I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 858 

To establish a comprehensive literacy program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 10, 2015 

Mr. YARMUTH (for himself, Mr. POLIS, Ms. NORTON, Mr. COHEN, Mr. 

MCGOVERN, Mr. RANGEL, and Mr. POCAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To establish a comprehensive literacy program, and for other 

purposes. 

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— 

5 (1) the ‘‘Literacy Education for All, Results for 

6 the Nation Act’’; or 

7 (2) the ‘‘LEARN Act’’. 

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

9 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Purposes. 


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Sec. 4. Programs authorized. 

Sec. 5. State planning grants. 

Sec. 6. State implementation grants. 

Sec. 7. Subgrants to eligible entities in support of literacy for children from 

birth through kindergarten entry. 

Sec. 8. Subgrants to eligible entities in support of literacy for students in kindergarten through grade 12. 

Sec. 9. Additional State activities. 

Sec. 10. National evaluation, information dissemination, and technical assistance. 

Sec. 11. Consequences of insufficient progress, reporting requirements, and 

conflicts of interest. 

Sec. 12. Rules of construction. 

Sec. 13. Definitions. 

Sec. 14. Authorization of appropriations. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds that in order for a comprehensive 

3 and effective literacy program to address the needs of chil4 dren it is critical to address the following: 

5 (1) Literacy development is an ongoing process 

6 that requires a sustained engagement and invest7 ment beginning in early childhood and continuing 

8 through 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 teachers and staff in early learning programs 

13 are not provided with high-quality professional devel14 opment in how to support children’s language and 

15 literacy development. Such high-quality professional 

16 learning and preparation, that is job-embedded and 

17 ongoing, promotes strong early language and literacy 

18 for all children’s readiness for school. 


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1 (3) Research shows that writing leads to im2 proved reading achievement, reading leads to better 

3 writing performance, and combined instruction leads 

4 to improvements in both areas. Students in kinder5 garten through grade 12 need to be engaged in com6 bined reading and writing experiences that lead to a 

7 higher level of thinking than when either process is 

8 taught alone. 

9 (4) Teachers and early childhood educators 

10 need professional development to improve the read11 ing and writing abilities of children who are at risk 

12 for developmental delays or are reading and writing 

13 several years below grade level. Middle school and 

14 secondary school teachers in core academic subjects 

15 must have the tools and skills to teach reading and 

16 writing for subject area understanding and to dif17 ferentiate and provide instruction for students with 

18 varying literacy skills. 

19 (5) Approximately 65 percent of 4th graders 

20 and 8th graders read below the proficient level on 

21 the 2013 National Assessment of Educational 

22 Progress. 

23 (6) One in four students enter 9th grade read24 ing below grade level and struggle to graduate be25 cause their literacy achievement is alarmingly low. 


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1 Many of the more than 700,000 students who leave 

2 U.S. high schools each year without a diploma have 

3 low literacy skills. For those students who earn a di4 ploma, an increasing number must take remedial 

5 coursework upon entering college, without promising 

6 results: students who enroll in a remedial reading 

7 course are less likely to eventually earn a degree or 

8 certificate. 

9 (7) Fewer than 2 in 10 high school students 

10 who graduated in 2014 met all 4 ACT College Read11 iness Benchmarks (English, Mathematics, Reading, 

12 and Science), the minimum level of achievement that 

13 ACT indicates is necessary if students are to experi14 ence success in first-year college courses. 

15 (8) Roughly 40 percent of secondary school 

16 graduates lack the literacy skills employers seek. 

17 The 25 fastest growing professions have higher than 

18 average literacy demands while the fastest declining 

19 professions have lower than average literacy de20 mands. 

21 (9) The intellectual and linguistic skills nec22 essary for reading and writing must be developed 

23 through explicit, intentional, and systematic lan24 guage activities, to which many low-income and mi25 nority students do not have access. 


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1 (10) Meaningful engagement of families in their 

2 children’s early learning supports school readiness 

3 and later academic success. Parental literacy habits 

4 are positively associated with parental reading be5 liefs, parent-child literacy and language activities in 

6 the home, children’s print knowledge, and interest in 

7 reading and writing. 

8 (11) Research shows that low expectations for 

9 the reading and writing achievement of students in 

10 schools results in curricula that do not challenge stu11 dents or adequately support literacy education, while 

12 high academic expectations and quality instruction 

13 and supports can boost student learning and 

14 achievement. 

15 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

16 The purposes of this Act are— 

17 (1) to improve reading, writing, and academic 

18 achievement for children and students by providing 

19 Federal support to State educational agencies, in 

20 collaboration with State agencies that oversee child 

21 care programs, to develop, coordinate, and imple22 ment comprehensive State literacy plans that ensure 

23 high-quality instruction and effective practices in 

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1 garten entry) and in reading and writing in kinder2 garten through grade 12; and 

3 (2) to assist State educational agencies and 

4 State agencies that oversee child care and other 

5 early childhood programs in achieving the purposes 

6 described in paragraph (1) by— 

7 (A) supporting the development and imple8 mentation of early learning through grade 12 

9 literacy programs that are based on scientif10 ically valid research, to ensure that every stu11 dent can read and write at grade level or above; 

12 (B) providing children attending early 

13 learning programs that serve children from 

14 birth through kindergarten entry, including pro15 grams, such as child care, Early Head Start, 

16 Head Start, State-funded preschool, public li17 brary programs, and other early childhood edu18 cation settings, with high-quality, language-rich, 

19 literature-rich, informational text-rich, cul20 turally relevant, developmentally appropriate 

21 environments, so that such children develop the 

22 fundamental knowledge and skills necessary for 

23 literacy engagement, development, and achieve24 ment in kindergarten and beyond; 


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1 (C) educating parents in the ways they can 

2 support their child’s communication and lit3 eracy development; 

4 (D) supporting efforts to link and align 

5 standards and evidence-based teaching practices 

6 and instruction in early learning programs serv7 ing children from birth through kindergarten 

8 entry; 

9 (E) supporting high-quality, effective edu10 cational and development environments for chil11 dren and students from birth through grade 12 

12 to develop oral language, reading comprehen13 sion, and writing abilities through evidence14 based instruction and practices; 

15 (F) improving student achievement by es16 tablishing literacy initiatives that provide ex17 plicit and systematic instruction in oral lan18 guage, reading, and writing development across 

19 the curriculum; 

20 (G) identifying and supporting students 

21 who are reading and writing below grade level 

22 by providing evidence-based intensive interven23 tions, including extended learning time, to help 

24 such students acquire the language and literacy 


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1 skills they need to graduate from secondary 

2 school; 

3 (H) providing assistance to eligible entities 

4 in order to provide educators with high-quality 

5 professional development in the essential com6 ponents of early literacy instruction and the es7 sential components of reading and writing in8 struction; 

9 (I) supporting State educational agencies 

10 and local educational agencies in using age- and 

11 developmentally appropriate instructional mate12 rials and strategies, including those consistent 

13 with universal design for learning, that assist 

14 teachers as they work with students to develop 

15 reading and writing competencies appropriate 

16 to the student’s grade and skill levels; 

17 (J) supporting State educational agencies 

18 and eligible entities in improving reading, writ19 ing, and academic achievement for children and 

20 students, especially those that are low-income, 

21 limited English proficient, migratory, Indian or 

22 Alaskan Native, neglected or delinquent, home23 less, in the custody of the child welfare system, 

24 those that have disabilities, or those who have 

25 dropped out of school; and 


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1 (K) strengthening coordination among 

2 schools, early learning programs, early literacy 

3 programs, family literacy programs, juvenile 

4 justice programs, public libraries, and outside5 of-school programs that provide children and 

6 youth with strategies, curricula, interventions, 

7 and assessments designed to advance early and 

8 continuing language and literacy development in 

9 ways appropriate for each context. 

10 SEC. 4. PROGRAMS AUTHORIZED. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized— 

12 (1) to award State planning grants in accord13 ance with subsection (b) and section 5; and 

14 (2) to award State implementation grants in ac15 cordance with subsection (b) and section 6 to en16 able— 

17 (A) the State agency that oversees child 

18 care programs, in consultation with the State 

19 Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education 

20 and Care described in section 642B of the 

21 Head Start Act and other early childhood agen22 cies, to award subgrants to eligible entities in 

23 accordance with section 7; 


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1 (B) the State educational agency to award 

2 subgrants to eligible entities in accordance with 

3 section 8; and 

4 (C) the State educational agency to carry 

5 out the additional State activities described in 

6 section 9. 

7 (b) AWARDS TO STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.— 

8 (1) DISCRETIONARY GRANTS.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the amount appro10 priated under section 14 for a fiscal year is less 

11 than $500,000,000 the Secretary shall— 

12 (i) reserve not more than 5 percent of 

13 such amount for the national evaluation, 

14 dissemination of information, and technical 

15 assistance under section 10; 

16 (ii) reserve not more than 5 percent of 

17 such amount to make awards, on a com18 petitive basis, under section 5; and 

19 (iii) use the amount not reserved 

20 under clauses (i) and (ii) to make awards, 

21 on a competitive basis and based on the 

22 quality of the applications submitted, to 

23 State educational agencies that have appli24 cations approved under section 6 to enable 


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1 the agencies to carry out sections 7 

2 through 9. 

3 (B) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—The Sec4 retary shall allocate the funds described in sub5 paragraph (A)(iii) among approved applicants 

6 on the basis of the relative number or percent7 age of children counted under section 1124(c) 

8 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

9 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6333(c)) in a State 

10 served by an approved applicant compared to 

11 the number or percentage of such children in all 

12 States served by approved applicants, except 

13 that awards under this paragraph shall be of 

14 sufficient size and scope to be effective. 

15 (2) FORMULA GRANTS.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the amount appro17 priated under section 14 for a fiscal year is 

18 equal to or exceeds $500,000,000 the Secretary 

19 shall— 

20 (i) reserve not more than 5 percent of 

21 such amount for the national evaluation, 

22 dissemination of information, and technical 

23 assistance under section 10; 


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1 (ii) reserve not more than 5 percent of 

2 such amount to make awards, on a com3 petitive basis, under section 5; 

4 (iii) reserve a total of 1 percent of 

5 such amount for— 

6 (I) allotments for the United 

7 States Virgin Islands, Guam, Amer8 ican Samoa, and the Commonwealth 

9 of the Northern Mariana Islands, to 

10 be distributed among such outlying 

11 areas on the basis of their relative 

12 need, as determined by the Secretary 

13 in accordance with the purposes of 

14 this Act; and 

15 (II) the Secretary of the Interior 

16 for programs under sections 5 

17 through 9 in schools operated or fund18 ed by the Bureau of Indian Edu19 cation; and 

20 (iv) use the amount not reserved 

21 under clauses (i) through (iii) to make 

22 awards, from allotments under subpara23 graph (B), to State educational agencies 

24 serving States, excluding States described 

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1 proved under section 6 to enable the agen2 cies to carry out sections 7 through 9. 

3 (B) STATE ALLOTMENT FORMULA.—From 

4 the funds described in subparagraph (A)(iv), 

5 the Secretary shall make an award to each ap6 proved applicant under section 6 on the basis of 

7 the relative number of children counted under 

8 section 1124(c) of the Elementary and Sec9 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

10 6333(c)) in the State served by the applicant 

11 compared to the number of such children in all 

12 States served by approved applicants. 

13 (C) PROPORTIONAL DIVISION.—In each 

14 fiscal year, the amount reserved under subpara15 graph (A)(iii) shall be divided between the uses 

16 described in subclauses (I) and (II) of such sub17 paragraph in the same proportion as the 

18 amount reserved under section 1121(a) of the 

19 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

20 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6331(a)) is divided between 

21 the uses described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of 

22 such section 1121(a) for such fiscal year. 

23 (3) CONSULTATION.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—As applicable, a State 

25 educational agency that receives a discretionary 


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1 grant or allotment under this subsection shall 

2 engage in timely and meaningful consultation 

3 with representatives of Indian tribes located in 

4 the State in order to improve the coordination 

5 of activities designed to develop effective ap6 proaches to achieve the purposes of the Act 

7 consistent with the cultural, language, and edu8 cational needs of Indian students. 

9 (B) SPECIAL RULE.—Of the funds re10 served under paragraph (2)(A)(iii)(II), the Sec11 retary of the Interior shall consult with tribes 

12 and school boards connected with bureau-fund13 ed schools to ensure allocation of funds to the 

14 extent possible in accordance with subpara15 graphs (A), (B), and (C) of section 6(a)(2). 

16 (c) PEER REVIEW.— 

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

18 a peer review panel to evaluate and make rec19 ommendations to the Secretary regarding each appli20 cation for a grant under section 5 or 6 using the 

21 evaluation criteria described in paragraph (2). 

22 (2) DEVELOPMENT OF EVALUATION CRI23 TERIA.—The Secretary shall report to the Congress 

24 the peer review process and evaluation criteria that 

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1 tions 5 and 6 and shall make a copy of the peer re2 view panel’s comments available to the public. 

3 (d) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant funds 

4 provided under this section shall be used to supplement, 

5 and not supplant, other Federal, State, or local funds that 

6 would, in the absence of such grant funds, be made avail7 able for literacy instruction and support of children and 

8 students participating in programs assisted under this 

9 Act. 

10 SEC. 5. STATE PLANNING GRANTS. 

11 (a) PLANNING GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award 

13 planning grants to State educational agencies to en14 able the State educational agencies to develop or im15 prove a comprehensive plan, in consultation with the 

16 State agencies that oversee child care and other 

17 early childhood programs, the State Advisory Coun18 cil on Early Childhood Education and Care, and the 

19 State Head Start Collaboration Office, to carry out 

20 activities that improve literacy for children and stu21 dents from birth through grade 12. 

22 (2) GRANT PERIOD.—A planning grant under 

23 this section shall be awarded for a period of not 

24 more than 1 year. 


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1 (3) NONRENEWABILITY.—The Secretary shall 

2 not award a State educational agency more than 1 

3 planning grant under this section. 

4 (4) RELATION TO IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.— 

5 A State educational agency may not receive a plan6 ning grant under this section at the same time it is 

7 receiving an implementation grant under section 6. 

8 (b) APPLICATION.—Each State educational agency 

9 desiring a planning grant under this section shall submit, 

10 jointly with the State agencies that oversee child care and 

11 other early childhood programs and the State Advisory 

12 Council on Early Childhood Education and Care, an appli13 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 

14 accompanied by such information as the Secretary may 

15 require. 

16 (c) EXISTING STATE LITERACY PLAN.—An existing 

17 Federally funded comprehensive State literacy plan may 

18 be improved using a grant under this section. 

19 SEC. 6. STATE IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS. 

20 (a) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

22 implementation grants to State educational agen23 cies— 

24 (A) to implement, in collaboration with the 

25 State agencies that oversee child care and other 


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1 early childhood programs, the State Advisory 

2 Council on Early Childhood Education and 

3 Care, and the State Head Start Collaboration 

4 Office— 

5 (i) the comprehensive State literacy 

6 plan developed under section 5, if the State 

7 educational agency received a grant under 

8 such section; or 

9 (ii) another comprehensive State lit10 eracy plan for serving children from birth 

11 through grade 12; 

12 (B) to provide funds made available under 

13 paragraph (2)(A) to the State agency that over14 sees child care programs to award subgrants 

15 under section 7; 

16 (C) to award subgrants under section 8; 

17 and 

18 (D) to carry out additional State activities 

19 under section 9. 

20 (2) USE OF FUNDS.—State educational agency 

21 shall use implementation grant funds received under 

22 this section as follows: 

23 (A) LEARNERS FROM BIRTH THROUGH

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1 cent of such grant funds shall be used in ac2 cordance with section 7. 

3 (B) STUDENTS IN KINDERGARTEN

4 THROUGH GRADE 5.—Not less than 40 percent 

5 of such grant funds shall be used in accordance 

6 with section 8, to be allocated equitably among 

7 grades kindergarten through grade 5, unless 

8 the State educational agency determines than 

9 an exception is necessary based on a capacity 

10 survey described in section 8(c)(1). 

11 (C) STUDENTS IN GRADES 6 THROUGH

12 12.—Not less than 40 percent of such grant 

13 funds shall be used in accordance with section 

14 8, to be allocated equitably among grades 6 

15 through 12, unless the State educational agency 

16 determines that an exception is necessary based 

17 on a capacity survey described in section 

18 8(c)(1). 

19 (D) STATE ACTIVITIES.—Not more than 5 

20 percent of such grant funds shall be used for 

21 the State activities described in section 9. 

22 (3) DURATION OF GRANTS.—An implementa23 tion grant under this section shall be awarded for a 

24 period of not less than 3 years and not more than 

25 5 years. 


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1 (4) RENEWALS.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Implementation grants 

3 under this section may be renewed. 

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

5 to have an implementation grant renewed under 

6 this paragraph, the State educational agency, in 

7 collaboration with the State agencies that over8 see child care and other early childhood pro9 grams and the State Advisory Council on Early 

10 Childhood Education and Care, shall dem11 onstrate, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, 

12 that— 

13 (i) the State educational agency has 

14 complied with the terms of the grant, in15 cluding using the funds to— 

16 (I) increase access to high-quality 

17 professional development; 

18 (II) use developmentally appro19 priate curricula and teaching mate20 rials; and 

21 (III) use developmentally appro22 priate classroom-based instructional 

23 assessments and developmentally ap24 propriate screening and diagnostic as25 sessments; and 


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1 (ii) with respect to students in kinder2 garten through grade 12, during the period 

3 of the grant there has been significant 

4 progress in student achievement, as meas5 ured by appropriate assessments, including 

6 meeting the measurable annual objectives 

7 established pursuant to section 

8 1111(b)(2)(C)(v) of the Elementary and 

9 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

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

11 (b) STATE APPLICATIONS.— 

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

13 that desires to receive an implementation grant 

14 under this section shall, in collaboration with the 

15 State agencies that oversee child care and other 

16 early childhood programs and the State Advisory 

17 Council on Early Childhood Education and Care, 

18 submit an application to the Secretary at such time, 

19 in such manner, and containing such information as 

20 the Secretary may require. 

21 (2) CONTENTS.—An application described in 

22 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

23 (A) STATE LITERACY TEAM AND PLAN.— 

24 A description of how the State educational 

25 agency has formed a State literacy leadership 


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1 team and developed a comprehensive State lit2 eracy plan, as described in section 5. 

3 (B) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—An assur4 ance that the State has a process to safeguard 

5 against conflicts of interest consistent with sec6 tion 11(c) for individuals providing technical as7 sistance on behalf of the State educational 

8 agency or the State agencies that oversee child 

9 care and other early childhood programs or 

10 serving on the State literacy leadership team. 

11 (C) IMPLEMENTATION.—An implementa12 tion plan that includes a description of how the 

13 State educational agency and the State agency 

14 that oversees child care programs will— 

15 (i) assist eligible entities with— 

16 (I) selecting and using screening 

17 assessments and diagnostic assess18 ments; 

19 (II) providing classroom-based 

20 instruction that is supported by one21 to-one and small group instruction; 

22 (III) using curricular materials 

23 and instructional tools, which may in24 clude technology, to improve instruc25 tion and literacy achievement; 


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1 (IV) using the principles of uni2 versal design for learning in all phases 

3 of instructional practice, including 

4 professional development, curriculum 

5 development and selection of instruc6 tional materials, and classroom in7 struction; 

8 (V) providing high-quality profes9 sional development as part of such eli10 gible entities’ literacy initiatives to im11 prove the literacy development and 

12 learning of children and students 

13 served under the implementation 

14 grant; and 

15 (VI) providing diverse learners, 

16 including English language learners, 

17 with culturally, linguistically, and de18 velopmentally appropriate curricula, 

19 instructional materials, interactive 

20 technologies, and valid and reliable as21 sessments that support such learners 

22 in meeting State academic and con23 tent standards; 

24 (ii) ensure that eligible entities in the 

25 State have leveraged and are effectively 


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1 leveraging the resources to implement 

2 high-quality literacy instruction, and have 

3 the capacity to implement high-quality lit4 eracy initiatives effectively; 

5 (iii) ensure that professional develop6 ment activities are based on— 

7 (I) the essential components of 

8 early literacy instruction and the es9 sential components of reading and 

10 writing instruction, as appropriate; 

11 and 

12 (II) evidence-based English lan13 guage acquisition and adult learning 

14 research, as appropriate; 

15 (iv) coordinate and align, as appro16 priate, the activities assisted under this 

17 section and sections 7 and 8 with other 

18 State and local programs that— 

19 (I) serve children and students, 

20 and their families; and 

21 (II) promote literacy instruction 

22 and learning; 

23 (v) ensure that funds provided under 

24 this section are awarded in a manner that 


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1 will provide services to all age and grade 

2 levels consistent with section 6(a)(2); 

3 (vi) award subgrants to eligible enti4 ties to enable the eligible entities to carry 

5 out the activities described in sections 7 

6 and 8, including to— 

7 (I) eligible entities that serve 

8 rural areas; and 

9 (II) eligible entities that serve 

10 urban areas; and 

11 (vii) assist the eligible entities in the 

12 State in— 

13 (I) providing strategic and inten14 sive literacy instruction for students 

15 reading and writing below grade level, 

16 including through the use of multi17 tiered systems of supports; 

18 (II) providing high-quality pro19 fessional development in literacy in20 struction to teachers, including— 

21 (aa) special education teach22 ers or teachers of students who 

23 are English language learners; 

24 and 


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1 (bb) teachers of core aca2 demic subjects; 

3 (III) addressing the literacy 

4 needs of children and students with 

5 disabilities and English language 

6 learners served by the eligible entity; 

7 and 

8 (IV) providing training to par9 ents so that the parents can partici10 pate in the literacy related activities 

11 described under sections 7 and 8 to 

12 assist in the language and literacy de13 velopment of their children. 

14 (D) KEY DATA METRICS.—A description of 

15 the key data metrics that will be collected and 

16 reported annually under section 11(b)(1)(E). 

17 (E) NATIONAL EVALUATION.—An assur18 ance that the State educational agency, the 

19 State agency that awards subgrants under sec20 tion 7, and any eligible entity receiving a 

21 subgrant under section 7 or 8, will, if re22 quested, participate in the national evaluation 

23 under section 10. 

24 (F) PRIORITY.—An assurance that the 

25 State educational agency and the State agency 


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1 that oversees child care programs, as appro2 priate, shall prioritize awarding subgrants— 

3 (i) under section 7, based on the per4 centage of low-income children proposed to 

5 be served by the applicant; and 

6 (ii) under section 8, based on the 

7 number or percentage of children counted 

8 under section 1124(c) of the Elementary 

9 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

10 U.S.C. 6333(c)) proposed to be served by 

11 the applicant. 

12 SEC. 7. SUBGRANTS TO ELIGIBLE ENTITIES IN SUPPORT OF 

13 LITERACY FOR CHILDREN FROM BIRTH 

14 THROUGH KINDERGARTEN ENTRY. 

15 (a) SUBGRANTS.—A State educational agency shall 

16 provide the funds provided under section 4(a)(2)(A) to the 

17 State agency that oversees child care programs, who shall 

18 award subgrants, on a competitive basis, in consultation 

19 with the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Edu20 cation and Care and other State early childhood agencies, 

21 to eligible entities to enable the eligible entities to carry 

22 out the activities described in subsection (e). 

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

24 awarded under this section shall be of sufficient size and 


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1 scope to allow the eligible entity to carry out the activities 

2 described in subsection (e). 

3 (c) LOCAL APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity that 

4 desires to receive a subgrant under this section shall sub5 mit an application to the State agency that oversees child 

6 care programs, at such time, in such manner, and includ7 ing such information as such agency may require. Such 

8 application shall include a description of— 

9 (1) a needs assessment, including an analysis of 

10 data on child literacy as applicable; 

11 (2) an implementation plan that utilizes the 

12 needs assessment described in paragraph 1 that 

13 identifies a baseline level of literacy and early lit14 eracy skills, as well as benchmarks for making im15 provements and monitoring progress; 

16 (3) the programs assisted under the subgrant, 

17 including demographic and socioeconomic informa18 tion on the children from birth through kindergarten 

19 entry enrolled in the programs; 

20 (4) a budget for the eligible entity that projects 

21 the cost of developing and implementing literacy ini22 tiatives to carry out the activities described in sub23 section (e); 

24 (5) how the subgrant funds will be used to en25 hance the language and literacy aspects of school 


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1 readiness of children from birth through kinder2 garten entry in early childhood education programs; 

3 (6) how the subgrant funds will be used to pre4 pare and provide ongoing assistance to staff in the 

5 programs, through professional development focused 

6 on the essential components of early literacy instruc7 tion, including onsite intensive mentoring by early 

8 childhood literacy coaches to provide high-quality lit9 eracy activities based on scientifically valid research 

10 on child development and learning for children from 

11 birth through kindergarten entry; 

12 (7) how the subgrant funds will be used to pro13 vide services, incorporate activities, and select and 

14 use literacy instructional materials that are based on 

15 scientifically valid research on child development and 

16 early learning; 

17 (8) how the subgrant funds will be used to pro18 vide— 

19 (A) screening assessments or other appro20 priate measures— 

21 (i) to effectively identify children from 

22 birth through kindergarten entry who may 

23 be at risk for delayed development or later 

24 academic difficulties; and 


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1 (ii) to determine whether such chil2 dren are developing the fundamental 

3 knowledge necessary for literacy, engage4 ment, development, and achievement in 

5 kindergarten and beyond; and 

6 (B) diagnostic assessments, as appropriate, 

7 to determine the need for additional services; 

8 (C) classroom-based instructional assess9 ments; and 

10 (D) other appropriate assessments of de11 velopmental progress; 

12 (9) how the subgrant funds will be used to help 

13 instructional staff in the programs assisted under 

14 the subgrant to more effectively meet the diverse de15 velopmental and linguistic needs of children from 

16 birth through kindergarten entry in the community, 

17 including the needs of English language learners and 

18 children with disabilities; 

19 (10) how the subgrant funds will be used to en20 sure that parents receive instruction— 

21 (A) on their children’s early literacy devel22 opment; and 

23 (B) on how parents can support children’s 

24 literacy development at home; 


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1 (11) how the subgrant funds will be used to 

2 help children, particularly children experiencing dif3 ficulty with spoken and written language, to make 

4 the transition from early education to formal class5 room instruction; 

6 (12) how the activities assisted under the 

7 subgrant will be coordinated with literacy instruction 

8 at the kindergarten through grade 3 levels; 

9 (13) how the eligible entity will— 

10 (A) evaluate the success of the activities 

11 supported under the subgrant in enhancing the 

12 early language and literacy development of chil13 dren served under such subgrant; and 

14 (B) evaluate data for program improve15 ment; and 

16 (14) such other information as the State agency 

17 that oversees child care programs may require. 

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

19 agency that oversees child care programs shall— 

20 (1) award subgrants to eligible entities in ac21 cordance with this section based on the quality of 

22 applications submitted; and 

23 (2) prioritize awarding subgrants based on the 

24 criteria described in section 6(b)(2)(F). 

25 (e) LOCAL USES OF FUNDS.— 


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1 (1) REQUIRED USES.—An eligible entity that 

2 receives a subgrant under this section shall use the 

3 subgrant funds to carry out the following activities 

4 to support the development of early language and 

5 literacy in children from birth through kindergarten 

6 entry: 

7 (A) Enhance and improve early learning 

8 programs to ensure that children in such pro9 grams are provided with high-quality, develop10 mentally appropriate oral language, literature11 and print-rich environments. 

12 (B) Provide high-quality professional devel13 opment on how children develop language and 

14 literacy skills (including children with disabil15 ities and English language learners), and the 

16 selection and integration of developmentally, 

17 linguistically, and culturally appropriate literacy 

18 instructional strategies, activities, and mate19 rials, which may include the use of an early lit20 eracy coach for the staff of the eligible entity, 

21 in such entity’s curriculum and activities. 

22 (C) Acquire, provide training for, and im23 plement, as appropriate— 

24 (i) screening assessments or other ap25 propriate measures to determine whether 


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1 children from birth through kindergarten 

2 entry are developing appropriate early lan3 guage and literacy skills; 

4 (ii) diagnostic assessments, as appro5 priate, to determine the need for additional 

6 services; and 

7 (iii) classroom-based instructional as8 sessments. 

9 (D) Acquire, as appropriate, and integrate 

10 evidence-based instructional materials, activi11 ties, tools, and measures into the early learning 

12 programs offered by the eligible entity to im13 prove development of children’s early language 

14 and literacy skills. 

15 (2) ALLOWABLE USES.—An eligible entity that 

16 receives a subgrant under this section may use the 

17 subgrant funds to carry out either or both of the fol18 lowing activities to support the development of early 

19 language and literacy in children from birth through 

20 kindergarten entry: 

21 (A) Selecting, developing, and imple22 menting a multitier system of supports. 

23 (B) Providing activities that encourage 

24 family literacy experiences and practices and 

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1 gram receiving funds under this section on the 

2 development of their children’s early literacy 

3 skills. 

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

5 data on any assessment authorized under this section to 

6 provide rewards or sanctions for individual children, early 

7 learning providers, program directors, or principals is pro8 hibited. 

9 SEC. 8. SUBGRANTS TO ELIGIBLE ENTITIES IN SUPPORT OF 

10 LITERACY FOR STUDENTS IN KINDERGARTEN 

11 THROUGH GRADE 12. 

12 (a) SUBGRANTS.—A State educational agency shall 

13 use the implementation grant funds provided under sec14 tion 4(a)(2)(B) to award subgrants, on a competitive 

15 basis, to eligible entities to enable the eligible entities to 

16 carry out the activities described in subsection (e). 

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

18 awarded under this section shall be of sufficient size and 

19 scope to allow the eligible entity to carry out the activities 

20 described in subsection (e). 

21 (c) LOCAL APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity desir22 ing to receive a subgrant under this section shall submit 

23 an application to the State educational agency at such 

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


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1 the State educational agency may require. Such applica2 tion shall include, the following information: 

3 (1) CAPACITY SURVEY.—Results of the eligible 

4 entity’s capacity survey that— 

5 (A) identify— 

6 (i) the strengths and weaknesses of 

7 such entity related to literacy; 

8 (ii) how subgrant funds will be used 

9 to inform and improve literacy instruction 

10 within such entity; and 

11 (iii) the demographic and socio12 economic information on the students en13 rolled in such entity; and 

14 (B) include an analysis, disaggregated by 

15 the subgroups described in section 

16 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Elementary and 

17 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

18 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)) and by grade level, of— 

19 (i) State scores on the reading or lan20 guage arts assessments conducted under 

21 section 1111(b)(3) of the Elementary and 

22 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

23 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)); 


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1 (ii) National Assessment of Edu2 cational Progress reading scores, as appro3 priate; 

4 (iii) the percentage of students in 

5 need of reading and writing remediation; 

6 (iv) core course passing and failure 

7 rates for secondary school students; 

8 (v) credit accumulation for secondary 

9 school students; and 

10 (vi) graduation rates. 

11 (2) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.—How each 

12 participating school, eligible entity, or a provider of 

13 high-quality professional development will provide 

14 ongoing high-quality professional development in 

15 language development, English language acquisition 

16 (as appropriate), and literacy instruction to all 

17 teachers, principals, and other school leaders served 

18 by the school. 

19 (3) INTERVENTIONS.—How each participating 

20 school will identify students in need of interventions 

21 and provide appropriate scientifically valid instruc22 tional interventions or other services which may in23 clude one-on-one instruction and extended learning 

24 time for struggling students. 


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1 (4) BUDGET.—A budget for each participating 

2 school that projects the cost of developing and im3 plementing literacy initiatives to carry out the activi4 ties described in subsection (e). 

5 (5) INTEGRATION.—An explanation of how each 

6 participating school will integrate literacy instruction 

7 into core academic subjects. 

8 (6) COORDINATION.—A description of how each 

9 participating school will coordinate literacy instruc10 tion with early education, after-school programs, and 

11 other programs serving students in the school, such 

12 as library programs, as appropriate. 

13 (7) ASSESSMENTS.—A description of the 

14 screening, diagnostic, formative, and summative as15 sessments that will be used in an assessment system 

16 to improve literacy instruction and track student lit17 eracy progress. 

18 (8) FAMILIES AND CAREGIVERS.—A description 

19 of how the families and caregivers will be involved 

20 in supporting their children’s literacy instruction 

21 and assessment. 

22 (9) INITIATIVES.—A description of the literacy 

23 and other academic initiatives, if any, in place and 

24 how these initiatives will be coordinated and inte25 grated with activities supported under this section. 


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1 (10) PARTICIPATION IN EVALUATION.—An as2 surance that the eligible entity will, if requested, 

3 participate in the national evaluation described in 

4 section 10. 

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

6 educational agency shall— 

7 (1) award subgrants to eligible entities in ac8 cordance with this section based on the quality of 

9 applications submitted; and 

10 (2) prioritize awarding subgrants to eligible en11 tities based on the criteria described in section 

12 6(b)(2)(F). 

13 (e) LOCAL USES OF FUNDS FOR KINDERGARTEN

14 THROUGH GRADE 12.— 

15 (1) REQUIRED USES.—An eligible entity that 

16 receives a subgrant under this section shall use the 

17 subgrant funds to carry out the following activities 

18 for students in kindergarten through grade 12: 

19 (A) Develop and implement a literacy ini20 tiative that— 

21 (i) includes all of the essential compo22 nents of reading and writing instruction; 

23 (ii) supports activities that are pro24 vided primarily during the regular school 

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1 struction during nonschool hours or peri2 ods when school is not in session (such as 

3 before and after school or during summer 

4 recess); 

5 (iii) integrates literacy instruction into 

6 core academic subjects and, to the extent 

7 practicable, other subjects taught in a 

8 school, such as career and technical edu9 cation; and 

10 (iv) addresses the literacy needs of 

11 English language learners and students 

12 with disabilities. 

13 (B) Form school literacy leadership teams 

14 to help implement, assess, and identify changes 

15 to the literacy initiative. 

16 (C) Provide high-quality, developmentally 

17 appropriate oral language, including listening 

18 and speaking, literature, and print-rich class19 room environments. 

20 (D) Provide high-quality professional de21 velopment for instructional staff, including lit22 eracy coaches and teachers of students with dis23 abilities and English language learners. 

24 (E) Select and administer screening and 

25 diagnostic assessments and support teachers’ 


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1 use of formative assessments and assessment 

2 data to plan instruction. 

3 (F) Select and implement a multitier sys4 tem of supports that includes intensive, supple5 mental interventions for students. 

6 (G) Provide training to principals and 

7 other school and district personnel in imple8 menting the literacy initiative, particularly in 

9 the areas of— 

10 (i) utilizing data; 

11 (ii) assessing the quality of literacy in12 struction across content areas; and 

13 (iii) providing time and support for 

14 teachers to plan literacy instruction. 

15 (H) Provide family literacy services for 

16 students and their parents, including training 

17 to enable families and caregivers to support the 

18 literacy initiative. 

19 (I) Promote writing experiences and imple20 ment programs that instruct and engage stu21 dents in practicing writing for multiple audi22 ences and purposes appropriate to the interests 

23 and capacities of students. 

24 (J) Annually collect, analyze, and report 

25 data to the State educational agency. 


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1 (2) ALLOWABLE USES.—An eligible entity that 

2 receives a subgrant under this section may use the 

3 subgrant funds to carry out the following activities 

4 for students in kindergarten through grade 12: 

5 (A) Acquire and utilize developmentally ap6 propriate instructional materials based on sci7 entifically valid research, including materials 

8 that utilize technology. 

9 (B) Hire and train literacy coaches. 

10 (C) Promote reading, library, and writing 

11 programs that provide access to engaging read12 ing material in school and at home. 

13 (D) Connect out-of-school learning oppor14 tunities to in-school learning, including the 

15 alignment of after-school activities with in16 school curricula, in order to improve the literacy 

17 achievement of students. 

18 (E) Form an acting partnership with 1 or 

19 more public or private nonprofit organizations 

20 that have a demonstrated record of effective21 ness in improving literacy development or pro22 viding professional development aligned with 

23 the activities described in this subsection. 


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1 (F) Providing time for teachers and school 

2 librarians to meet to plan literacy instruction, 

3 as appropriate. 

4 (f) LIMITATION TO CERTAIN SCHOOLS.—An eligible 

5 entity receiving a subgrant under this section shall, in dis6 tributing subgrant funds under this subsection, provide 

7 the subgrant funds only to schools, including public char8 ter schools, that— 

9 (1) are among the schools served by the eligible 

10 entity with the highest numbers or percentages of 

11 students in grades kindergarten through 12 reading 

12 and writing below grade level, based on the most 

13 current State data as available; and 

14 (2) have the highest numbers or percentages of 

15 children counted under section 1124(c) of the Ele16 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

17 U.S.C. 6333(c)). 

18 SEC. 9. ADDITIONAL STATE ACTIVITIES. 

19 (a) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—A State educational 

20 agency, in consultation with the State agency that over21 sees child care programs, shall use funds made available 

22 under section 4(a)(2)(C) and described in section 

23 6(a)(1)(D) to carry out each of the following activities: 

24 (1) Providing technical assistance or engaging 

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1 sist eligible entities to design and implement literacy 

2 initiatives. 

3 (2) Identifying and supporting high-quality pro4 fessional development in literacy instruction for eligi5 ble entities. 

6 (3) Coordinating activities under this Act with 

7 reading, writing, and other literacy resources and 

8 programs across the State. 

9 (4) Disseminating information, including mak10 ing publicly available on the Web sites of the State 

11 educational agency and the State agency that over12 sees child care programs, on promising practices to 

13 improve children’s early literacy and language devel14 opment and student literacy achievement. 

15 (5) Reviewing and developing recommendations 

16 in collaboration with teachers, early childhood pro17 viders, statewide educational and professional orga18 nizations representing teachers, and statewide and 

19 educational and professional organizations rep20 resenting institutions of higher education, to 

21 strengthen State licensure and certification stand22 ards for literacy instruction in early education 

23 through grade 12. 

24 (6) Coordinating with institutions of higher 

25 education in the State to strengthen and enhance 


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1 pre-service course work for students preparing to 

2 teach literacy to children and students from birth 

3 through grade 12. 

4 (7) Administration and reporting. 

5 (b) PERMISSIVE ACTIVITIES.—A State educational 

6 agency, in collaboration with the State agency that over7 sees child care programs, may use funds made available 

8 under section 4(a)(2)(C) and described in section 

9 6(a)(1)(D) to carry out one or more of the following activi10 ties: 

11 (1) Training personnel of eligible entities to use 

12 data systems to track student literacy achievement. 

13 (2) Developing and providing training to lit14 eracy coaches, including literacy coaches with exper15 tise in early literacy development, language develop16 ment, and adolescent literacy. 

17 SEC. 10. NATIONAL EVALUATION, INFORMATION DISSEMI18 NATION, AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

19 (a) NATIONAL EVALUATION.— 

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

21 paragraph (1)(A)(i) or (2)(A)(i) of section 4(b), the 

22 Secretary shall perform a 5-year national evaluation 

23 of the grant and subgrant programs assisted under 

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1 tions. Such evaluation shall include scientifically 

2 valid research that applies rigorous and systematic 

3 procedures to obtain information relevant to the im4 plementation and effect of the programs assisted 

5 under this Act. 

6 (2) CONTENTS OF EVALUATION.—The evalua7 tion described in this subsection shall include an 

8 analysis of each of the following: 

9 (A) IMPACT.—The impact of literacy ini10 tiatives supported under this Act on improving 

11 early literacy skills and student academic out12 comes, including student literacy development 

13 in reading and writing, student literacy develop14 ment in other academic content areas, grade 

15 promotion, and graduation. 

16 (B) IMPLEMENTATION OF CORE FEA17 TURES.—The fidelity of implementation of core 

18 program features, such as coherence of program 

19 across grades, quality of technical assistance, 

20 State and school district leadership, profes21 sional development for teachers and administra22 tors, use of quality materials and pedagogy, and 

23 use of assessment. 

24 (C) OTHER INQUIRIES.—Other inquiries as 

25 designated by the Secretary, such as— 


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1 (i) the types of literacy initiatives that 

2 have demonstrated the greatest impact on 

3 student achievement; 

4 (ii) how State standards, local edu5 cational agency and school curricula, as6 sessments, and interventions combine to 

7 improve literacy; 

8 (iii) how screening, diagnostic, and 

9 formative assessments of reading and writ10 ing assist teachers in identifying students’ 

11 reading and writing needs; 

12 (iv) how job-embedded, ongoing, high13 quality professional development improves 

14 teacher practice and increases literacy 

15 skills of children and students; 

16 (v) the types of literacy activities that 

17 improve the early reading, writing, and 

18 language skills of children from birth 

19 through kindergarten entry; 

20 (vi) how early learning providers are 

21 being prepared with scientifically valid re22 search on early childhood literacy and lit23 eracy development; 

24 (vii) how early literacy instructional 

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1 ically valid research are being integrated 

2 into preschools, child care programs and 

3 programs carried out under the Head 

4 Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), and 

5 family literacy programs; 

6 (viii) the impact of adolescent literacy 

7 initiatives on student motivation, engage8 ment, and participation in adolescent lit9 eracy activities; 

10 (ix) the impact of literacy initiatives 

11 on diverse learners, including English lan12 guage learners; 

13 (x) the relationship between students’ 

14 literacy achievement and secondary school 

15 graduation rates; and 

16 (xi) effective strategies to integrate 

17 school and public library programs to im18 prove literacy. 

19 (3) REPORTS.— 

20 (A) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than 2 

21 years after the date of the enactment of this 

22 Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Congress 

23 an interim report on the national evaluation 

24 conducted under this subsection. 


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1 (B) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 5 

2 years after the date of the enactment of this 

3 Act, the Secretary shall submit a final report 

4 containing the results of the national evaluation 

5 conducted under this subsection to— 

6 (i) State educational agencies and eli7 gible entities on a periodic basis for use in 

8 program improvement; and 

9 (ii) the Congress. 

10 (b) INFORMATION DISSEMINATION AND TECHNICAL

11 ASSISTANCE.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts reserved 

13 under paragraph (1)(A)(i) or (2)(A)(i) of section 

14 4(b), the Secretary shall, in collaboration with the 

15 Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Direc16 tor of the National Institute of Child Health and 

17 Human Development, regional educational labora18 tories established under section 174 of the Edu19 cation Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 

20 9564), and the comprehensive centers established 

21 under section 203 of the Educational Technical As22 sistance Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9602), distribute 

23 information and provide technical assistance on lit24 eracy instruction, including— 


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1 (A) information on literacy instruction and 

2 the impact of the instruction on— 

3 (i) student achievement, motivation, 

4 and engagement for literacy; and 

5 (ii) student graduation with a sec6 ondary school diploma; 

7 (B) information on elements of job-embed8 ded, ongoing, high-quality professional develop9 ment that improves literacy achievement in chil10 dren and students in early education through 

11 grade 12; and 

12 (C) information on schools, eligible enti13 ties, and States that have successfully improved 

14 literacy achievement in early education through 

15 grade 12. 

16 (2) DISSEMINATION AND COORDINATION.—The 

17 Secretary shall disseminate and make publicly avail18 able the information described in paragraph (1) to— 

19 (A) recipients of Federal financial assist20 ance under this Act, part A of title I of the Ele21 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

22 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.), the Head Start Act 

23 (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), the Individuals with 

24 Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et 


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1 seq.), and the Adult Education and Family Lit2 eracy Act (20 U.S.C. 9201 et seq.); and 

3 (B) each school operated or funded by the 

4 Bureau of Indian Education. 

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

6 subsection, the Secretary shall, to the extent prac7 ticable, use information and dissemination networks 

8 developed and maintained through other public and 

9 private entities. 

10 SEC. 11. CONSEQUENCES OF INSUFFICIENT PROGRESS, RE11 PORTING REQUIREMENTS, AND CONFLICTS 

12 OF INTEREST. 

13 (a) CONSEQUENCES OF INSUFFICIENT PROGRESS.— 

14 (1) CONSEQUENCES FOR GRANT RECIPIENTS.— 

15 If the Secretary determines that a State educational 

16 agency receiving an award under section 4(b) or an 

17 eligible entity receiving a subgrant under section 7 

18 or 8 is not making significant progress in meeting 

19 the purposes of this Act after the submission of a 

20 report described in subsection (b), then the Sec21 retary may withhold, in whole or in part, further 

22 payments under this Act in accordance with section 

23 455 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 

24 U.S.C. 1234d) or take such other action authorized 

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1 cluding providing technical assistance upon request 

2 of the State educational agency, or eligible entity, 

3 respectively. 

4 (2) CONSEQUENCES FOR SUBGRANT RECIPI5 ENTS.—A State educational agency or State agency 

6 that oversees child care programs, as appropriate, 

7 receiving an award under section 4(b) may refuse to 

8 award subgrant funds to an eligible entity under sec9 tion 7 or 8 if such State agency finds that the eligi10 ble entity is not making significant progress in meet11 ing the purposes of this Act, after— 

12 (A) providing technical assistance to the el13 igible entity; and 

14 (B) affording the eligible entity notice and 

15 an opportunity for a hearing. 

16 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

17 (1) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY REPORTS.— 

18 Each State educational agency receiving an award 

19 under section 6 shall report annually to the Sec20 retary regarding the State educational agency’s 

21 progress and the progress of the State agency that 

22 oversees child care programs in addressing the pur23 poses of this Act. Such report shall include, at a 

24 minimum, a description of— 


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1 (A) the professional development activities 

2 provided under the award, including types of 

3 activities and entities involved in providing pro4 fessional development to early childhood pro5 viders, classroom teachers, and other instruc6 tional staff; 

7 (B) instruction, strategies, activities, cur8 ricula, materials, and assessments used in the 

9 programs funded under the award; 

10 (C) the types of programs and program 

11 settings for children younger than kindergarten 

12 entry funded under the award and the ages, 

13 grade levels, and demographic information of 

14 children served by the programs funded under 

15 the award, except that individually identifiable 

16 information shall not be included; 

17 (D) the experience and qualifications of 

18 the instructional staff who provide literacy in19 struction under the programs funded under the 

20 award, including the experience and qualifica21 tions of those staff working with children with 

22 disabilities, English language learners, and chil23 dren younger than kindergarten entry; 

24 (E) key data metrics used for literacy ini25 tiatives; 


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1 (F) student performance on relevant pro2 gram metrics, as identified in the State edu3 cation agency’s implementation plan under sec4 tion 6(b)(2)(C), such as— 

5 (i) the number of students reading 

6 and writing on grade level by the end of 

7 the third grade, disaggregated by the sub8 groups described in section 

9 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Elementary 

10 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

11 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)); and 

12 (ii) the instruction and activities deliv13 ered to at-risk students served under the 

14 award; and 

15 (G) the outcomes of programs and activi16 ties provided under the award. 

17 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY REPORTS.—Each eligible 

18 entity receiving a subgrant under section 7 or 8 

19 shall report annually to the State educational agency 

20 or the State agency that oversees child care pro21 grams, as appropriate, regarding the eligible entity’s 

22 progress in addressing the purposes of this Act. 

23 Such report shall include, at a minimum, a descrip24 tion of— 

25 (A) how the subgrant funds were used; 


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1 (B) the degree of appropriate develop2 mental progress or literacy achievement growth 

3 of students, including children who are English 

4 language learners and children with disabilities, 

5 assisted under the subgrant; 

6 (C) the professional development of activi7 ties provided under the award, including types 

8 of activities and entities involved in providing 

9 professional development to early childhood pro10 viders, classroom teachers, and other instruc11 tional staff; 

12 (D) instruction, strategies, activities, cur13 ricula, materials, and assessments used in the 

14 programs funded under the award; 

15 (E) the types of programs funded under 

16 the award and the ages, grade levels, and demo17 graphic information of children served by the 

18 programs funded under the award, except that 

19 individually identifiable information shall not be 

20 included; 

21 (F) the experience and qualifications of the 

22 instructional staff who provide literacy instruc23 tion under the programs funded under the 

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1 tions of those staff working with children with 

2 disabilities and with English language learners; 

3 (G) key data metrics used for literacy ini4 tiatives; 

5 (H) student performance on relevant pro6 gram metrics, as identified in the State edu7 cation agency’s implementation plan under sec8 tion 6(b)(2)(C), such as— 

9 (i) the number of students reading 

10 and writing on grade level by the end of 

11 the third grade, disaggregated by the sub12 groups described in section 

13 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Elementary 

14 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

15 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)); and 

16 (ii) the instruction and activities deliv17 ered to at-risk students served under the 

18 award; 

19 (I) the outcomes of programs and activities 

20 provided under the award; and 

21 (J) the results of an external evaluation, if 

22 the Secretary determines applicable. 

23 (c) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

25 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 


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1 of Education shall create and implement proce2 dures— 

3 (A) to assess whether a covered individual 

4 or entity has a potential conflict of interest; and 

5 (B) to require the disclosure and mitiga6 tion of any such conflict of interest to ensure 

7 the integrity of the related program. 

8 (2) EVALUATION BY THE COMPTROLLER GEN9 ERAL.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

11 after the creation of the procedures described in 

12 paragraph (1), the Comptroller General of the 

13 United States shall report to the Committee on 

14 Education and Labor of the House of Rep15 resentatives and the Committee on Health, 

16 Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate 

17 on the adequacy of such procedures to identify, 

18 disclose, and manage conflicts of interest. 

19 (B) UPDATES.—Beginning not less than 6 

20 months after the report described in subpara21 graph (A) is filed, the Comptroller General shall 

22 evaluate the Department’s implementation of 

23 the procedures described in paragraph (1) and 

24 report to the Committee on Education and 

25 Labor of the House of Representatives and the 


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1 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

2 Pensions of the Senate every 6 months to en3 sure that the Department has adequately imple4 mented such procedures. The Comptroller Gen5 eral shall include in the reports any rec6 ommendations for modifications to such proce7 dures that the Comptroller General determines 

8 are appropriate to properly identify, disclose, 

9 and manage conflicts of interest. 

10 (3) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this 

11 subsection: 

12 (A) The term ‘‘covered individual or enti13 ty’’ means— 

14 (i) an officer or professional employee 

15 of the Department of Education; 

16 (ii) a contractor or subcontractor of 

17 the Department, or an individual hired by 

18 the contracted entity; 

19 (iii) a member of a peer review panel 

20 described in section 4(c); or 

21 (iv) a consultant or advisor to the De22 partment. 

23 (B) The term ‘‘conflict of interest’’ means 

24 a financial interest or other self-interest that a 

25 reasonable person would expect to lead to an 


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1 undue bias, or the appearance of such bias, to2 wards a particular product or service purchased 

3 with, guaranteed or insured by, or under con4 sideration for purchase with, or to be guaran5 teed or insured by, funds administered by the 

6 Department of Education or a contracted entity 

7 of the Department. 

8 SEC. 12. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

9 (a) STUDENT ELIGIBILITY.—Nothing in this Act 

10 shall be construed to prohibit students eligible for assist11 ance under title I or III of the Elementary and Secondary 

12 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq., 6801 et 

13 seq.) or students eligible for assistance under the Individ14 uals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et 

15 seq.) from receiving literacy instruction and intervention 

16 under this Act. 

17 (b) IDEA EVALUATION.—The assessments required 

18 under this Act shall not be construed to constitute an eval19 uation required under the Individuals with Disabilities 

20 Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.). 

21 SEC. 13. DEFINITIONS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in 

23 this Act, the terms used in this Act have the meanings 

24 given such terms in section 9101 of the Elementary and 

25 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 


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1 (b) OTHER TERMS.—In this Act: 

2 (1) CHILD WITH A DISABILITY.—The term 

3 ‘‘child with a disability’’ has the same meaning given 

4 the term in section 602(3) of the Individuals with 

5 Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401(3)). 

6 (2) CLASSROOM-BASED INSTRUCTIONAL AS7 SESSMENT.—The term ‘‘classroom-based instruc8 tional assessment’’ means an assessment for children 

9 in third grade or younger that— 

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

11 population of children served in the program, 

12 and is used to evaluate children’s developmental 

13 progress and learning, including systematic ob14 servations by teachers of children performing 

15 tasks, including academic and literary tasks, 

16 that are part of their daily classroom experi17 ence; and 

18 (B) is used to improve classroom instruc19 tion. 

20 (3) DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT.—The term ‘‘di21 agnostic assessment’’ means an assessment that— 

22 (A) is developmentally, linguistically, and 

23 culturally appropriate; 


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1 (B) is valid, reliable, and based on scientif2 ically valid research on language, literacy, and 

3 English language acquisition; 

4 (C) is used for the purposes of— 

5 (i) identifying a student’s specific 

6 areas of strengths and weaknesses in oral 

7 language and literacy; 

8 (ii) determining any difficulties that 

9 the student may have in language and lit10 eracy and the potential cause of such dif11 ficulties; and 

12 (iii) helping to determine possible lit13 eracy intervention strategies and related 

14 special needs of the student; and 

15 (D) in the case of young children, is con16 ducted after a screening assessment that identi17 fies potential risks for delayed development or 

18 later academic difficulties. 

19 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti20 ty’’ means— 

21 (A) when used with respect to children 

22 from birth through kindergarten entry— 

23 (i) one or more local educational agen24 cies providing early learning programs, or 

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1 ing programs, serving children from birth 

2 through kindergarten entry, such as a 

3 Head Start agency, an Early Head Start 

4 program, a child care program, a State5 funded pre-kindergarten program, a public 

6 library program, or a family literacy pro7 gram that has a demonstrated record of 

8 providing effective literacy instruction for 

9 the age group such agency or program is 

10 proposing to serve under section 7; or 

11 (ii) one or more local educational 

12 agencies providing early learning pro13 grams, or one or more public or private 

14 early learning programs, serving children 

15 from birth through kindergarten entry, 

16 such as a Head Start agency, an Early 

17 Head Start program, a child care program, 

18 a State-funded pre-kindergarten program, 

19 a public library program, or a family lit20 eracy program in partnership with one or 

21 more public or private nonprofit organiza22 tions or agencies that have a demonstrated 

23 record of effectiveness— 


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1 (I) in improving the early literacy 

2 development of children from birth 

3 through kindergarten entry; and 

4 (II) in providing professional de5 velopment aligned with the activities 

6 described in section 7(e)(1); and 

7 (B) when used with respect to students in 

8 kindergarten through grade 12, a local edu9 cational agency or consortium of local edu10 cational agencies that— 

11 (i) is among the local educational 

12 agencies in the State with the highest 

13 numbers or percentages of students read14 ing and writing below grade level, based on 

15 the most current State data, where avail16 able; and 

17 (ii) has the highest numbers or per18 centages of children who are counted under 

19 section 1124(c) of the Elementary and 

20 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

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

22 local educational agencies in the State. 

23 (5) 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) INCLUSION FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE

5 LEARNERS IN SCHOOL.—For an English lan6 guage learner in school, such term includes not 

7 only the social language proficiency needed to 

8 participate in the school environment, but also 

9 the academic language proficiency needed to ac10 quire literacy and academic content and dem11 onstrate the student’s learning. 

12 (6) ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER.—The term 

13 ‘‘English language learner’’ means an individual who 

14 is limited English proficient, as defined in section 

15 9101(25) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu16 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801(25)). 

17 (7) ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF EARLY LIT18 ERACY INSTRUCTION.—The term ‘‘essential compo19 nents of early literacy instruction’’ means providing, 

20 for children prior to the age of kindergarten entry, 

21 interactive experiences in a print- and literacy-rich 

22 environment that promote the development of— 

23 (A) oral language, including vocabulary, 

24 grammar, and syntax; 


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1 (B) motivational aspects of early literacy, 

2 including enjoyment of reading and books; 

3 (C) book-reading behaviors, including book 

4 handling and orientation; 

5 (D) recognition and understanding of pic6 tures and story concepts; 

7 (E) concepts about print; 

8 (F) alphabet knowledge; 

9 (G) phonological awareness, including the 

10 awareness of rhymes, sounds, and syllables; 

11 (H) emergent writing skills, including use 

12 of writing materials; and 

13 (I) integration of print concepts into play. 

14 (8) ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF READING AND

15 WRITING INSTRUCTION.—The term ‘‘essential com16 ponents of reading and writing instruction’’ means, 

17 for students in kindergarten through grade 12, de18 velopmentally appropriate, explicit, and systematic 

19 instruction that provides students the following: 

20 (A) With respect to students in kinder21 garten through grade 12— 

22 (i) high-quality professional develop23 ment for teachers, instructional staff, and 

24 principals; 


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1 (ii) diverse texts at the appropriate 

2 reading and interest level of students; 

3 (iii) differentiated instructional ap4 proaches; 

5 (iv) instruction and supports to in6 crease students’ motivation to read, includ7 ing self-directed learning; 

8 (v) as appropriate, systematic and in9 tensive one-to-one and small group instruc10 tion, including extended time for intense 

11 intervention for students reading signifi12 cantly below grade level, which can be pro13 vided both inside and outside the classroom 

14 as well as during and outside regular 

15 school hours; 

16 (vi) opportunities to write individually 

17 and collaboratively; 

18 (vii) instruction in uses of print mate19 rials, multimedia, and technological re20 sources for research and for generating 

21 and presenting content and ideas; and 

22 (viii) use of screening, diagnostic, 

23 formative, and summative assessments. 

24 (B) With respect to students in grades kin25 dergarten through grade 3— 


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1 (i) strategic and explicit instruction 

2 using phonological awareness, phonic de3 coding, vocabulary, language structure, 

4 reading fluency and reading comprehen5 sion; 

6 (ii) use of oral modeling techniques to 

7 build language skills; and 

8 (iii) coordinated involvement of fami9 lies, caregivers, school leaders, and instruc10 tional staff. 

11 (C) With respect to students in grades 4 

12 through 12— 

13 (i) direct and explicit comprehension 

14 instruction; 

15 (ii) direct and explicit instruction that 

16 builds academic vocabulary; 

17 (iii) multiple opportunities to write 

18 with clear purposes and critical reasoning 

19 appropriate to the topic and purpose and 

20 with specific instruction and feedback from 

21 teachers; 

22 (iv) text-based collaborative learning; 

23 and 

24 (v) coordinated involvement of school 

25 leaders and instructional staff that are 


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1 interdisciplinary and interdepartmental 

2 and that analyze student work over time 

3 and plan literacy instruction. 

4 (9) FAMILY LITERACY SERVICES.—The term 

5 ‘‘family literacy services’’ means services provided to 

6 participants on a voluntary basis that are of suffi7 cient intensity in terms of hours, and of sufficient 

8 duration, to make sustainable changes in a family, 

9 and that integrate all of the following activities: 

10 (A) Interactive literacy activities between 

11 parents and their children. 

12 (B) Training for parents regarding how to 

13 be the primary teacher for their children and 

14 full partners in the education of their children. 

15 (C) Parent literacy training that leads to 

16 economic self-sufficiency. 

17 (D) An age-appropriate education to pre18 pare children for success in school and life ex19 periences. 

20 (10) FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT.—The term 

21 ‘‘formative assessment’’ means assessment ques22 tions, tools, and processes that are— 

23 (A) developmentally, linguistically, and cul24 turally appropriate; 

25 (B) embedded in instruction; and 


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1 (C) used by teachers and students to pro2 vide timely feedback for purposes of adjusting 

3 instruction to improve learning. 

4 (11) HIGH-QUALITY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOP5 MENT.—The term ‘‘high-quality professional devel6 opment’’ means professional development that— 

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

8 on scientifically valid research; 

9 (B) is sustained, intensive, and classroom 

10 focused, if such workshop or conference is part 

11 of a professional development plan for the 

12 attendee; 

13 (C) is designed to increase the knowledge 

14 and expertise of instructional staff in imple15 menting the essential components of early lit16 eracy instruction and the essential components 

17 of reading and writing instruction, as appro18 priate; 

19 (D) includes and supports teachers and 

20 early learning providers in administering age21 and developmentally appropriate assessments; 

22 and analyzing the results of these student as23 sessments when implementing the essential 

24 components of early literacy instruction and the 

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1 struction for the purposes of planning, moni2 toring, adapting, and improving classroom in3 struction or teaching strategies to improve stu4 dent learning, as appropriate; 

5 (E) for kindergarten through 12th grade, 

6 supports the integration of literacy instruction 

7 in core academic subjects and, to the extent 

8 practicable, other subjects taught at school, 

9 such as career and technical education; 

10 (F) includes information on one-to-one, 

11 small group, and classroom-based instructional 

12 materials and approaches based on scientifically 

13 valid research on literacy; 

14 (G) provides ongoing instructional literacy 

15 coaching— 

16 (i) to ensure high-quality implementa17 tion of effective practices of literacy in18 struction that is content centered, inte19 grated across the curricula, collaborative, 

20 and school, setting, and classroom embed21 ded; and 

22 (ii) that uses student data to improve 

23 instruction; 

24 (H) includes and supports teachers in set25 ting high reading and writing achievement goals 


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1 for all students and provides the teachers with 

2 the instructional tools and skills, including 

3 strategies consistent with the principles of uni4 versal design for learning, to help students 

5 reach such goals; and 

6 (I) is differentiated for educators working 

7 with children from birth through kindergarten 

8 entry, students in kindergarten through grade 

9 5, and students in grades 6 through 12, and, as 

10 appropriate, by student grade or student need. 

11 (12) INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘instruc13 tional staff’’ means individuals who have re14 sponsibility for teaching students to read and 

15 write, or in the case of children from birth to 

16 kindergarten entry, teaching early literacy skills 

17 and language development. 

18 (B) INCLUSIONS.—Such term includes 

19 principals, teachers, early learning providers, 

20 supervisors of instruction, pupil services per21 sonnel, librarians, library school media special22 ists, teachers of academic subjects other than 

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1 sibility for assisting children to learn to read 

2 and write. 

3 (13) LITERACY COACH.—The term ‘‘literacy 

4 coach’’ means a professional— 

5 (A) who— 

6 (i) has previous teaching experience 

7 and— 

8 (I) for the purpose of literacy 

9 coaches working with early learning 

10 programs, has expertise in early child11 hood development and early literacy; 

12 and 

13 (II) for the purpose of literacy 

14 coaches working with kindergarten 

15 through grade 12— 

16 (aa) a master’s degree with 

17 a concentration in reading and 

18 writing education; or 

19 (bb) has demonstrated pro20 ficiency in teaching reading or 

21 writing in a core academic sub22 ject; and 

23 (ii) is able to demonstrate the ability 

24 to help early learning providers or teach25 ers— 


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1 (I) use evidence-based research 

2 on how children and students become 

3 successful readers, writers, and com4 municators; 

5 (II) use multiple forms of assess6 ment to guide instructional decision7 making; 

8 (III) for the purpose of literacy 

9 coaches working with— 

10 (aa) early learning pro11 grams, support and coordinate 

12 the language and literacy cur13 ricula and activities with the 

14 overall early childhood education 

15 program; and 

16 (bb) teachers in kinder17 garten through grade 12, im18 prove student writing and read19 ing in and across content areas 

20 such as mathematics, science, so21 cial studies, and language arts; 

22 (IV) develop and implement dif23 ferentiated instruction and teaching 

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1 guage learners and children with dis2 abilities; 

3 (V) use the principles of uni4 versal design for learning in instruc5 tional strategies and in selecting ma6 terials and tools to serve the diverse 

7 needs of all learners, including 

8 English language learners and chil9 dren with disabilities; 

10 (VI) employ best practices in en11 gaging instructional staff to change 

12 school cultures to better encourage 

13 and support literacy development and 

14 achievement; 

15 (VII) use data to improve in16 struction; and 

17 (VIII) for the purpose of literacy 

18 coaches working with— 

19 (aa) early learning pro20 grams, set developmentally ap21 propriate early literacy goals and 

22 select and acquire instructional 

23 tools and skills to help children 

24 reach such goals; and 


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1 (bb) kindergarten through 

2 grade 12, set high reading and 

3 writing achievement goals for all 

4 students and select and acquire 

5 instructional tools and skills to 

6 help students reach such goals; 

7 and 

8 (B) whose role with early learning pro9 viders, teachers and school personnel is— 

10 (i) to provide high-quality professional 

11 development opportunities in literacy and 

12 language development for early learning 

13 providers, teachers and school personnel, 

14 including in the case of early learning pro15 viders, helping staff in planning and imple16 mentation of ongoing professional develop17 ment; 

18 (ii) to work cooperatively and collabo19 ratively with principals, teachers, early 

20 learning providers and other professionals 

21 in planning programs to help, as appro22 priate— 

23 (I) early learning providers iden24 tify children’s early literacy needs so 

25 that such providers can meet the early 


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1 literacy needs of children at risk for 

2 delayed development and later aca3 demic difficulties; and 

4 (II) teachers identify student lit5 eracy needs and teach literacy across 

6 the content areas so that the teachers 

7 can meet the needs of students read8 ing and writing below grade level; and 

9 (iii) to work cooperatively and collabo10 ratively with other professionals in plan11 ning programs to help early learning pro12 viders and teachers teach literacy across 

13 content areas so that the early learning 

14 providers and teachers can meet the needs 

15 of diverse learners, including children with 

16 disabilities, English language learners, and 

17 students who are reading at grade level. 

18 (14) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

19 ‘‘local educational agency’’— 

20 (A) has the meaning given to that term in 

21 section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary 

22 Education Act of 1965; and 

23 (B) includes any public charter school that 

24 constitutes a local educational agency under 

25 State law. 


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1 (15) MULTITIER SYSTEM OF SUPPORTS.—The 

2 term ‘‘multitier system of supports’’ means a com3 prehensive system of differentiated supports that in4 cludes evidence-based instruction, universal screen5 ing, progress monitoring, formative assessment, and 

6 evidence-based interventions matched to student 

7 needs, and educational decisionmaking using student 

8 outcome data. 

9 (16) READING.—The term ‘‘reading’’ means a 

10 complex system of deriving meaning from print that 

11 requires all of the following: 

12 (A) The skills and knowledge to under13 stand how phonemes, or speech sounds, are 

14 connected to print. 

15 (B) The ability to decode unfamiliar words. 

16 (C) The ability to read fluently. 

17 (D) Sufficient background information and 

18 vocabulary to foster reading comprehension. 

19 (E) The development of appropriate active 

20 strategies to construct meaning from print. 

21 (F) The development and maintenance of a 

22 motivation to read. 

23 (17) SCHOOL LEADER.—The term ‘‘school lead24 er’’ means an individual who— 


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

2 and 

3 (B) is responsible for— 

4 (i) the school’s performance; and 

5 (ii) the daily instructional and mana6 gerial operations of the school. 

7 (18) SCIENTIFICALLY VALID RESEARCH.—The 

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

9 given the term in section 200 of the Higher Edu10 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021). 

11 (19) SCREENING ASSESSMENT.—The term 

12 ‘‘screening assessment’’ means an assessment that— 

13 (A) is developmentally, linguistically, and 

14 culturally appropriate; 

15 (B) is valid, reliable, and based on scientif16 ically valid research on literacy and English lan17 guage acquisition; and 

18 (C) is a procedure designed as a first step 

19 in identifying children who may be at high risk 

20 for delayed development or later academic dif21 ficulties and in need of further diagnosis of the 

22 children’s need for special services or additional 

23 literacy instruction. 

24 (20) SPECIALIZED INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT

25 PERSONNEL.—The term ‘‘Specialized Instructional 


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1 Support Personnel (SISP)’’means school counselors, 

2 school social workers, school psychologists, and other 

3 qualified professional personnel involved in providing 

4 assessment, diagnosis, counseling, educational, 

5 therapeutic, and other necessary services (including 

6 related services as that term is defined in section 

7 602 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

8 Act) as part of a comprehensive program to meet 

9 student needs. 

10 (21) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

11 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Com12 monwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin 

13 Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Common14 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

15 (22) STATE LITERACY LEADERSHIP TEAM.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.— 

17 (i) APPOINTMENT; RESPONSIBILITY; 

18 COMPOSITION.—The term ‘‘State literacy 

19 leadership team’’ means a team that— 

20 (I) is appointed and coordinated 

21 by the State educational agency, ex22 cept that individuals described in sub23 clauses (I)(aa), (I)(hh), and (II)(gg) 

24 of clause (ii) shall be appointed by the 


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1 State agency that oversees child care 

2 programs; and 

3 (II) is composed of not less than 

4 13 individuals and includes the indi5 viduals described in clause (ii). 

6 (ii) INDIVIDUALS INCLUDED.—A 

7 State literacy team— 

8 (I) shall include— 

9 (aa) an individual who has 

10 literacy expertise with respect to 

11 children from birth through kin12 dergarten entry; 

13 (bb) an individual who has 

14 literacy expertise with respect to 

15 students in kindergarten through 

16 grade 5; 

17 (cc) an individual who has 

18 literacy expertise with respect to 

19 students in grades 6 through 12; 

20 (dd) a school principal; 

21 (ee) a special education 

22 teacher with literacy expertise; 

23 (ff) a representative from 

24 the family literacy community; 


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1 (gg) a teacher or adminis2 trator with expertise in teaching 

3 English language learners; 

4 (hh) a representative from 

5 the State’s agency that oversees 

6 child care programs; 

7 (ii) a representative from 

8 the State educational agency who 

9 oversees literacy initiatives; and 

10 (jj) a representative from 

11 higher education who is actively 

12 involved in research, develop13 ment, and teacher preparation in 

14 literacy instruction and interven15 tion based on scientifically valid 

16 research; and 

17 (II) may include— 

18 (aa) a literacy specialist 

19 serving in a school district within 

20 the State; 

21 (bb) a literacy coach; 

22 (cc) a library media spe23 cialist; 

24 (dd) specialized instructional 

25 support personnel; 


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1 (ee) a teacher of a core aca2 demic subject; 

3 (ff) a special education ad4 ministrator; 

5 (gg) an early learning pro6 vider; 

7 (hh) a college or university 

8 professor; 

9 (ii) a parent; 

10 (jj) a business leader; 

11 (kk) a representative from 

12 the Governor’s office; 

13 (ll) a representative from 

14 the State board of education; 

15 (mm) a representative from 

16 the State legislature; 

17 (nn) a nonprofit and com18 munity-based organization pro19 viding literacy instruction and 

20 support; and 

21 (oo) a representative from a 

22 school district superintendent’s 

23 office. 

24 (B) INCLUSION OF A PREEXISTING PART25 NERSHIP.—If, before the date of the enactment 


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1 of this Act, a State educational agency estab2 lished a consortium, partnership, or any other 

3 similar body that was considered a literacy 

4 partnership for purposes of subpart 1 or 2 of 

5 part B of title I of the Elementary and Sec6 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6361 

7 et seq., 6371 et seq.) and that includes the indi8 viduals required under subparagraph (A)(ii)(I), 

9 such consortium, partnership, or body may be 

10 considered a State literacy leadership team for 

11 purposes of subparagraph (A). 

12 (23) STUDENT WITH A DISABILITY.—The term 

13 ‘‘student with a disability’’ has the meaning given 

14 the term ‘‘child with a disability’’ in section 602(3) 

15 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 

16 (20 U.S.C. 1401(3)). 

17 (24) SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT.—The term 

18 ‘‘summative assessment’’ means an assessment 

19 that— 

20 (A) is developmentally, linguistically, and 

21 culturally appropriate; 

22 (B) is valid, reliable, and based on scientif23 ically valid research on literacy and English lan24 guage acquisition; and 


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1 (C) measures how young children have pro2 gressed over time relative to developmental 

3 norms and what students have learned over 

4 time. 

5 (25) UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING.—The 

6 term ‘‘universal design for learning’’ has the mean7 ing given the term in section 103 of the Higher 

8 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.). 

9 (26) WRITING.—The term ‘‘writing’’ means— 

10 (A) the ability to compose meaning and 

11 print to communicate ideas, including the use of 

12 vocabulary, tone, and genre to fit purpose, audi13 ence and occasion; 

14 (B) the use of conventions such as spelling 

15 and punctuation; and 

16 (C) the ability to revise in order to improve 

17 clarity of ideas, coherence, logical development, 

18 and precision of language use. 

19 SEC. 14. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

20 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

21 this Act— 

22 (1) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2016; 

23 (2) $525,000,000 for fiscal year 2017; 

24 (3) $550,000,000 for fiscal year 2018; 

25 (4) $575,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; and 


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1 (5) $600,000,000 for fiscal year 2020. 

Æ 


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