including interventions conducted 

23 during extended learning time, to help the chil24 dren acquire the language and literacy skills the 

25 children need to stay on track for graduation; 


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1 (H) providing assistance to local edu2 cational agencies so that educators have ongo3 ing, job-embedded professional development, 

4 and other support, that focuses on— 

5 (i) effective literacy instruction; and 

6 (ii) the special knowledge and skills 

7 necessary to teach and support literacy de8 velopment effectively across the develop9 mental and age span; 

10 (I) supporting State educational agencies 

11 and local educational agencies in improving 

12 reading, writing, and literacy-based academic 

13 achievement for children, especially children 

14 who are low-income individuals, are English 

15 learners, are migratory, are children with dis16 abilities, are Indian or Alaskan Native, are ne17 glected or delinquent, are homeless, are in the 

18 custody of the child welfare system, or have 

19 dropped out of school; 

20 (J) supporting State educational agencies 

21 and local educational agencies in using age ap22 propriate and developmentally and linguistically 

23 appropriate instructional materials and strate24 gies that assist teachers as the teachers work 

25 with children to develop reading and writing 


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1 competencies appropriate to the children’s 

2 grade and skill levels; 

3 (K) strengthening coordination among 

4 schools, early literacy programs, family literacy 

5 programs, juvenile justice programs, public li6 braries, and outside-of-school programs that 

7 provide children with strategies, curricula, 

8 interventions, and assessments designed to ad9 vance early and continuing language and lit10 eracy development in ways appropriate for each 

11 context; 

12 (L) supporting professional development 

13 for educators based on scientific approaches to 

14 adult learning; and 

15 (M) evaluating whether the professional 

16 development activities and approaches are effec17 tive in building knowledge and skills of edu18 cators and the educators’ use of appropriate 

19 and effective practices. 

20 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Unless otherwise specified, the 

22 terms used in this Act have the meanings given the terms 

23 in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu24 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

25 (b) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 


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1 (1) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means an indi2 vidual from the age of birth through the final year 

3 for which the State provides free public education. 

4 (2) CLASSROOM-BASED INSTRUCTIONAL AS5 SESSMENT.—The term ‘‘classroom-based instruc6 tional assessment’’ means an assessment for children 

7 from birth through grade 3 that— 

8 (A) is valid and reliable for the age and 

9 population of children served in the program; 

10 (B) is used to evaluate children’s develop11 mental progress and learning and includes sys12 tematic observations by teachers of children 

13 performing tasks, including academic and lit14 eracy tasks, that are part of the children’s daily 

15 classroom experience; and 

16 (C) is used to improve classroom instruc17 tion. 

18 (3) COMPREHENSIVE LITERACY INSTRUC19 TION.—The term ‘‘comprehensive literacy instruc20 tion’’ means instruction that— 

21 (A) incorporates effective literacy instruc22 tion; and 

23 (B) is designed to support— 

24 (i) developmentally appropriate, con25 textually explicit, systematic instruction, 


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1 and frequent practice, in reading across 

2 content areas; and 

3 (ii) developmentally appropriate and 

4 contextually explicit instruction, and fre5 quent practice, in writing across content 

6 areas. 

7 (4) DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY.—The term ‘‘de8 velopmental delay’’ has the meaning given the term 

9 in section 632 of the Individuals with Disabilities 

10 Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1432). 

11 (5) EFFECTIVE LITERACY INSTRUCTION.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘effective lit13 eracy instruction’’ means literacy instruction 

14 that— 

15 (i) includes age-appropriate, explicit, 

16 systematic, and intentional instruction in 

17 phonological awareness, phonic decoding, 

18 vocabulary, language structure, reading 

19 fluency, and reading comprehension; 

20 (ii) includes age-appropriate, explicit 

21 instruction in writing, including opportuni22 ties for children to write with clear pur23 poses, with critical reasoning appropriate 

24 to the topic and purpose, and with specific 


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1 instruction and feedback from instructional 

2 staff; 

3 (iii) makes available and uses diverse, 

4 high-quality print materials that reflect the 

5 reading and development levels, and inter6 ests, of children; 

7 (iv) uses differentiated instructional 

8 approaches, including individual and small 

9 group instruction and discussion; 

10 (v) provides opportunities for children 

11 to use language with peers and adults in 

12 order to develop language skills, including 

13 developing vocabulary; 

14 (vi) includes frequent practice of read15 ing and writing strategies; 

16 (vii) uses age-appropriate, valid, and 

17 reliable screening assessments, diagnostic 

18 assessments, formative assessment proc19 esses, and summative assessments to iden20 tify a child’s learning needs, to inform in21 struction, and to monitor the child’s 

22 progress and the effects of instruction; 

23 (viii) uses strategies to enhance chil24 dren’s motivation to read and write and 


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1 children’s engagement in self-directed 

2 learning; 

3 (ix) incorporates the principles of uni4 versal design for learning; 

5 (x) depends on teachers’ collaboration 

6 in planning, instruction, and assessing a 

7 child’s progress and on continuous profes8 sional learning; and 

9 (xi) links literacy instruction to the 

10 State challenging academic content stand11 ards under section 1111(b)(1) of the Ele12 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 

13 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(1)), including 

14 the ability to navigate, understand, and 

15 write about, complex print and digital sub16 ject matter. 

17 (B) BIRTH THROUGH KINDERGARTEN.— 

18 When used with respect to instruction for chil19 dren from birth through kindergarten entry, the 

20 term ‘‘effective literacy instruction’’ also in21 cludes— 

22 (i) developing such children’s alphabet 

23 knowledge, reading aloud to children, dis24 cussing reading and writing with children, 

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1 propriate reading and writing strategies; 

2 and 

3 (ii) encouraging children’s early at4 tempts at oral communication, reading, 

5 and writing. 

6 (C) KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE

7 12.—When used with respect to the instruction 

8 of children in kindergarten through grade 12, 

9 the term ‘‘effective literacy instruction’’ also in10 cludes— 

11 (i) providing systematic and intensive 

12 interventions, which can be provided inside 

13 or outside the classroom as well as before, 

14 during, or after regular school hours, to 

15 supplement regular instruction for children 

16 reading below grade level; 

17 (ii) providing reading and writing op18 portunities that build academic vocabulary 

19 and knowledge of different text structures 

20 in core academic subjects; 

21 (iii) enabling children to write, com22 municate, and create knowledge, in ways 

23 that fit purpose, audience, occasion, dis24 cipline, and format, including practice in— 


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1 (I) adhering to language conven2 tions, including spelling, punctuation, 

3 and grammar; 

4 (II) planning and revising to im5 prove clarity, coherence, logical devel6 opment, and language usage; and 

7 (III) writing individually and col8 laboratively with feedback from in9 structors and peers; and 

10 (iv) cultivating shared responsibility 

11 for children’s literacy learning by coordi12 nating writing tasks, instructional prac13 tices, and criteria for feedback across aca14 demic content areas. 

15 (6) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti16 ty’’ means an entity— 

17 (A) that serves high-need children; and 

18 (B)(i) when used with respect to a 

19 subgrant under section 9, that consists of— 

20 (I) 1 or more local educational agen21 cies providing early learning programs that 

22 have a demonstrated record of providing 

23 comprehensive literacy instruction for the 

24 age group such agencies or programs pro25 pose to serve; 


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1 (II) 1 or more public or private early 

2 learning programs, such as a Head Start 

3 program, a child care program, a State4 funded prekindergarten program, a public 

5 library program, or a family literacy pro6 gram, that have a demonstrated record of 

7 providing comprehensive literacy instruc8 tion for the age group such programs pro9 pose to serve; or 

10 (III) 1 or more local educational agen11 cies providing early learning programs, or 

12 1 or more public or private early learning 

13 programs, such as a Head Start program, 

14 a child care program, a State-funded pre15 kindergarten program, a public library pro16 gram, or a family literacy program, in 

17 partnership with 1 or more public or pri18 vate nonprofit organizations or agencies 

19 that have a demonstrated record of effec20 tiveness— 

21 (aa) in improving the early lit22 eracy development of children from 

23 birth through kindergarten entry; and 


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1 (bb) in providing professional de2 velopment aligned with the activities 

3 described in section 9(e)(1); or 

4 (ii) when used with respect to a subgrant 

5 under section 10— 

6 (I) that is— 

7 (aa) a local educational agency; 

8 (bb) a consortium of local edu9 cational agencies; or 

10 (cc) a local educational agency or 

11 consortium of local educational agen12 cies acting in partnership with 1 or 

13 more public or private nonprofit orga14 nizations or agencies that have a dem15 onstrated record of effectiveness in— 

16 (AA) improving literacy 

17 achievement of children con18 sistent with the purposes of their 

19 participation from kindergarten 

20 through grade 12; and 

21 (BB) providing professional 

22 development aligned with the ac23 tivities described in subsections 

24 (b) and (c) of section 10; and 


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1 (II)(aa) has the highest numbers or 

2 proportion of children who are counted 

3 under section 1124(c) of the Elementary 

4 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

5 U.S.C. 6333(c)), in comparison to other 

6 local educational agencies in the State; 

7 (bb) is among or consists of the local 

8 educational agencies in the State with the 

9 highest numbers or percentages of children 

10 reading or writing below grade level, based 

11 on the most currently available State aca12 demic assessment data under section 

13 1111(b)(3) of such Act; or 

14 (cc) has jurisdiction over a significant 

15 number or percentage of schools that are 

16 identified for school improvement under 

17 section 1116(b) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

18 6316(b)). 

19 (7) EARLY LEARNING PROGRAM.—The term 

20 ‘‘early learning program’’ means a program serving 

21 children between the ages of birth and kindergarten 

22 entry. 

23 (8) ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘English lan25 guage acquisition’’ means the process by which 


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1 a non-native English speaker acquires pro2 ficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and 

3 writing the English language. 

4 (B) INCLUSIONS FOR ENGLISH LEARNERS

5 IN SCHOOL.—For an English learner in school, 

6 such term includes not only the social language 

7 proficiency needed to participate in the school 

8 environment, but also the academic language 

9 proficiency needed to acquire literacy and aca10 demic content and demonstrate the child’s 

11 learning. 

12 (9) FAMILY LITERACY SERVICES.—The term 

13 ‘‘family literacy services’’ means literacy services 

14 provided to participants on a voluntary basis that 

15 are of sufficient intensity and quality, that better en16 able parents to support their children’s learning 

17 needs, and that integrate— 

18 (A) interactive literacy activities between 

19 or among family members who are primary 

20 caregivers and their children, including family 

21 literacy education to improve literacy of par22 ents; and 

23 (B) training for family members who are 

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1 mary teacher for their children and full part2 ners in the education of their children. 

3 (10) FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT PROCESS.—The 

4 term ‘‘formative assessment process’’ means an as5 sessment process that— 

6 (A) is teacher-generated or selected by 

7 teachers or instructional leaders for use during 

8 learning; 

9 (B) is embedded within the learning activ10 ity and linked directly to the intended outcomes 

11 of the current unit of instruction; and 

12 (C) provides feedback to help adjust ongo13 ing teaching and learning to improve children’s 

14 achievement of intended instructional outcomes. 

15 (11) HIGH-QUALITY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOP16 MENT.—The term ‘‘high-quality professional devel17 opment’’ means professional development that— 

18 (A) is job-embedded, ongoing, and based 

19 on scientifically valid research; 

20 (B) is sustained, intensive, and classroom21 focused, and is not limited in scope to a 1-day 

22 or short-term workshop or conference; 

23 (C) is designed to increase the knowledge 

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1 structional leaders, and other program staff in 

2 applying— 

3 (i) effective literacy instruction; and 

4 (ii) instructional strategies and prac5 tices that are appropriate to the age, devel6 opment, and needs of children and improve 

7 learning, including strategies and practices 

8 consistent with the principles of universal 

9 design for learning; 

10 (D) includes and supports teachers in ef11 fectively administering age and developmentally 

12 appropriate assessments, and analyzing the re13 sults of these assessments for the purposes of 

14 planning, monitoring, adapting, and improving 

15 effective classroom instruction or teaching 

16 strategies to improve child literacy; 

17 (E) includes instructional strategies uti18 lizing one-to-one, small group, and classroom19 based instructional materials and approaches 

20 based on scientifically valid research on literacy; 

21 (F) provides ongoing instructional literacy 

22 coaching— 

23 (i) to ensure high-quality implementa24 tion of comprehensive literacy instruction 

25 that is— 


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1 (I) content centered; 

2 (II) integrated across the cur3 riculum; 

4 (III) collaborative; and 

5 (IV) school, setting, and class6 room embedded; and 

7 (ii) that uses student data to improve 

8 instruction; 

9 (G) includes and supports teachers in set10 ting high reading and writing achievement goals 

11 for all children and provides the teachers with 

12 the instructional tools and skills to help chil13 dren reach such goals; 

14 (H) for educators serving children in kin15 dergarten through grade 12— 

16 (i) supports effective literacy instruc17 tion through core academic subjects, and 

18 through career and technical education 

19 subjects where such career and technical 

20 education subjects provide for the integra21 tion of core academic subjects; and 

22 (ii) includes instruction in— 

23 (I) discipline-specific thinking; 

24 and 


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1 (II) text structures and features 

2 of reading and writing in multiple dis3 ciplines; 

4 (I) is differentiated for educators working 

5 with children from birth through kindergarten 

6 entry, children in kindergarten through grade 

7 3, and children in grades 4 through 12, and, as 

8 appropriate, based on the grade or needs of the 

9 children; and 

10 (J) supports family literacy experiences 

11 and practices, and educating parents, teachers, 

12 and other caregivers about literacy development 

13 and child literacy development. 

14 (12) LITERACY COACH.—The term ‘‘literacy 

15 coach’’ means a professional— 

16 (A) who has— 

17 (i) previous teaching experience; and 

18 (ii)(I) a master’s degree with a con19 centration in reading and writing edu20 cation or demonstrated proficiency in 

21 teaching reading or writing in a core aca22 demic subject consistent with effective lit23 eracy instruction; or 

24 (II) in the case of a literacy coach for 

25 children from birth through kindergarten 


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1 entry, a concentration, credential, or sig2 nificant experience in child development 

3 and early literacy development; 

4 (B) who supports teachers to— 

5 (i) apply research on how children be6 come successful readers, writers, and com7 municators; 

8 (ii) apply multiple forms of assess9 ment to guide instructional decisionmaking 

10 and use data to improve literacy instruc11 tion; 

12 (iii) improve children’s writing and 

13 reading in and across content areas such 

14 as mathematics, science, social studies, and 

15 language arts; 

16 (iv) develop and implement differen17 tiated instruction and teaching approaches 

18 to serve the needs of the full range of 

19 learners, including English learners and 

20 children with disabilities; 

21 (v) apply principles of universal design 

22 for learning; 

23 (vi) employ best practices in engaging 

24 principals, early learning program edu25 cators and administrators, teachers, and 


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1 other relevant professionals to change 

2 school cultures that encourage and support 

3 literacy development and achievement; and 

4 (vii) set for children birth to kinder5 garten developmentally appropriate expec6 tations for language and literacy develop7 ment, and high reading and writing 

8 achievement goals for all children and se9 lect, acquire, and use instructional tools 

10 and skills to help children reach such 

11 goals; and 

12 (C) whose role with teachers and profes13 sionals supporting literacy instruction is— 

14 (i) to provide high-quality professional 

15 development, consistent with the definition 

16 of comprehensive literacy instruction; 

17 (ii) to work cooperatively and collabo18 ratively with principals, teachers, and other 

19 professionals in employing strategies to 

20 help teachers identify and support child lit21 eracy and language development needs and 

22 teach literacy across the content areas and 

23 developmental domains; and 

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1 ing strategies to help teachers teach lit2 eracy across the content areas so that the 

3 teachers can meet the needs of all children, 

4 including children with disabilities, English 

5 learners, and children who are reading at 

6 or above grade level. 

7 (13) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

8 ‘‘local educational agency’’— 

9 (A) has the meaning given the term in sec10 tion 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary 

11 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801); and 

12 (B) includes any public charter school that 

13 constitutes a local educational agency under 

14 State law. 

15 (14) MULTITIER SYSTEM OF SUPPORTS.—The 

16 term ‘‘multitier system of supports’’ means a com17 prehensive system of differentiated supports that in18 cludes evidence-based instruction, universal screen19 ing, progress monitoring, formative assessments, 

20 summative assessments, research-based interventions 

21 matched to student needs, and educational decision22 making using academic progress over time. 

23 (15) READING.—The term ‘‘reading’’ means a 

24 complex system of deriving meaning from print that 


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1 is developmentally appropriate, that requires all of 

2 the following: 

3 (A) The skills and knowledge to under4 stand how phonemes, or speech sounds, are 

5 connected to print. 

6 (B) The ability to read with comprehen7 sion. 

8 (C) The ability to decode unfamiliar words 

9 with fluency. 

10 (D) The use of background knowledge and 

11 vocabulary to make meaning from a text. 

12 (E) The development and use of appro13 priate active strategies to interpret and con14 struct meaning from print. 

15 (F) The development and maintenance of a 

16 motivation to read. 

17 (16) INSTRUCTIONAL LEADER.—The term ‘‘in18 structional leader’’ means an individual who— 

19 (A) is an employee or officer of a school; 

20 and 

21 (B) is responsible for— 

22 (i) the school’s performance; and 

23 (ii) the daily instructional and mana24 gerial operations of the school. 


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1 (17) SCIENTIFICALLY VALID RESEARCH.—The 

2 term ‘‘scientifically valid research’’ has the meaning 

3 given the term in section 200 of the Higher Edu4 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021). 

5 (18) SCREENING ASSESSMENT.—The term 

6 ‘‘screening assessment’’ means an assessment that 

7 is— 

8 (A) valid, reliable, and based on scientif9 ically based reading research; and 

10 (B) a brief procedure designed as a first 

11 step in identifying children who may be at high 

12 risk for delayed development or academic fail13 ure and in need of further diagnosis of their 

14 need for special services or additional reading 

15 instruction. 

16 (19) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

17 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the 

18 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

19 (20) STATE LITERACY LEADERSHIP TEAM.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘State lit21 eracy leadership team’’ means a team that— 

22 (i) is appointed and coordinated by 

23 the State educational agency; 


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1 (ii) assumes the responsibility to guide 

2 the development and implementation of a 

3 statewide, comprehensive literacy plan; 

4 (iii) shall include, at a minimum— 

5 (I) a school principal with lit6 eracy expertise; 

7 (II) a teacher with literacy exper8 tise; 

9 (III) a teacher or administrator 

10 with expertise in special education; 

11 (IV) a teacher or administrator 

12 with expertise in teaching the English 

13 language to English learners; 

14 (V) a representative from the 

15 State educational agency who oversees 

16 literacy initiatives; and 

17 (VI) a representative from higher 

18 education who is actively involved in 

19 research, development, or teacher 

20 preparation in comprehensive literacy 

21 instruction and intervention based on 

22 scientifically valid research; 

23 (iv) may include— 

24 (I) a literacy specialist serving in 

25 a school district within the State; 


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1 (II) a literacy coach; 

2 (III) a librarian; 

3 (IV) a representative with family 

4 literacy expertise; 

5 (V) a representative from a State 

6 child-serving agency with expertise in 

7 comprehensive language and literacy 

8 instruction and strategies; 

9 (VI) a school counselor; 

10 (VII) a teacher of a core aca11 demic subject; 

12 (VIII) a special education admin13 istrator; 

14 (IX) a professor from a 4-year 

15 institution of higher education; 

16 (X) a parent; 

17 (XI) a business leader; 

18 (XII) the Governor or a dele19 gated representative of the Governor; 

20 (XIII) a representative from the 

21 State board of education; 

22 (XIV) a representative from the 

23 State legislature; 

24 (XV) a representative of a non25 profit and community-based organizaVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:55 Apr 23, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S758.IS S758

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1 tion providing comprehensive literacy 

2 instruction and support; and 

3 (XVI) a representative from a 

4 school district superintendent’s office; 

5 and 

6 (v) shall include, among the individ7 uals selected to be members of the council 

8 pursuant to clauses (iii) and (iv), not less 

9 than 5 individuals who have literacy exper10 tise in 1 of each of the areas of— 

11 (I) birth through kindergarten 

12 entry, such as the State Head Start 

13 collaboration director; 

14 (II) kindergarten entry through 

15 grade 3; 

16 (III) grades 4 through 12; 

17 (IV) English learners; and 

18 (V) special education. 

19 (B) INCLUSION OF A PREEXISTING PART20 NERSHIP.—If, before the date of enactment of 

21 this Act, a State educational agency established 

22 a consortium, partnership, or any other similar 

23 body that was considered a literacy partnership 

24 for purposes of subpart 1 or 2 of part B of title 

25 I of the Elementary and Secondary Education 


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1 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6361 et seq., 6371 et 

2 seq.) and that includes the individuals required 

3 under clauses (iii) and (v) of subparagraph (A), 

4 such consortium, partnership, or body may be 

5 considered a State literacy leadership team for 

6 purposes of subparagraph (A). 

7 (21) SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT.—The term 

8 ‘‘summative assessment’’ means an assessment 

9 that— 

10 (A) is valid, reliable, and based on scientif11 ically valid research on literacy and English lan12 guage acquisition; and 

13 (B) for children from birth through kinder14 garten entry, measures how young children 

15 have progressed over time relative to develop16 mental norms, and for children in kindergarten 

17 through grade 12, measures what children have 

18 learned over time, relative to academic content 

19 standards. 

20 (22) UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING.—The 

21 term ‘‘universal design for learning’’ has the mean22 ing given the term in section 103 of the Higher 

23 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003). 

24 (23) WRITING.—The term ‘‘writing’’ means— 


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1 (A) composing meaning in print or through 

2 other media, including technologies, to commu3 nicate and to create new knowledge in ways ap4 propriate to the context of the writing and the 

5 literacy development stage of the writer; 

6 (B) composing ideas individually and col7 laboratively in ways that are appropriate for a 

8 variety of purposes, audiences, and occasions; 

9 (C) choosing vocabulary, tone, genre, and 

10 conventions, such as spelling and punctuation, 

11 suitable to the purpose, audience, and occasion; 

12 and 

13 (D) revising compositions for clarity of 

14 ideas, coherence, logical development, and preci15 sion of language use. 

16 SEC. 5. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

17 (a) RESERVATIONS AND AWARDS TO STATE EDU18 CATIONAL AGENCIES.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts appro20 priated to carry out this Act for a fiscal year, the 

21 Secretary shall— 

22 (A) reserve not more than a total of 4 per23 cent of such amounts for the national evalua24 tion and dissemination of information and tech25 nical assistance in accordance with section 11; 


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1 (B) reserve not more than 5 percent of 

2 such amounts to award planning grants, on a 

3 competitive basis, to State educational agencies 

4 serving States, in accordance with section 6; 

5 (C) in the case of a fiscal year for which 

6 the amounts to carry out this Act are less than 

7 $500,000,000, use the amount not reserved 

8 under subparagraphs (A) and (B) to make 

9 awards, on a competitive basis, to State edu10 cational agencies serving States that have appli11 cations approved under section 7 to enable the 

12 State educational agencies to carry out the ac13 tivities described in section 7(a); and 

14 (D) in the case of a fiscal year for which 

15 the amounts appropriated to carry out this Act 

16 are equal to or exceeding $500,000,000— 

17 (i) reserve a total of 1 percent of such 

18 amount for— 

19 (I) allotments for the United 

20 States Virgin Islands, Guam, Amer21 ican Samoa, and the Commonwealth 

22 of the Northern Mariana Islands, to 

23 be distributed among such outlying 

24 areas on the basis of their relative 

25 need, as determined by the Secretary 


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1 in accordance with the purposes of 

2 this Act; and 

3 (II) the Secretary of the Interior 

4 for programs under sections 6 

5 through 10 in schools operated or 

6 funded by the Bureau of Indian Edu7 cation; and 

8 (ii) use the amount not reserved 

9 under clause (i) and subparagraphs (A) 

10 and (B) to make awards, as described in 

11 paragraph (2), to State educational agen12 cies serving States that have applications 

13 approved under section 7 to enable the 

14 State educational agencies to carry out the 

15 activities described in section 7(a). 

16 (2) SPECIAL RULES FOR YEARS WITH FUNDS

17 EQUAL OR EXCEEDING $500,000,000.— 

18 (A) PROPORTIONAL DIVISION.—In each 

19 fiscal year described in paragraph (1)(D), the 

20 amount reserved under paragraph (1)(D)(i) 

21 shall be divided between the uses described in 

22 subclauses (I) and (II) of such paragraph in the 

23 same proportion as the amount reserved under 

24 section 1121(a) of the Elementary and Sec25 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 


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1 6631(a)) is divided between the uses described 

2 in paragraphs (1) and (2) of such section for 

3 such fiscal year. 

4 (B) CONSULTATION.—A State educational 

5 agency that receives an allotment under para6 graph (1)(D)(ii) shall engage in timely and 

7 meaningful consultation with representatives of 

8 Indian tribes located in the State in order to 

9 improve the coordination and quality of activi10 ties designed to develop effective approaches to 

11 achieve the purposes of this Act consistent with 

12 the cultural, language, and educational needs of 

13 Indian children. 

14 (C) STATE ALLOTMENT FORMULA.—The 

15 Secretary shall allot the amount made available 

16 under paragraph (1)(D)(ii) for a fiscal year 

17 among the States in proportion to the number 

18 of children, from birth through age 17, who re19 side within the State and are from families with 

20 incomes below the poverty line for the most re21 cent fiscal year for which satisfactory data are 

22 available, compared to the number of such chil23 dren who reside in all States for that fiscal 

24 year. 


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1 (3) MINIMUM AWARD AMOUNT.—No State edu2 cational agency receiving an award under this sec3 tion for a fiscal year may receive less than one4 fourth of 1 percent of the total amount appropriated 

5 to carry out this Act for the fiscal year. 

6 (b) PEER REVIEW.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall convene 

8 a peer review panel to evaluate the applications for 

9 a grant under section 6 or 7 using the evaluation 

10 criteria described in paragraph (2). 

11 (2) DEVELOPMENT OF EVALUATION CRI12 TERIA.—The Secretary shall report to Congress re13 garding the peer review process and evaluation cri14 teria that shall be used to evaluate the grant appli15 cations under sections 6 or 7. 

16 (3) MEMBERSHIP.— 

17 (A) COMPOSITION.—A peer review panel 

18 convened under paragraph (1) shall be com19 posed of not less than 9 members, of whom— 

20 (i) 3 shall be appointed by the Sec21 retary; 

22 (ii) 3 shall be appointed by the Sec23 retary from among individuals— 

24 (I) recommended by the Chair25 man of the National Research Council 


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1 of the National Academy of Sciences; 

2 and 

3 (II) with expertise in comprehen4 sive language and literacy instruction 

5 and strategies; and 

6 (iii) 3 shall be appointed by the Sec7 retary from among individuals— 

8 (I) recommended by the Director 

9 of the National Institute of Child 

10 Health and Human Development; and 

11 (II) with expertise concerning lit12 eracy development in children from 

13 birth through grade 12. 

14 (B) COMPETENCY AND EXPERTISE; EX15 PERTISE.—The peer review panel convened 

16 under paragraph (1) may include— 

17 (i) classroom teachers with expertise 

18 in literacy, and literacy coaches, includ19 ing— 

20 (I) special education teachers; 

21 (II) teachers of children who are 

22 English learners; and 

23 (III) early childhood educators; 

24 (ii) experts who provide high-quality 

25 professional development to teachers and 


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1 other instructional staff to support chil2 dren’s literacy development; 

3 (iii) experts in screening assessments, 

4 diagnostic assessments, formative assess5 ment processes, or other assessments of 

6 children’s literacy development; and 

7 (iv) experts in comprehensive literacy 

8 instruction and strategies in reading and 

9 writing, language development, and 

10 English language acquisition, as appro11 priate, including reading and writing in 

12 core academic subjects. 

13 (4) DISTRIBUTION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

14 Not later than 120 days after a peer review panel 

15 submits to the Secretary the panel’s recommenda16 tion regarding an application by a State educational 

17 agency for a grant under section 6 or 7, the Sec18 retary shall notify the State educational agency that 

19 the application has been approved or disapproved 

20 and shall provide to such State educational agency 

21 a copy of the peer review panel’s recommendation. 

22 (c) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.— 

23 (1) PEER REVIEW PANELS.—The Secretary 

24 shall ensure that each member of a peer review 

25 panel described in subsection (b) does not stand to 


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1 benefit financially from a grant or subgrant awarded 

2 under this Act. 

3 (2) STATE LITERACY LEADERSHIP TEAMS.— 

4 Each State educational agency that receives funding 

5 under this Act shall ensure that each member of a 

6 State literacy leadership team participating in a pro7 gram or activity assisted under this Act does not 

8 stand to benefit financially from a grant or subgrant 

9 awarded under this Act. 

10 (d) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Award funds 

11 provided under this Act shall supplement, and not sup12 plant, non-Federal funds that would, in the absence of 

13 such award funds, be made available for literacy instruc14 tion and support of children participating in programs as15 sisted under this Act. 

16 (e) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—Each State edu17 cational agency that receives a grant or allotment under 

18 this section, and each eligible entity that receives a 

19 subgrant under section 9 or 10, shall maintain for the fis20 cal year for which the grant or subgrant is received and 

21 for each subsequent fiscal year the expenditures of the 

22 State educational agency or eligible entity, respectively, for 

23 literacy instruction at a level not less than the level of such 

24 expenditures maintained by the State educational agency 

25 or eligible entity, respectively, for the fiscal year preceding 


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1 such fiscal year for which the grant or subgrant is re2 ceived. 

3 SEC. 6. STATE PLANNING GRANTS. 

4 (a) PLANNING GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made avail6 able under section 5(a)(1)(B), the Secretary may 

7 award planning grants to State educational agencies 

8 to enable the State educational agencies to complete 

9 comprehensive planning to carry out activities that 

10 improve literacy for children from birth through 

11 grade 12. 

12 (2) GRANT PERIOD.—A planning grant awarded 

13 under this section shall be for a period of not more 

14 than 1 year. 

15 (3) NONRENEWABILITY.—The Secretary shall 

16 not award a State educational agency more than 1 

17 planning grant under this section. 

18 (b) APPLICATION.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each State educational 

20 agency desiring a planning grant under this section 

21 shall submit an application to the Secretary at such 

22 time, in such manner, and accompanied by such in23 formation as the Secretary may require. 

24 (2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted 

25 under this subsection shall, at a minimum, include 


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1 a description of how the State educational agency 

2 will develop a plan for improving State efforts to de3 velop, coordinate, implement, and assess comprehen4 sive literacy activities that ensure high-quality in5 struction and effective strategies in reading and 

6 writing for all children in early learning programs 

7 and kindergarten through grade 12 programs. Such 

8 plan shall— 

9 (A) describe the activities for which assist10 ance under this section is sought, dem11 onstrating a particular focus on children who 

12 are reading or writing below grade level and 

13 children whose early literacy skills are below the 

14 appropriate age or developmental level; 

15 (B) provide a budget for the use of the 

16 planning grant funds to complete the required 

17 activities described in subsection (c); 

18 (C) include an analysis of data on child lit19 eracy and language and student academic 

20 achievement in reading to identify and establish 

21 baseline and benchmark levels against which to 

22 monitor child progress and improvement in lit23 eracy; and 

24 (D) provide an assurance that all State 

25 agencies responsible for administering early 


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1 learning programs and services (including the 

2 State Head Start Collaboration Office and the 

3 State agency responsible for administering child 

4 care) and the State Advisory Council on Early 

5 Childhood Education and Care collaborated 

6 with the State educational agency to write the 

7 early learning portion of the grant application 

8 submitted under this subsection. 

9 (3) APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS.—The Sec10 retary shall evaluate applications under this sub11 section based on the responsiveness of the applica12 tions to the requirements under this subsection. 

13 (c) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—A State educational 

14 agency receiving planning grant funds under this section 

15 shall carry out each of the following activities: 

16 (1) Reviewing reading, writing, or other lan17 guage and literacy resources and programs, such as 

18 school library programs, and data across the State 

19 to identify any literacy needs and gaps in the State. 

20 (2) Forming or designating a State literacy 

21 leadership team which shall execute the following 

22 functions: 

23 (A) Creating a comprehensive State lit24 eracy plan that— 


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1 (i) is designed to improve language 

2 development, reading, writing, and aca3 demic achievement for children, especially 

4 children reading below grade level and chil5 dren whose literacy skills are below the ap6 propriate age or developmental level; 

7 (ii) includes— 

8 (I) a needs assessment and an 

9 implementation plan, including an 

10 analysis of data on child literacy and 

11 student academic achievement in 

12 reading and writing to identify base13 line and benchmark levels of literacy 

14 and early literacy skills in order to 

15 monitor progress and improvement; 

16 and 

17 (II) a plan to improve reading 

18 and writing achievement among all 

19 children; 

20 (iii) ensures high-quality instruction, 

21 consistent with the characteristics of effec22 tive literacy instruction and strategies, in 

23 early learning programs and kindergarten 

24 through grade 12 programs; and 


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1 (iv) provides for activities designed to 

2 improve literacy achievement for children 

3 who read or write below grade level, includ4 ing such children who— 

5 (I) attend schools that are identi6 fied for school improvement under 

7 section 1116(b) of the Elementary 

8 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

9 (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)); or 

10 (II) are counted under section 

11 1124(c). 

12 (B) Providing recommendations to guide 

13 the State educational agency in the State edu14 cational agency’s process of strengthening State 

15 literacy standards and embedding State literacy 

16 standards with the State’s college and career 

17 ready academic content standards and college 

18 and career ready student academic achievement 

19 standards, and early learning and development 

20 standards. 

21 (C) Providing recommendations to guide 

22 the State educational agency in the State edu23 cational agency’s process of measuring, assess24 ing, and monitoring progress in literacy at the 


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1 school, local educational agency, and State lev2 els. 

3 (D) Identifying criteria for high-quality 

4 professional development providers, which pro5 viders may include qualified teachers within the 

6 State, for the State educational agency and 

7 local educational agencies. 

8 (E) Advising the State educational agency 

9 on how to help ensure that local educational 

10 agencies and schools provide timely and appro11 priate data to teachers to inform and improve 

12 instruction. 

13 (F) Providing recommendations to guide 

14 the State educational agency in the State edu15 cational agency’s planning process of building 

16 educators’ capacity to provide high-quality com17 prehensive literacy instruction. 

18 SEC. 7. STATE IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS. 

19 (a) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made avail21 able under subparagraphs (C) or (D)(ii) of section 

22 5(a)(1) (as applicable), the Secretary shall award 

23 implementation grants to State educational agencies 

24 to enable the State educational agencies— 


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1 (A) to implement a comprehensive literacy 

2 plan that meets the criteria in section 

3 6(c)(2)(A) for early learning programs and kin4 dergarten through grade 12 programs; 

5 (B) to carry out State activities under sec6 tion 8; and 

7 (C) to award subgrants under sections 9 

8 and 10. 

9 (2) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall not 

10 award an implementation grant under this section to 

11 a State for any year for which the State has received 

12 a planning grant under section 6. 

13 (3) DURATION OF GRANTS.—An implementa14 tion grant under this section shall be awarded for a 

15 period of not more than 5 years. 

16 (4) RENEWALS.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

18 renew a grant under this section for a period of 

19 not more than 2 years. 

20 (B) CONDITIONS.—In order to be eligible 

21 to have an implementation grant renewed under 

22 this paragraph, the State educational agency 

23 shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Sec24 retary that, during the project period— 


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1 (i) with respect to children from birth 

2 through kindergarten entry, the State edu3 cational agency has collaborated with the 

4 State agencies that oversee child care and 

5 other early learning programs, and has col6 laborated with the State Advisory Council 

7 on Early Childhood Education and Care, 

8 to comply with the terms of the grant, in9 cluding using the funds— 

10 (I) to increase access to high11 quality professional development; 

12 (II) for developmentally appro13 priate curricula and teaching mate14 rials; and 

15 (III) for developmentally appro16 priate classroom-based instructional 

17 assessments and developmentally ap18 propriate screening assessments and 

19 diagnostic assessments; and 

20 (ii) with respect to children in kinder21 garten through grade 12, demonstrates 

22 that there has been significant progress in 

23 student academic achievement, as meas24 ured by appropriate assessments, including 

25 meeting the measurable annual objectives 


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1 established pursuant to section 

2 1111(b)(2)(C)(v) of the Elementary and 

3 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

4 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)). 

5 (b) STATE APPLICATIONS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency 

7 that desires to receive an implementation grant 

8 under this section shall submit an application to the 

9 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con10 taining such information as the Secretary may re11 quire. The State educational agency shall collaborate 

12 with the State agency responsible for administering 

13 early learning programs and the State agency re14 sponsible for administering child care programs in 

15 the State in writing and implementing the early 

16 learning portion of the grant application under this 

17 subsection. 

18 (2) CONTENTS.—An application described in 

19 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

20 (A) A description of the members of the 

21 State literacy leadership team and a description 

22 of how the State educational agency has devel23 oped a comprehensive State literacy plan, con24 sistent with the requirements of section 

25 6(c)(2)(A). 


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1 (B) An implementation plan that includes 

2 a description of how the State educational agen3 cy will— 

4 (i) carry out the State activities de5 scribed in section 8; 

6 (ii) assist eligible entities with— 

7 (I) providing strategic and inten8 sive comprehensive literacy instruction 

9 based on scientifically valid research 

10 for children who are reading and writ11 ing below grade level, including 

12 through— 

13 (aa) the use of multitier sys14 tems of support; and 

15 (bb) addressing the literacy 

16 needs of children with disabilities 

17 or developmental delays and 

18 English learners in programs 

19 serving children from birth 

20 through grade 12; 

21 (II) providing training to par22 ents, as appropriate, so that the par23 ents can participate in the literacy re24 lated activities described in sections 9 


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1 and 10 to assist in the language and 

2 literacy development of their children; 

3 (III) selecting and using reading 

4 and writing assessments; 

5 (IV) providing classroom-based 

6 instruction that is supported by one7 to-one and small group work; 

8 (V) using curricular materials 

9 and instructional tools, which may in10 clude technology, to improve instruc11 tion and literacy achievement; 

12 (VI) providing for high-quality 

13 professional development; and 

14 (VII) using the principles of uni15 versal design for learning; 

16 (iii) ensure that local educational 

17 agencies in the State have leveraged and 

18 are effectively leveraging the resources 

19 needed to implement effective comprehen20 sive literacy instruction, and have the ca21 pacity to implement literacy initiatives ef22 fectively; and 

23 (iv) continually coordinate and align 

24 the activities assisted under this Act with 

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1 sources and programs across the State and 

2 locally that serve children and their fami3 lies and promote comprehensive literacy in4 struction and learning, including strength5 ening partnerships among schools, librar6 ies, local youth-serving agencies, and pro7 grams, in order to improve literacy for all 

8 children. 

9 (C) A description of the key data metrics, 

10 and the performance targets for such metrics, 

11 that will be used and reported annually under 

12 section 12(b)(1), which shall include— 

13 (i) progress in meeting the annual ob14 jectives established pursuant to section 

15 1111(b)(2)(C)(v) of the Elementary and 

16 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

17 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)) for students in 

18 grades 3 through 12; and 

19 (ii) the relevant program metrics and 

20 performance targets that the State shall 

21 use to monitor the implementation of its 

22 plan under section 12. 

23 (D) An assurance that the State edu24 cational agency, and any eligible entity receiv25 ing a subgrant from the State educational agenVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:55 Apr 23, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S758.IS S758

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1 cy under section 9 or 10, will, if requested, par2 ticipate in the national evaluation under section 

3 11. 

4 (E) An assurance that the State edu5 cational agency will use implementation grant 

6 funds for literacy programs as follows: 

7 (i) Not less than 15 percent of such 

8 grant funds shall be used for State and 

9 local programs and activities pertaining to 

10 children from birth through kindergarten 

11 entry. 

12 (ii) Not less than 40 percent of such 

13 grant funds shall be used for State and 

14 local programs and activities, allocated eq15 uitably among the grades of kindergarten 

16 through grade 5. 

17 (iii) Not less than 40 percent of such 

18 grant funds shall be used for State and 

19 local programs and activities, allocated eq20 uitably among grades 6 through 12. 

21 (iv) Not more than 5 percent of such 

22 implementation grant funds shall be used 

23 for the State activities described in section 

24 8. 


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1 (F) An assurance that the State edu2 cational agency shall give priority to awarding 

3 a subgrant to an eligible entity— 

4 (i) under section 9 based on the num5 ber or percentage of children younger than 

6 the age of kindergarten entry who are— 

7 (I) served by the eligible entity; 

8 and 

9 (II) from families with income 

10 levels below the poverty line; and 

11 (ii) under section 10 based on— 

12 (I) the number or percentage of 

13 children from birth through age 17 

14 who are— 

15 (aa) served by the eligible 

16 entity; and 

17 (bb) from families with in18 come levels below the poverty 

19 line; and 

20 (II) the number or percentage of 

21 children in kindergarten through 

22 grade 12 served by the eligible entity 

23 who are reading and writing below 

24 grade level according to State assess25 ments. 


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1 (c) APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall evaluate 

3 State educational agency applications under sub4 section (b) based on the responsiveness of the appli5 cations to the application requirements under such 

6 subsection. 

7 (2) PEER REVIEW.—The Secretary shall con8 vene a peer review panel in accordance with section 

9 5(b) to evaluate applications for each implementa10 tion grant awarded to a State educational agency 

11 under this section. 

12 (3) EARLY LEARNING.—In order for a State 

13 educational agency’s application under this section 

14 to be approved by the Secretary, the application 

15 shall contain an assurance that the State agencies 

16 responsible for administering early learning pro17 grams and services, including the State agency re18 sponsible for administering child care programs, and 

19 the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Edu20 cation and Care approve of, and will be extensively 

21 consulted in the implementation of activities con22 sistent with section 9 with respect to, the early 

23 learning portion of the application. 


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1 SEC. 8. STATE ACTIVITIES. 

2 (a) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—A State educational 

3 agency shall use the implementation grant funds described 

4 in section 7(b)(2)(E)(iv) to carry out the activities pro5 posed in a State’s implementation plan under section 

6 7(b)(2)(B), including the following activities: 

7 (1) In consultation with the State literacy lead8 ership team, providing technical assistance, or en9 gaging qualified providers to provide technical assist10 ance, to eligible entities to enable the eligible entities 

11 to design and implement literacy programs under 

12 section 9 or 10. 

13 (2) Consulting with the State literacy leader14 ship team and coordinating with institutions of high15 er education in the State— 

16 (A) in order to provide recommendations 

17 to strengthen and enhance preservice courses 

18 for students preparing, at institutions of higher 

19 education in the State, to teach children from 

20 birth through grade 12 in explicit, systematic, 

21 and intensive instruction in evidence-based lit22 eracy methods; and 

23 (B) by following up on reviews completed 

24 by the State literacy leadership team with rec25 ommendations to ensure that such institutions 

26 offer courses that meet the highest standards. 


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1 (3) Reviewing and updating, in collaboration 

2 with teachers, statewide educational and professional 

3 organizations representing teachers, and statewide 

4 educational and professional organizations rep5 resenting institutions of higher education, State li6 censure or certification standards in the area of lit7 eracy instruction in early education through grade 

8 12. 

9 (4) Making publicly available, including on the 

10 State educational agency’s website, information on 

11 promising instructional practices to improve child lit12 eracy achievement. 

13 (b) PERMISSIVE ACTIVITIES.—After carrying out the 

14 activities described in subsection (a), a State educational 

15 agency may use remaining implementation grant funds de16 scribed in section 7(b)(2)(E)(iv) to carry out 1 or more 

17 of the following activities: 

18 (1) Training the personnel of eligible entities to 

19 use data systems to improve child literacy learning. 

20 (2) Developing literacy coach training programs 

21 and training literacy coaches. 

22 (3) Building public support among local edu23 cational agency personnel, early learning programs, 

24 and the community for comprehensive literacy in25 struction for children from birth through grade 12. 


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1 (4) Administration and evaluation of activities 

2 carried out under this Act. 

3 SEC. 9. SUBGRANTS TO ELIGIBLE ENTITIES IN SUPPORT OF 

4 BIRTH THROUGH KINDERGARTEN ENTRY 

5 LITERACY. 

6 (a) SUBGRANTS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency, 

8 in consultation with the State agencies responsible 

9 for administering early learning programs and serv10 ices, including the State agency responsible for ad11 ministering child care programs, and the State Advi12 sory Council on Early Childhood Education and 

13 Care, shall use a portion of implementation grant 

14 funds provided under subparagraph (C) or (D)(ii) of 

15 section 5(a)(1) to award subgrants, on a competitive 

16 basis, to eligible entities to enable the eligible enti17 ties to support high-quality early literacy initiatives 

18 for children from birth through kindergarten entry. 

19 (2) DURATION.—The term of a subgrant under 

20 this section shall be determined by the State edu21 cational agency awarding the subgrant. 

22 (b) SUFFICIENT SIZE AND SCOPE.—Each subgrant 

23 awarded under this section shall be of sufficient size and 

24 scope to allow the eligible entity to carry out high-quality 


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1 early literacy initiatives for children from birth through 

2 kindergarten entry. 

3 (c) LOCAL APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity desir4 ing to receive a subgrant under this section shall submit 

5 an application to the State educational agency, at such 

6 time, in such manner, and containing such information as 

7 the State educational agency may require. Such applica8 tion shall include a description of— 

9 (1) how the subgrant funds will be used to en10 hance the language and literacy development and 

11 school readiness of children, from birth through kin12 dergarten entry, in early learning programs, which 

13 shall include an analysis of data that support the 

14 proposed use of subgrant funds; 

15 (2) the programs that the eligible entity pro16 poses to assist under the subgrant, including demo17 graphic and socioeconomic information on the chil18 dren enrolled in the programs; 

19 (3) a budget for the eligible entity that projects 

20 the cost of developing and implementing literacy ini21 tiatives to carry out the activities described in sub22 section (e); 

23 (4) how, if the eligible entity is requesting a 

24 planning period, which shall not exceed 1 year, the 

25 eligible entity will use that planning period to preVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:55 Apr 23, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S758.IS S758

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1 pare for successful implementation of a plan to sup2 port the development of learning and literacy con3 sistent with the purposes of this Act; 

4 (5) the literacy initiatives, if any, in place and 

5 how these initiatives will be coordinated and inte6 grated with activities supported under this section; 

7 (6) how the subgrant funds will be used to pre8 pare and provide ongoing assistance to staff in the 

9 programs, through high-quality professional develop10 ment; 

11 (7) how the subgrant funds will be used to pro12 vide services, incorporate activities, and select and 

13 use literacy instructional materials that— 

14 (A) meet the diverse developmental and 

15 linguistic needs of children, including English 

16 learners and children with disabilities and de17 velopmental delays; and 

18 (B) are based on scientifically valid re19 search on child development and learning for 

20 children from birth through kindergarten entry; 

21 (8) how the subgrant funds will be used to pro22 vide screening assessments, diagnostic assessments, 

23 formative assessment processes, and assessments of 

24 developmental progress; 


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1 (9) how families and caregivers will be involved, 

2 as appropriate, in supporting their child’s literacy 

3 development, instruction, and assessment; 

4 (10) how the subgrant funds will be used to 

5 help children, particularly children experiencing dif6 ficulty with spoken and written language, to make 

7 the transition from early childhood education pro8 grams to formal classroom instruction; 

9 (11) how the activities assisted under the 

10 subgrant will be coordinated with comprehensive lit11 eracy instruction at the kindergarten through grade 

12 12 levels; 

13 (12) how the subgrant funds will be used— 

14 (A) to evaluate the success of the activities 

15 assisted under the subgrant in enhancing the 

16 early language and literacy development of chil17 dren from birth through kindergarten entry; 

18 and 

19 (B) to evaluate data for program improve20 ment; and 

21 (13) such other information as the State edu22 cational agency may require. 

23 (d) APPROVAL OF LOCAL APPLICATIONS.—The State 

24 educational agency, in consultation with the State agencies 

25 responsible for administering early learning programs, inVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:55 Apr 23, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00062 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S758.IS S758

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1 cluding the State agency responsible for administering 

2 child care programs and the State Advisory Council on 

3 Early Childhood Education and Care, shall— 

4 (1) select applications for funding under this 

5 section based on the quality of the applications sub6 mitted, including the relationship between literacy 

7 activities proposed and the research base or data 

8 supporting such investments, as appropriate, and the 

9 recommendations of— 

10 (A) the State literacy leadership team; and 

11 (B) other experts in the area of early lit12 eracy; and 

13 (2) place priority for funding programs based 

14 on the criteria in section 7(b)(2)(F). 

15 (e) LOCAL USES OF FUNDS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that re17 ceives a subgrant under this section shall use the 

18 subgrant funds, consistent with the entity’s approved 

19 application under subsection (c), to— 

20 (A) enhance and improve early learning 

21 programs to ensure that children in such pro22 grams are provided with high-quality oral lan23 guage and literature- and print-rich environ24 ments in which to develop early literacy skills; 


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1 (B) carry out high-quality professional de2 velopment opportunities for early childhood edu3 cators, teachers, and instructional leaders; 

4 (C) acquire, provide training for, and im5 plement screening assessments, diagnostic as6 sessments, and classroom-based instructional 

7 assessments; 

8 (D) select, develop, and implement a 

9 multitier system of support; 

10 (E) integrate research-based instructional 

11 materials, activities, tools, and measures into 

12 the programs offered by the eligible entity to 

13 improve development of early learning language 

14 and literacy skills; 

15 (F) train providers and personnel to sup16 port, develop, and administer high-quality early 

17 learning literacy initiatives that— 

18 (i) utilize data— 

19 (I) to inform instructional design; 

20 and 

21 (II) to assess literacy needs; and 

22 (ii) provide time and support for per23 sonnel to meet to plan comprehensive lit24 eracy instruction; 


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1 (G) provide family literacy services, as ap2 propriate, and educate parents, teachers, and 

3 other caregivers about child literacy develop4 ment; 

5 (H) annually collect, summarize, and re6 port to the State educational agency data— 

7 (i) to document child progress in early 

8 literacy and language skills development as 

9 a result of activities carried out under this 

10 section; 

11 (ii) to stimulate and accelerate im12 provement by identifying the programs 

13 served by the eligible entity that produce 

14 significant gains in skills development; and 

15 (iii) for all subgroups of children and 

16 categories of children, including students 

17 in the groups described in section 

18 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Elementary 

19 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)), in a manner 

21 that— 

22 (I) utilizes a variety of measures 

23 of child literacy and language skills 

24 development; and 


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1 (II) is consistent across the 

2 State; and 

3 (I) coordinate the involvement of families, 

4 early learning program staff, principals, other 

5 instructional leaders, and teachers in literacy 

6 development of children served under this Act. 

7 (2) CURRICULA AND ASSESSMENT MATERIALS

8 LIMITATION.—Each eligible entity that receives a 

9 subgrant under this section shall not use more than 

10 20 percent of the subgrant funds in the first year 

11 of subgrant funding, and not more than 10 percent 

12 of the subgrant funds in each year thereafter, to 

13 purchase curricula and assessment materials. 

14 (f) PROHIBITION.—The use of assessment items and 

15 data on any assessment authorized under this section to 

16 provide rewards or sanctions for individual children, early 

17 learning program providers, teachers, program directors, 

18 or principals is prohibited. 

19 SEC. 10. SUBGRANTS TO ELIGIBLE ENTITIES IN SUPPORT 

20 OF KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE 12 LIT21 ERACY. 

22 (a) SUBGRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN23 CIES.— 

24 (1) SUBGRANTS.—A State educational agency 

25 shall use a portion of the implementation grant 


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1 funds provided under subparagraph (C) or (D)(ii) of 

2 section 5(a)(1) to award subgrants, on a competitive 

3 basis, to eligible entities to enable the eligible enti4 ties to carry out the authorized activities described 

5 in subsections (b) and (c). 

6 (2) SUFFICIENT SIZE AND SCOPE.—A State 

7 educational agency shall award subgrants under this 

8 section of sufficient size and scope to allow the eligi9 ble entities to carry out high-quality literacy initia10 tives in each grade level for which the subgrant 

11 funds are provided. 

12 (3) LOCAL APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity 

13 desiring to receive a subgrant under this section 

14 shall submit an application to the State educational 

15 agency at such time, in such manner, and containing 

16 such information as the State educational agency 

17 may require. Such application shall include, for each 

18 school that the eligible entity identifies as partici19 pating in a subgrant program under this section, the 

20 following information: 

21 (A) A description of the eligible entity’s ca22 pacity survey conducted to identify how 

23 subgrant funds will be used to inform and im24 prove comprehensive literacy instruction at the 

25 school. 


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1 (B) How the school, the local educational 

2 agency, or a provider of high-quality profes3 sional development will provide ongoing high4 quality professional development to all teachers, 

5 including early childhood educators, principals, 

6 and other instructional leaders served by the 

7 school, including early learning program admin8 istrators. 

9 (C) How the school will identify children in 

10 need of literacy interventions or other support 

11 services and provide appropriate scientifically 

12 valid instructional interventions or other sup13 port services which may include extended learn14 ing time for struggling children. 

15 (D) A budget for the school that projects 

16 the cost of developing and implementing literacy 

17 initiatives to carry out the activities described 

18 in subsections (b) and (c) as applicable. 

19 (E) An explanation of how the school will 

20 integrate comprehensive literacy instruction into 

21 core academic subjects. 

22 (F) A description of how the school will co23 ordinate comprehensive literacy instruction with 

24 early learning and after-school programs and 

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1 cational agency, such as school library pro2 grams. 

3 (G) A description of the assessments that 

4 will be used in an assessment system to improve 

5 comprehensive literacy instruction and track 

6 child literacy progress. 

7 (H) A description of how families and 

8 caregivers will be involved in supporting their 

9 children’s literacy instruction and assessment. 

10 (I) A description of how, if an eligible enti11 ty is requesting a planning period, the eligible 

12 entity will use that planning period to prepare 

13 for successful implementation of a plan to sup14 port the development of learning and literacy 

15 consistent with the purposes of this Act. 

16 (J) A description of the literacy initiatives, 

17 if any, in place and how these initiatives will be 

18 coordinated and integrated with activities sup19 ported under this section. 

20 (K) An assurance that the eligible entity 

21 will, if requested, participate in the national 

22 evaluation described in section 11. 

23 (b) LOCAL USES OF FUNDS FOR KINDERGARTEN

24 THROUGH GRADE 5.—An eligible entity that receives a 

25 subgrant under this section shall use the subgrant funds 


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1 to carry out the following activities pertaining to children 

2 in kindergarten through grade 5: 

3 (1) Developing and implementing a literacy 

4 plan across content areas that— 

5 (A) serves the needs of all children, includ6 ing children with disabilities and English learn7 ers, especially children who are reading or writ8 ing below grade level; 

9 (B) provides intensive, supplemental, accel10 erated, and explicit intervention and support in 

11 reading and writing for children whose literacy 

12 skills are below grade level; and 

13 (C) supports activities that are provided 

14 primarily during the regular school day but 

15 which may be augmented by after-school and 

16 out-of-school time instruction. 

17 (2) Acquiring, providing training for, selecting, 

18 and administering assessments, and managing, mon19 itoring, and planning instruction based on the as20 sessment data. 

21 (3) Providing high-quality professional develop22 ment opportunities for teachers, literacy coaches, lit23 eracy specialists, English as a second language spe24 cialists (as appropriate), principals, and other pro25 gram staff. 


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1 (4) Training principals, specialized instruction 

2 support personnel, and other school district per3 sonnel to support, develop, administer, and evaluate 

4 high-quality kindergarten through grade 5 literacy 

5 initiatives that— 

6 (A) utilize data— 

7 (i) to inform instructional decisions; 

8 and 

9 (ii) to assess professional development 

10 needs; and 

11 (B) provide time and support for teachers 

12 to meet to plan comprehensive literacy instruc13 tion. 

14 (5) Coordinating the involvement of early learn15 ing program staff, principals, other instructional 

16 leaders, teachers, teacher literacy teams, English as 

17 a second language specialists (as appropriate), spe18 cial educators, and school librarians in the literacy 

19 development of children served under this Act. 

20 (6) Engaging families and encouraging family 

21 literacy experiences and practices to support literacy 

22 development. 

23 (7) Annually collecting, summarizing, and re24 porting to the State educational agency data— 


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1 (A) to document and monitor for the pur2 pose of improving practice, improvements, or 

3 increases in children’s reading and writing pur4 suant to activities carried out under this sec5 tion; 

6 (B) to stimulate and accelerate improve7 ment by identifying the schools that produce 

8 significant gains in literacy achievement; and 

9 (C) for all children and categories of chil10 dren, including the groups of students described 

11 in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Elemen12 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

13 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)), in a manner that 

14 utilizes a variety of measures and that is con15 sistent across the State. 

16 (c) LOCAL USES OF FUNDS FOR GRADES 6 

17 THROUGH 12.—An eligible entity that receives a subgrant 

18 under this section shall use subgrant funds to carry out 

19 the following activities pertaining to children in grades 6 

20 through 12: 

21 (1) Developing and implementing a literacy 

22 plan described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (6), and 

23 (7) of subsection (b) for children in grades 6 

24 through 12. 


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1 (2) Training principals, specialized instruction 

2 support personnel, and other instructional leaders to 

3 support, develop, administer, and evaluate high-qual4 ity adolescent literacy initiatives that— 

5 (A) utilize data— 

6 (i) to inform instructional decisions 

7 and allow for personalization of instruction 

8 based on a child’s need; and 

9 (ii) to assess professional development 

10 needs; 

11 (B) assess the quality of adolescent com12 prehensive literacy instruction in core academic 

13 subjects, and career and technical education 

14 subjects where such career and technical edu15 cation subjects provide for the integration of 

16 core academic subjects; 

17 (C) provide time for teachers to meet to 

18 plan research-based adolescent comprehensive 

19 literacy instruction in core academic subjects, 

20 and career and technical education subjects 

21 where such career and technical education sub22 jects provide for the integration of core aca23 demic subjects; and 

24 (D) include instruction in— 

25 (i) discipline-specific thinking; 


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1 (ii) reading and interpreting dis2 cipline-specific text structures and fea3 tures; and 

4 (iii) writing in different disciplines. 

5 (3) Coordinating the involvement of principals, 

6 other instructional leaders, teachers, teacher literacy 

7 teams, English as a second language specialists (as 

8 appropriate), special educators, and school librarians 

9 in the literacy development of children served under 

10 this Act. 

11 (d) ALLOWABLE USES.—An eligible entity that re12 ceives a subgrant under this section may, in addition to 

13 carrying out the activities described in subsections (b) and 

14 (c), use subgrant funds to carry out the following activities 

15 pertaining to children in kindergarten through grade 12: 

16 (1) Providing a planning period of not more 

17 than 1 year for eligible entities to establish the ele18 ments necessary for successful implementation of a 

19 literacy program for kindergarten through grade 12. 

20 (2) Recruiting, placing, training, and compen21 sating literacy coaches. 

22 (3) Connecting out-of-school learning opportuni23 ties to in-school learning in order to improve the lit24 eracy achievement of the children. 


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1 (4) Training families and caregivers to support 

2 the improvement of adolescent literacy. 

3 (5) Providing for a multitier system of support. 

4 (6) Forming a school literacy leadership team 

5 to help implement, assess, and identify necessary 

6 changes to the literacy initiatives in 1 or more 

7 schools to ensure success. 

8 (7) Providing high-quality, literacy-rich environ9 ments that engage children with materials and expe10 riences at the children’s reading and writing levels. 

11 (8) Providing time for teachers (and other lit12 eracy staff, as appropriate, such as school librarians) 

13 to meet to plan comprehensive literacy instruction. 

14 (e) LIMITATION OF USE TO CERTAIN SCHOOLS.—An 

15 eligible entity receiving a subgrant under this section shall, 

16 in distributing the subgrant funds, provide the subgrant 

17 funds only to schools, including public charter schools, 

18 that have the highest percentages or numbers of children 

19 counted under section 1124(c) of the Elementary and Sec20 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6333(c)). 

21 SEC. 11. NATIONAL EVALUATION, INFORMATION DISSEMI22 NATION, AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

23 (a) NATIONAL EVALUATION.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—From funds reserved under 

25 section 5(a)(1)(A), the Secretary shall enter into a 


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1 contract with an organization independent of the 

2 Department for a 5-year national evaluation of the 

3 grant and subgrant programs assisted under this 

4 Act. Such evaluation shall include scientifically valid 

5 research that applies rigorous and systematic proce6 dures to obtain valid knowledge relevant to the im7 plementation and effect of the programs. 

8 (2) CONTENTS OF EVALUATION.—The evalua9 tion described in this subsection shall include an 

10 analysis of each of the following: 

11 (A) The impact of the implementation of 

12 literacy initiatives and practices supported 

13 under this Act on— 

14 (i) increasing academic outcomes, in15 cluding child literacy development in read16 ing and writing, and speaking (as appro17 priate), grade promotion, and graduation 

18 to the extent predictable; 

19 (ii) promoting the appropriate early 

20 literacy development of young children; 

21 and 

22 (iii) strengthening the literacy skills of 

23 English learners and children with disabil24 ities. 


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1 (B) The fidelity of implementation of core 

2 program features, such as coherence of the pro3 gram across grades, quality of technical assist4 ance, State and local educational agency leader5 ship, professional development for teachers and 

6 administrators, use of quality materials and 

7 pedagogy, and use of assessment. 

8 (C) The relationship between implementa9 tion of core features and children’s academic 

10 outcomes. 

11 (D) Other inquiries as designated by the 

12 Secretary, such as— 

13 (i) the core functions of literacy initia14 tives that have demonstrated the greatest 

15 impact on child literacy achievement, espe16 cially among children reading and writing 

17 below grade level; 

18 (ii) effective strategies to integrate 

19 State and local standards, curricula, as20 sessments, instruction, materials, and 

21 interventions to improve literacy; 

22 (iii) the types of literacy activities and 

23 professional development that most effec24 tively improve the early reading, writing, 


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1 and language skills of children from birth 

2 through kindergarten entry; 

3 (iv) the impact of adolescent literacy 

4 initiatives on adolescent motivation, en5 gagement, and participation in adolescent 

6 literacy activities; 

7 (v) the relationship between children’s 

8 literacy achievement and secondary school 

9 success, including improving graduation 

10 rates; and 

11 (vi) effective strategies to integrate 

12 school and public library programs to im13 prove literacy. 

14 (3) PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT.—The Secretary 

15 shall— 

16 (A) provide the findings of the evaluation 

17 conducted under this section to State edu18 cational agencies and subgrant recipients for 

19 use in program improvement; 

20 (B) make such findings publicly available, 

21 including on the Department’s website; and 

22 (C) submit such findings to the author23 izing committees. 

24 (b) INFORMATION DISSEMINATION AND TECHNICAL

25 ASSISTANCE.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts reserved 

2 under section 5(a)(1)(A), the Secretary, in collabora3 tion with the regional educational laboratories estab4 lished under section 174 of the Education Sciences 

5 Reform Act of 2002, the comprehensive centers es6 tablished under section 203 of the Educational 

7 Technical Assistance Act of 2002, and the Director 

8 of the National Institute of Child Health and 

9 Human Development, shall— 

10 (A) distribute information on— 

11 (i) comprehensive literacy instruction, 

12 including best practices and model pro13 grams identified in the evaluation; 

14 (ii) other inquiries designated by the 

15 Secretary under subsection (a)(2)(D); or 

16 (iii) other relevant Federal studies of 

17 literacy activities; and 

18 (B) provide technical assistance in order to 

19 assist States and local educational agencies in 

20 improving comprehensive literacy instruction 

21 and learning. 

22 (2) DISSEMINATION AND COORDINATION.—The 

23 Secretary shall disseminate the information de24 scribed in paragraph (1)(A) to— 


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1 (A) recipients of Federal financial assist2 ance under this Act, the Head Start Act, the 

3 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and 

4 the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act; 

5 and 

6 (B) each Bureau-funded school (as defined 

7 in section 1141 of the Education Amendments 

8 of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2021)). 

9 (3) USE OF NETWORKS.—In carrying out this 

10 subsection, the Secretary shall, to the extent prac11 ticable, use information and dissemination networks 

12 developed and maintained through other public and 

13 private entities. 

14 SEC. 12. CONSEQUENCES OF INSUFFICIENT PROGRESS, RE15 PORTING REQUIREMENTS, AND CONFLICTS 

16 OF INTEREST. 

17 (a) CONSEQUENCES OF INSUFFICIENT PROGRESS.— 

18 (1) CONSEQUENCES FOR GRANT RECIPIENTS.— 

19 If the Secretary determines that a State educational 

20 agency receiving an award under subparagraph (C) 

21 or (D)(ii) of section 5(a)(1), or an eligible entity re22 ceiving a subgrant under section 9 or 10, is not 

23 making significant progress in meeting the purposes 

24 of this Act and the key data metrics identified by 

25 the State educational agency in section 7(b)(2)(C) 


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1 after the submission of a report described in sub2 section (b), then the Secretary may withhold, in 

3 whole or in part, further payments under this Act in 

4 accordance with section 455 of the General Edu5 cation Provisions Act or take such other action au6 thorized by law as the Secretary determines nec7 essary, including providing technical assistance upon 

8 request of the State educational agency, or eligible 

9 entity, respectively. 

10 (2) CONSEQUENCES FOR SUBGRANT RECIPI11 ENTS.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—A State educational 

13 agency receiving an award under subparagraph 

14 (C) or (D)(ii) of section 5(a)(1) may refuse to 

15 award subgrant funds to an eligible entity 

16 under section 9 or 10 if the State educational 

17 agency finds that the eligible entity is not mak18 ing significant progress in meeting the purposes 

19 of this Act, after— 

20 (i) affording the eligible entity notice, 

21 a period for correction, and an opportunity 

22 for a hearing; and 

23 (ii) providing technical assistance to 

24 the eligible entity. 


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1 (B) FUNDS AVAILABLE.—Subgrant funds 

2 not awarded under subparagraph (A) shall be 

3 redirected to an eligible entity serving similar 

4 children in the same area or region as the eligi5 ble entity not awarded the subgrant funds, to 

6 the greatest extent practicable. 

7 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

8 (1) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY ANNUAL RE9 PORTS.—Each State educational agency receiving an 

10 award under subparagraph (C) or (D)(ii) of section 

11 5(a)(1) shall report annually to the Secretary re12 garding the State educational agency’s progress in 

13 addressing the purposes of this Act. Such report 

14 shall include at a minimum data, for each sub15 grantee, and for the State, on the metrics identified 

16 under section 7(b)(2)(C), such as— 

17 (A) the number and percentage of children 

18 reading and writing on grade level by the end 

19 of grade 3; 

20 (B) the percent of children served under 

21 the award who receive special education and re22 lated services; and 

23 (C) the degree of appropriate develop24 mental progress or literacy achievement growth 

25 of children, disaggregated by the groups deVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:55 Apr 23, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00082 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S758.IS S758

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1 scribed in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the 

2 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

3 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)). 

4 (2) PERIODIC REPORTS.—Each State edu5 cational agency receiving an award under subpara6 graph (C) or (D)(ii) of section 5(a)(1) shall periodi7 cally report to the Secretary regarding the State 

8 educational agency’s progress in addressing the pur9 poses of this Act. Such reports shall be submitted at 

10 such times, and in such manner, as the Secretary 

11 shall establish, and shall, over the term of the grant, 

12 include descriptions of— 

13 (A) the professional development activities 

14 provided under the award, including types of 

15 activities and entities involved in providing pro16 fessional development to classroom teachers and 

17 other program staff, such as school librarians; 

18 (B) instruction, strategies, activities, cur19 ricula, materials, and assessments used in the 

20 programs funded under the award; 

21 (C) the types of programs funded under 

22 the award and demographic information, includ23 ing ages, of the children served by the programs 

24 funded under the award, except that such infor25 mation shall not be personally identifiable; 


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1 (D) the experience and qualifications of 

2 the program staff who provide comprehensive 

3 literacy instruction under the programs funded 

4 under the award, including the experience and 

5 qualifications of those staff working with chil6 dren with disabilities or developmental delay, 

7 with English learners, and with children from 

8 birth through kindergarten entry; and 

9 (E) student performance on relevant pro10 gram metrics, as identified in the State edu11 cational agency’s plan, such as— 

12 (i) the number of children reading 

13 and writing on grade level by the end of 

14 the third grade; 

15 (ii) the percent of students served 

16 under this Act receiving special education 

17 services; 

18 (iii) the instruction and activities de19 livered to at-risk students served under 

20 this Act; and 

21 (iv) the professional development ac22 tivities provided to teachers participating 

23 under this Act. 

24 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY REPORTS.—Each eligible 

25 entity receiving a subgrant under section 9 or 10 


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1 shall report to the State educational agency regard2 ing the eligible entity’s progress in addressing the 

3 purposes of this Act. Such report shall be submitted 

4 at such times, and in such manner, as the State 

5 educational agency shall establish, consistent with 

6 the requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2) for re7 ports submitted by the State educational agency to 

8 the Secretary, and shall, over the term of the 

9 subgrant, include, consistent with such requirements 

10 for the State educational agency reports, descrip11 tions of— 

12 (A) how the subgrant funds were used; and 

13 (B) the results of an external evaluation, if 

14 the Secretary determines such evaluation to be 

15 applicable. 

16 SEC. 13. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

17 (a) CHILD ELIGIBILITY.—Nothing in this Act shall 

18 be construed to prohibit children eligible for assistance 

19 under title I or III of the Elementary and Secondary Edu20 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq., 6801 et seq.) 

21 or children eligible for assistance under the Individuals 

22 with Disabilities Education Act from receiving literacy in23 struction and intervention under this Act. 

24 (b) IDEA EVALUATION.—The screening assess25 ments, diagnostic assessments, and formative assessment 


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1 processes of reading and writing authorized under this Act 

2 shall not be construed to constitute an evaluation required 

3 under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, ex4 cept that assessments administered under this Act may 

5 be used in conjunction with other assessments as part of 

6 an evaluation under the Individuals with Disabilities Edu7 cation Act, provided that all assessment requirements of 

8 such Act are met. 

9 SEC. 14. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

11 this Act, $2,350,000,000 for fiscal year 2014 and each 

12 of the 5 succeeding fiscal years. 

Æ 


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