I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2272 

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

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 22, 2011 

Mr. YARMUTH (for himself, Mr. POLIS, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. SABLAN, Mr. 

BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia, Mr. 

BERMAN, Mr. COHEN, and Ms. HIRONO) 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. 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 2272 IH

Sec. 3. Purposes. 

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. 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 2272 IH

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 70 percent of 4th graders 

20 and 8th graders read below the proficient level on 

21 the 2007 National Assessment of Educational 

22 Progress. 

23 (6) Between 1971 and 2008, the reading levels 

24 of 17-year-olds in the United States showed little to 

25 no improvement. The ability of secondary school stuVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:53 Jun 28, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2272.IH H2272

rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 2272 IH

1 dents to read complex texts is strongly predictive of 

2 their performance in postsecondary mathematics and 

3 science courses. 

4 (7) Only one-third of secondary school students 

5 who enter 9th grade each year can expect to grad6 uate in 4 years with the skills needed to succeed in 

7 higher education and the workplace. 

8 (8) The 25 fastest growing professions have 

9 higher than average literacy demands and approxi10 mately half of all job growth between 2004 and 

11 2014 will require high-level literacy skills. 

12 (9) The intellectual and linguistic skills nec13 essary for reading and writing must be developed 

14 through explicit, intentional, and systematic lan15 guage activities, to which many low-income and mi16 nority students do not have access. 

17 (10) Only 73.9 percent of secondary school stu18 dents graduate on time with a diploma, meaning 

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

20 from secondary school in the United States. These 

21 1,230,000 nongraduates cost the United States more 

22 than $300,000,000,000 in lost wages, taxes, and 

23 productivity over their lifetimes. 

24 (11) Meaningful engagement of families in their 

25 children’s early learning supports school readiness 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 2272 IH

1 and later academic success. Parental literacy habits 

2 are positively associated with parental reading be3 liefs, parent-child literacy and language activities in 

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

5 reading and writing. 

6 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this Act are— 

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

9 achievement for children and students by providing 

10 Federal support to State educational agencies, in 

11 collaboration with State agencies that oversee child 

12 care programs, to develop, coordinate, and imple13 ment comprehensive State literacy plans that ensure 

14 high-quality instruction and effective practices in 

15 early language and literacy in early learning pro16 grams (serving children from birth through kinder17 garten entry) and in reading and writing in kinder18 garten through grade 12; and 

19 (2) to assist State educational agencies and 

20 State agencies that oversee child care and other 

21 early childhood programs in achieving the purposes 

22 described in paragraph (1) by— 

23 (A) supporting the development and imple24 mentation of early learning through grade 12 

25 literacy programs that are based on scientifVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:53 Jun 28, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2272.IH H2272

rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 2272 IH

1 ically valid research, to ensure that every stu2 dent can read and write at grade level or above; 

3 (B) providing children attending early 

4 learning programs that serve children from 

5 birth through kindergarten entry, including pro6 grams, such as child care, Early Head Start, 

7 Head Start, State-funded preschool, public li8 brary programs, and other early childhood edu9 cation settings, with high-quality, language-rich, 

10 literature-rich, informational text-rich, cul11 turally relevant, developmentally appropriate 

12 environments, so that such children develop the 

13 fundamental knowledge and skills necessary for 

14 literacy engagement, development, and achieve15 ment in kindergarten and beyond; 

16 (C) educating parents in the ways they can 

17 support their child’s communication and lit18 eracy development; 

19 (D) supporting efforts to link and align 

20 standards and evidence-based teaching practices 

21 and instruction in early learning programs serv22 ing children from birth through kindergarten 

23 entry; 

24 (E) supporting high-quality, effective edu25 cational and development environments for chilVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:53 Jun 28, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2272.IH H2272

rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 2272 IH

1 dren and students from birth through grade 12 

2 to develop oral language, reading comprehen3 sion, and writing abilities through research4 based instruction and practices; 

5 (F) improving student achievement by es6 tablishing literacy initiatives that provide ex7 plicit and systematic instruction in oral lan8 guage, reading, and writing development across 

9 the curriculum; 

10 (G) identifying and supporting students 

11 who are reading and writing below grade level 

12 by providing evidence-based intensive interven13 tions, including extended learning time, to help 

14 such students acquire the language and literacy 

15 skills they need to graduate from secondary 

16 school; 

17 (H) providing assistance to eligible entities 

18 in order to provide educators with high-quality 

19 professional development in the essential com20 ponents of early literacy instruction and the es21 sential components of reading and writing in22 struction; 

23 (I) supporting State educational agencies 

24 and local educational agencies in using age- and 

25 developmentally appropriate instructional mateVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:53 Jun 28, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2272.IH H2272

rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 2272 IH

1 rials and strategies, including those consistent 

2 with universal design for learning, that assist 

3 teachers as they work with students to develop 

4 reading and writing competencies appropriate 

5 to the student’s grade and skill levels; 

6 (J) supporting State educational agencies 

7 and eligible entities in improving reading, writ8 ing, and academic achievement for children and 

9 students, especially those that are low-income, 

10 limited English proficient, migratory, Indian or 

11 Alaskan Native, neglected or delinquent, home12 less, in the custody of the child welfare system, 

13 those that have disabilities, or those who have 

14 dropped out of school; and 

15 (K) strengthening coordination among 

16 schools, early learning programs, early literacy 

17 programs, family literacy programs, juvenile 

18 justice programs, public libraries, and outside19 of-school programs that provide children and 

20 youth with strategies, curricula, interventions, 

21 and assessments designed to advance early and 

22 continuing language and literacy development in 

23 ways appropriate for each context. 

24 SEC. 4. PROGRAMS AUTHORIZED. 

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


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (1) to award State planning grants in accord2 ance with subsection (b) and section 5; and 

3 (2) to award State implementation grants in ac4 cordance with subsection (b) and section 6 to en5 able— 

6 (A) the State agency that oversees child 

7 care programs, in consultation with the State 

8 Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education 

9 and Care described in section 642B of the 

10 Head Start Act and other early childhood agen11 cies, to award subgrants to eligible entities in 

12 accordance with section 7; 

13 (B) the State educational agency to award 

14 subgrants to eligible entities in accordance with 

15 section 8; and 

16 (C) the State educational agency to carry 

17 out the additional State activities described in 

18 section 9. 

19 (b) AWARDS TO STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.— 

20 (1) DISCRETIONARY GRANTS.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the amount appro22 priated under section 14 for a fiscal year is less 

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

24 (i) reserve not more than 5 percent of 

25 such amount for the national evaluation, 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 2272 IH

1 dissemination of information, and technical 

2 assistance under section 10; 

3 (ii) reserve not more than 5 percent of 

4 such amount to make awards, on a com5 petitive basis, under section 5; and 

6 (iii) use the amount not reserved 

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

8 on a competitive basis and based on the 

9 quality of the applications submitted, to 

10 State educational agencies that have appli11 cations approved under section 6 to enable 

12 the agencies to carry out sections 7 

13 through 9. 

14 (B) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—The Sec15 retary shall allocate the funds described in sub16 paragraph (A)(iii) among approved applicants 

17 on the basis of the relative number or percent18 age of children counted under section 1124(c) 

19 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

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

21 served by an approved applicant compared to 

22 the number or percentage of such children in all 

23 States served by approved applicants, except 

24 that awards under this paragraph shall be of 

25 sufficient size and scope to be effective. 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (2) FORMULA GRANTS.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the amount appro3 priated under section 14 for a fiscal year is 

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

5 shall— 

6 (i) reserve not more than 5 percent of 

7 such amount for the national evaluation, 

8 dissemination of information, and technical 

9 assistance under section 10; 

10 (ii) reserve not more than 5 percent of 

11 such amount to make awards, on a com12 petitive basis, under section 5; 

13 (iii) reserve a total of 1 percent of 

14 such amount for— 

15 (I) allotments for the United 

16 States Virgin Islands, Guam, Amer17 ican Samoa, and the Commonwealth 

18 of the Northern Mariana Islands, to 

19 be distributed among such outlying 

20 areas on the basis of their relative 

21 need, as determined by the Secretary 

22 in accordance with the purposes of 

23 this Act; and 

24 (II) the Secretary of the Interior 

25 for programs under sections 5 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 2272 IH

1 through 9 in schools operated or fund2 ed by the Bureau of Indian Edu3 cation; and 

4 (iv) use the amount not reserved 

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

6 awards, from allotments under subpara7 graph (B), to State educational agencies 

8 serving States, excluding States described 

9 in clause (iii)(I), that have applications ap10 proved under section 6 to enable the agen11 cies to carry out sections 7 through 9. 

12 (B) STATE ALLOTMENT FORMULA.—From 

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

14 the Secretary shall make an award to each ap15 proved applicant under section 6 on the basis of 

16 the relative number of children counted under 

17 section 1124(c) of the Elementary and Sec18 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

19 6333(c)) in the State served by the applicant 

20 compared to the number of such children in all 

21 States served by approved applicants. 

22 (C) PROPORTIONAL DIVISION.—In each 

23 fiscal year, the amount reserved under subpara24 graph (A)(iii) shall be divided between the uses 

25 described in subclauses (I) and (II) of such subVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:53 Jun 28, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2272.IH H2272

rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 2272 IH

1 paragraph in the same proportion as the 

2 amount reserved under section 1121(a) of the 

3 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

4 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6331(a)) is divided between 

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

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

7 (3) CONSULTATION.— 

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

9 educational agency that receives a discretionary 

10 grant or allotment under this subsection shall 

11 engage in timely and meaningful consultation 

12 with representatives of Indian tribes located in 

13 the State in order to improve the coordination 

14 of activities designed to develop effective ap15 proaches to achieve the purposes of the Act 

16 consistent with the cultural, language, and edu17 cational needs of Indian students. 

18 (B) SPECIAL RULE.—Of the funds re19 served under paragraph (2)(A)(iii)(II), the Sec20 retary of the Interior shall consult with tribes 

21 and school boards connected with bureau-fund22 ed schools to ensure allocation of funds to the 

23 extent possible in accordance with subpara24 graphs (A), (B), and (C) of section 6(a)(2). 

25 (c) PEER REVIEW.— 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 2272 IH

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

2 a peer review panel to evaluate and make rec3 ommendations to the Secretary regarding each appli4 cation for a grant under section 5 or 6 using the 

5 evaluation criteria described in paragraph (2). 

6 (2) DEVELOPMENT OF EVALUATION CRI7 TERIA.—The Secretary shall report to the Congress 

8 the peer review process and evaluation criteria that 

9 will be used to evaluate grant applications under sec10 tions 5 and 6. 

11 (3) MEMBERSHIP.— 

12 (A) COMPOSITION.—A peer review panel 

13 convened under paragraph (1) shall be com14 posed of not less than 9 members, of whom— 

15 (i) 3 shall be appointed by the Sec16 retary; 

17 (ii) 3 shall be appointed by the Sec18 retary from among individuals— 

19 (I) recommended by the Chair20 man of the National Research Council 

21 of the National Academy of Sciences; 

22 and 

23 (II) with expertise in literacy in24 struction and learning at various de25 velopmental stages; and 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (iii) 3 shall be appointed by the Sec2 retary from among individuals— 

3 (I) recommended by the Director 

4 of the National Institute of Child 

5 Health and Human Development; and 

6 (II) with expertise concerning lit7 eracy development from birth through 

8 grade 12. 

9 (B) COMPETENCY AND EXPERTISE.— 

10 (i) COMPETENCY.—The Secretary 

11 shall ensure that each member of the peer 

12 review panel appointed under this para13 graph is competent, by virtue of the train14 ing, expertise, or experience of the mem15 ber, to evaluate grant applications under 

16 sections 5 and 6. 

17 (ii) EXPERTISE.—The Secretary shall 

18 ensure that the peer review panel ap19 pointed under this paragraph includes, at a 

20 minimum— 

21 (I) not less than one individual 

22 with expertise in early childhood de23 velopment and early literacy; 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (II) classroom teachers with ex2 pertise in literacy or literacy coaches, 

3 such as— 

4 (aa) special education teach5 ers; 

6 (bb) teachers of students 

7 who are English language learn8 ers; and 

9 (cc) early childhood edu10 cators; 

11 (III) experts, including teachers, 

12 who provide high-quality professional 

13 development to teachers and other in14 dividuals to support children’s literacy 

15 development; 

16 (IV) experts in screening, diag17 nostic, and formative assessments of 

18 reading and writing; and 

19 (V) experts in strategies and in20 struction in reading and writing, lan21 guage development, and English lan22 guage acquisition, as appropriate, in23 cluding reading and writing in core 

24 academic subjects. 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (4) DISTRIBUTION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

2 Not later than 120 days after a peer review panel 

3 submits to the Secretary the panel’s recommenda4 tion regarding an application by a State educational 

5 agency for a grant under section 5 or 6, the Sec6 retary shall notify the State educational agency that 

7 the application has been approved or disapproved 

8 and shall provide to such State educational agency 

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

10 (d) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant funds 

11 provided under this section shall be used to supplement, 

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

13 would, in the absence of such grant funds, be made avail14 able for literacy instruction and support of children and 

15 students participating in programs assisted under this 

16 Act. 

17 (e) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—Each State edu18 cational agency that receives an award under this Act, and 

19 each eligible entity that receives a subgrant under section 

20 7 or 8, shall maintain the expenditures of the State edu21 cational agency or eligible entity, respectively, for literacy 

22 instruction at a level not less than the level of such ex23 penditures maintained by the State educational agency or 

24 eligible entity, respectively, for the fiscal year preceding 

25 the fiscal year for which the grant or subgrant is received. 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
18 

•HR 2272 IH

1 SEC. 5. STATE PLANNING GRANTS. 

2 (a) PLANNING GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 

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

4 planning grants to State educational agencies to en5 able the State educational agencies to conduct and 

6 complete comprehensive planning, in consultation 

7 with the State agencies that oversee child care and 

8 other early childhood programs, the State Advisory 

9 Council on Early Childhood Education and Care, 

10 and the State Head Start Collaboration Office, to 

11 carry out activities that improve literacy for children 

12 and students from birth through grade 12. 

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

14 this section shall be awarded for a period of not 

15 more than 1 year. 

16 (3) NONRENEWABILITY.—The Secretary shall 

17 not award a State educational agency more than 1 

18 planning grant under this section. 

19 (4) RELATION TO IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.— 

20 A State educational agency may not receive a plan21 ning grant under this section at the same time it is 

22 receiving an implementation grant under section 6. 

23 (b) APPLICATION.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each State educational 

25 agency desiring a planning grant under this section 

26 shall submit, jointly with the State agencies that 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
19 

•HR 2272 IH

1 oversee child care and other early childhood pro2 grams and the State Advisory Council on Early 

3 Childhood Education and Care, an application to the 

4 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accom5 panied by such information as the Secretary may re6 quire. 

7 (2) CONTENTS.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each application shall, 

9 at a minimum, include a description of how the 

10 State educational agency and the State agency 

11 that oversees child care programs propose to 

12 use the planning grant funds awarded under 

13 this section to develop a plan for improving 

14 State efforts to develop, coordinate, and imple15 ment comprehensive literacy activities based on 

16 the essential components of early literacy in17 struction and the essential components of read18 ing and writing instruction. 

19 (B) REQUIRED ITEMS.—Such application 

20 shall— 

21 (i) describe the activities for which as22 sistance under this section is sought; 

23 (ii) provide a budget for the use of the 

24 planning grant funds to complete the reVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:53 Jun 28, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2272.IH H2272

rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
20 

•HR 2272 IH

1 quired activities described in subsection 

2 (c); 

3 (iii) include an assurance that the 

4 State has a process to safeguard against 

5 conflicts of interest consistent with section 

6 11(c) for individuals providing technical 

7 assistance on behalf of the State edu8 cational agency or the State agency that 

9 oversees child care programs or serving on 

10 the State literacy leadership team; and 

11 (iv) provide such additional assur12 ances and information as the Secretary de13 termines to be necessary to ensure compli14 ance with the requirements of this section. 

15 (c) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—A State educational 

16 agency receiving planning grant funds under this section 

17 shall, in collaboration with the State agencies that oversee 

18 child care and other early childhood programs, the State 

19 Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care, 

20 and the Head Start Collaboration Office, carry out each 

21 of the following activities: 

22 (1) REVIEW.—Reviewing reading, writing, or 

23 other literacy resources and programs, such as pub24 lic and school library programs, and data across the 

25 State and coordinating any new plans and resources 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
21 

•HR 2272 IH

1 under this Act with such existing resources and pro2 grams. 

3 (2) STATE LITERACY LEADERSHIP TEAM.— 

4 Forming or designating a State literacy leadership 

5 team that shall execute the following functions: 

6 (A) COMPREHENSIVE STATE LITERACY

7 PLAN.—Creating a comprehensive State literacy 

8 plan to improve early literacy and language de9 velopment in children, and reading, writing, and 

10 academic achievement in students that— 

11 (i) includes a needs assessment and 

12 an implementation plan; 

13 (ii) ensures high-quality literacy strat14 egies and instruction in early literacy de15 velopment, early learning programs (serv16 ing children from birth through kinder17 garten entry) and in kindergarten through 

18 grade 12; and 

19 (iii) provides for activities designed to 

20 improve literacy achievement for students, 

21 including students with disabilities and 

22 English language learners who— 

23 (I) read or write below grade 

24 level; 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
22 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (II) attend schools that are iden2 tified for school improvement under 

3 section 1116(b) of the Elementary 

4 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

5 (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)); and 

6 (III) are counted under section 

7 1124(c) of the Elementary and Sec8 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

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

10 (B) STANDARDS.—Providing recommenda11 tions to guide the State educational agency in 

12 such agency’s process of strengthening State 

13 literacy standards and embedding State literacy 

14 standards into the State’s challenging academic 

15 content standards, academic achievement stand16 ards, and to guide the State in their early 

17 learning and development standards. 

18 (C) PROGRESS.—Providing recommenda19 tions to guide the State educational agency in 

20 such agency’s process of measuring, assessing, 

21 and monitoring progress in implementation of 

22 literacy instruction and interventions at the 

23 school, local educational agency, and State lev24 els. 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
23 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (D) CRITERIA.—Identifying criteria for 

2 high-quality professional development providers 

3 for eligible entities. 

4 (E) DATA.—Advising the State educational 

5 agency on how to help ensure that local edu6 cational agencies and schools provide timely and 

7 appropriate student assessment data to teach8 ers. 

9 (F) EDUCATOR CAPACITY.—Providing rec10 ommendations to guide the State educational 

11 agency and the State agencies that oversee 

12 child care and other early childhood programs 

13 and the State Advisory Council on Early Child14 hood Education and Care in such agencies’ 

15 planning process of building educators’ capacity 

16 to provide high-quality literacy instruction. 

17 (3) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Not later 

18 than 1 year after a State educational agency receives 

19 a planning grant under this section, the State edu20 cational agency, in collaboration with the State 

21 agency that oversees child care programs, shall sub22 mit a report to the Secretary on the performance of 

23 the activities described in this subsection by such 

24 agencies. The Secretary shall submit a report to the 

25 Congress on the activities carried out by State eduVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:53 Jun 28, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2272.IH H2272

rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
24 

•HR 2272 IH

1 cational agencies under this section, and shall make 

2 such report available to the public upon its submis3 sion. 

4 SEC. 6. STATE IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS. 

5 (a) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 

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

7 implementation grants to State educational agen8 cies— 

9 (A) to implement, in collaboration with the 

10 State agencies that oversee child care and other 

11 early childhood programs, the State Advisory 

12 Council on Early Childhood Education and 

13 Care, and the State Head Start Collaboration 

14 Office— 

15 (i) the comprehensive State literacy 

16 plan developed under section 5, if the State 

17 educational agency received a grant under 

18 such section; or 

19 (ii) another comprehensive State lit20 eracy plan for serving children from birth 

21 through grade 12; 

22 (B) to provide funds made available under 

23 paragraph (2)(A) to the State agency that over24 sees child care programs to award subgrants 

25 under section 7; 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
25 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (C) to award subgrants under section 8; 

2 and 

3 (D) to carry out additional State activities 

4 under section 9. 

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

6 shall use implementation grant funds received under 

7 this section as follows: 

8 (A) LEARNERS FROM BIRTH THROUGH

9 KINDERGARTEN ENTRY.—Not less than 15 per10 cent of such grant funds shall be used in ac11 cordance with section 7. 

12 (B) STUDENTS IN KINDERGARTEN

13 THROUGH GRADE 5.—Not less than 40 percent 

14 of such grant funds shall be used in accordance 

15 with section 8, to be allocated equitably among 

16 grades kindergarten through grade 5, unless 

17 the State educational agency determines than 

18 an exception is necessary based on a capacity 

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

20 (C) STUDENTS IN GRADES 6 THROUGH

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

22 funds shall be used in accordance with section 

23 8, to be allocated equitably among grades 6 

24 through 12, unless the State educational agency 

25 determines that an exception is necessary based 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
26 

•HR 2272 IH

1 on a capacity survey described in section 

2 8(c)(1). 

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

4 percent of such grant funds shall be used for 

5 the State activities described in section 9. 

6 (3) DURATION OF GRANTS.—An implementa7 tion grant under this section shall be awarded for a 

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

9 5 years. 

10 (4) RENEWALS.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Implementation grants 

12 under this section may be renewed. 

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

14 to have an implementation grant renewed under 

15 this paragraph, the State educational agency, in 

16 collaboration with the State agencies that over17 see child care and other early childhood pro18 grams and the State Advisory Council on Early 

19 Childhood Education and Care, shall dem20 onstrate, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, 

21 that— 

22 (i) the State educational agency has 

23 complied with the terms of the grant, in24 cluding using the funds to— 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
27 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (I) increase access to high-quality 

2 professional development; 

3 (II) use developmentally appro4 priate curricula and teaching mate5 rials; and 

6 (III) use developmentally appro7 priate classroom-based instructional 

8 assessments and developmentally ap9 propriate screening and diagnostic as10 sessments; and 

11 (ii) with respect to students in kinder12 garten through grade 12, during the period 

13 of the grant there has been significant 

14 progress in student achievement, as meas15 ured by appropriate assessments, including 

16 meeting the measurable annual objectives 

17 established pursuant to section 

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

19 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

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

21 (b) STATE APPLICATIONS.— 

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

23 that desires to receive an implementation grant 

24 under this section shall, in collaboration with the 

25 State agencies that oversee child care and other 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
28 

•HR 2272 IH

1 early childhood programs and the State Advisory 

2 Council on Early Childhood Education and Care, 

3 submit an application to the Secretary at such time, 

4 in such manner, and containing such information as 

5 the Secretary may require. 

6 (2) CONTENTS.—An application described in 

7 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

8 (A) STATE LITERACY TEAM AND PLAN.— 

9 A description of how the State educational 

10 agency has formed a State literacy leadership 

11 team and developed a comprehensive State lit12 eracy plan, as described in section 5. 

13 (B) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—An assur14 ance that the State has a process to safeguard 

15 against conflicts of interest consistent with sec16 tion 11(c) for individuals providing technical as17 sistance on behalf of the State educational 

18 agency or the State agencies that oversee child 

19 care and other early childhood programs or 

20 serving on the State literacy leadership team. 

21 (C) IMPLEMENTATION.—An implementa22 tion plan that includes a description of how the 

23 State educational agency and the State agency 

24 that oversees child care programs will— 

25 (i) assist eligible entities with— 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
29 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (I) selecting and using screening 

2 assessments and diagnostic assess3 ments; 

4 (II) providing classroom-based 

5 instruction that is supported by one6 to-one and small group instruction; 

7 (III) using curricular materials 

8 and instructional tools, which may in9 clude technology, to improve instruc10 tion and literacy achievement; 

11 (IV) using the principles of uni12 versal design for learning in all phases 

13 of instructional practice, including 

14 professional development, curriculum 

15 development and selection of instruc16 tional materials, and classroom in17 struction; 

18 (V) providing high-quality profes19 sional development as part of such eli20 gible entities’ literacy initiatives to im21 prove the literacy development and 

22 learning of children and students 

23 served under the implementation 

24 grant; and 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
30 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (VI) providing diverse learners, 

2 including English language learners, 

3 with culturally, linguistically, and de4 velopmentally appropriate curricula, 

5 instructional materials, interactive 

6 technologies, and valid and reliable as7 sessments that support such learners 

8 in meeting State academic and con9 tent standards; 

10 (ii) ensure that eligible entities in the 

11 State have leveraged and are effectively 

12 leveraging the resources to implement 

13 high-quality literacy instruction, and have 

14 the capacity to implement high-quality lit15 eracy initiatives effectively; 

16 (iii) ensure that professional develop17 ment activities are based on— 

18 (I) the essential components of 

19 early literacy instruction and the es20 sential components of reading and 

21 writing instruction, as appropriate; 

22 and 

23 (II) evidence-based English lan24 guage acquisition and adult learning 

25 research, as appropriate; 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
31 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (iv) coordinate and align, as appro2 priate, the activities assisted under this 

3 section and sections 7 and 8 with other 

4 State and local programs that— 

5 (I) serve children and students, 

6 and their families; and 

7 (II) promote literacy instruction 

8 and learning; 

9 (v) ensure that funds provided under 

10 this section are awarded in a manner that 

11 will provide services to all age and grade 

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

13 (vi) award subgrants to eligible enti14 ties to enable the eligible entities to carry 

15 out the activities described in sections 7 

16 and 8, including to— 

17 (I) eligible entities that serve 

18 rural areas; and 

19 (II) eligible entities that serve 

20 urban areas; and 

21 (vii) assist the eligible entities in the 

22 State in— 

23 (I) providing strategic and inten24 sive literacy instruction for students 

25 reading and writing below grade level, 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
32 

•HR 2272 IH

1 including through the use of multi2 tiered systems of supports; 

3 (II) providing high-quality pro4 fessional development in literacy in5 struction to teachers, including— 

6 (aa) special education teach7 ers or teachers of students who 

8 are English language learners; 

9 and 

10 (bb) teachers of core aca11 demic subjects; 

12 (III) addressing the literacy 

13 needs of children and students with 

14 disabilities and English language 

15 learners served by the eligible entity; 

16 and 

17 (IV) providing training to par18 ents so that the parents can partici19 pate in the literacy related activities 

20 described under sections 7 and 8 to 

21 assist in the language and literacy de22 velopment of their children. 

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

24 the key data metrics that will be collected and 

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


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
33 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (E) NATIONAL EVALUATION.—An assur2 ance that the State educational agency, the 

3 State agency that awards subgrants under sec4 tion 7, and any eligible entity receiving a 

5 subgrant under section 7 or 8, will, if re6 quested, participate in the national evaluation 

7 under section 10. 

8 (F) PRIORITY.—An assurance that the 

9 State educational agency and the State agency 

10 that oversees child care programs, as appro11 priate, shall prioritize awarding subgrants— 

12 (i) under section 7, based on the per13 centage of low-income children proposed to 

14 be served by the applicant; and 

15 (ii) under section 8, based on the 

16 number or percentage of children counted 

17 under section 1124(c) of the Elementary 

18 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

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

20 the applicant. 

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

22 LITERACY FOR CHILDREN FROM BIRTH 

23 THROUGH KINDERGARTEN ENTRY. 

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

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


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
34 

•HR 2272 IH

1 State agency that oversees child care programs, who shall 

2 award subgrants, on a competitive basis, in consultation 

3 with the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Edu4 cation and Care and other State early childhood agencies, 

5 to eligible entities to enable the eligible entities to carry 

6 out the activities described in subsection (e). 

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

8 awarded under this section shall be of sufficient size and 

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

10 described in subsection (e). 

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

12 desires to receive a subgrant under this section shall sub13 mit an application to the State agency that oversees child 

14 care programs, at such time, in such manner, and includ15 ing such information as such agency may require. Such 

16 application shall include a description of— 

17 (1) the programs assisted under the subgrant, 

18 including demographic and socioeconomic informa19 tion on the children from birth through kindergarten 

20 entry enrolled in the programs; 

21 (2) a budget for the eligible entity that projects 

22 the cost of developing and implementing literacy ini23 tiatives to carry out the activities described in sub24 section (e); 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
35 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (3) how the subgrant funds will be used to en2 hance the language and literacy aspects of school 

3 readiness of children from birth through kinder4 garten entry in early childhood education programs; 

5 (4) how the subgrant funds will be used to pre6 pare and provide ongoing assistance to staff in the 

7 programs, through professional development focused 

8 on the essential components of early literacy instruc9 tion, including onsite intensive mentoring by early 

10 childhood literacy coaches to provide high-quality lit11 eracy activities based on scientifically valid research 

12 on child development and learning for children from 

13 birth through kindergarten entry; 

14 (5) how the subgrant funds will be used to pro15 vide services, incorporate activities, and select and 

16 use literacy instructional materials that are based on 

17 scientifically valid research on child development and 

18 early learning; 

19 (6) how the subgrant funds will be used to pro20 vide— 

21 (A) screening assessments or other appro22 priate measures— 

23 (i) to effectively identify children from 

24 birth through kindergarten entry who may 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
36 

•HR 2272 IH

1 be at risk for delayed development or later 

2 academic difficulties; and 

3 (ii) to determine whether such chil4 dren are developing the fundamental 

5 knowledge necessary for literacy, engage6 ment, development, and achievement in 

7 kindergarten and beyond; and 

8 (B) diagnostic assessments, as appropriate, 

9 to determine the need for additional services; 

10 (C) classroom-based instructional assess11 ments; and 

12 (D) other appropriate assessments of de13 velopmental progress; 

14 (7) how the subgrant funds will be used to help 

15 instructional staff in the programs assisted under 

16 the subgrant to more effectively meet the diverse de17 velopmental and linguistic needs of children from 

18 birth through kindergarten entry in the community, 

19 including the needs of English language learners and 

20 children with disabilities; 

21 (8) how the subgrant funds will be used to en22 sure that parents receive instruction— 

23 (A) on their children’s early literacy devel24 opment; and 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
37 

•HR 2272 IH

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

2 literacy development at home; 

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

4 children, particularly children experiencing difficulty 

5 with spoken and written language, to make the tran6 sition from early education to formal classroom in7 struction; 

8 (10) how the activities assisted under the 

9 subgrant will be coordinated with literacy instruction 

10 at the kindergarten through grade 3 levels; 

11 (11) how the eligible entity will— 

12 (A) evaluate the success of the activities 

13 supported under the subgrant in enhancing the 

14 early language and literacy development of chil15 dren served under such subgrant; and 

16 (B) evaluate data for program improve17 ment; and 

18 (12) such other information as the State agency 

19 that oversees child care programs may require. 

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

21 agency that oversees child care programs shall— 

22 (1) award subgrants to eligible entities in ac23 cordance with this section based on the quality of 

24 applications submitted; and 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
38 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (2) prioritize awarding subgrants based on the 

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

3 (e) LOCAL USES OF FUNDS.— 

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

5 receives a subgrant under this section shall use the 

6 subgrant funds to carry out the following activities 

7 to support the development of early language and 

8 literacy in children from birth through kindergarten 

9 entry: 

10 (A) Enhance and improve early learning 

11 programs to ensure that children in such pro12 grams are provided with high-quality, develop13 mentally appropriate oral language, literature14 and print-rich environments. 

15 (B) Provide high-quality professional devel16 opment on how children develop language and 

17 literacy skills (including children with disabil18 ities and English language learners), and the 

19 selection and integration of developmentally, 

20 linguistically, and culturally appropriate literacy 

21 instructional strategies, activities, and mate22 rials, which may include the use of an early lit23 eracy coach for the staff of the eligible entity, 

24 in such entity’s curriculum and activities. 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
39 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (C) Acquire, provide training for, and im2 plement, as appropriate— 

3 (i) screening assessments or other ap4 propriate measures to determine whether 

5 children from birth through kindergarten 

6 entry are developing appropriate early lan7 guage and literacy skills; 

8 (ii) diagnostic assessments, as appro9 priate, to determine the need for additional 

10 services; and 

11 (iii) classroom-based instructional as12 sessments. 

13 (D) Acquire, as appropriate, and integrate 

14 evidence-based instructional materials, activi15 ties, tools, and measures into the early learning 

16 programs offered by the eligible entity to im17 prove development of children’s early language 

18 and literacy skills. 

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

20 receives a subgrant under this section may use the 

21 subgrant funds to carry out either or both of the fol22 lowing activities to support the development of early 

23 language and literacy in children from birth through 

24 kindergarten entry: 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
40 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (A) Selecting, developing, and imple2 menting a multitier system of supports. 

3 (B) Providing activities that encourage 

4 family literacy experiences and practices and 

5 educate parents of children enrolled in a pro6 gram receiving funds under this section on the 

7 development of their children’s early literacy 

8 skills. 

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

10 data on any assessment authorized under this section to 

11 provide rewards or sanctions for individual children, early 

12 learning providers, program directors, or principals is pro13 hibited. 

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

15 LITERACY FOR STUDENTS IN KINDERGARTEN 

16 THROUGH GRADE 12. 

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

18 use the implementation grant funds provided under sec19 tion 4(a)(2)(B) to award subgrants, on a competitive 

20 basis, to eligible entities to enable the eligible entities to 

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

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 the activities 

25 described in subsection (e). 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
41 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (c) LOCAL APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity desir2 ing to receive a subgrant under this section shall submit 

3 an application to the State educational agency at such 

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

5 the State educational agency may require. Such applica6 tion shall include, the following information: 

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

8 entity’s capacity survey that— 

9 (A) identify— 

10 (i) the strengths and weaknesses of 

11 such entity related to literacy; 

12 (ii) how subgrant funds will be used 

13 to inform and improve literacy instruction 

14 within such entity; and 

15 (iii) the demographic and socio16 economic information on the students en17 rolled in such entity; and 

18 (B) include an analysis, disaggregated by 

19 the subgroups described in section 

20 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Elementary and 

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

22 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)) and by grade level, of— 

23 (i) State scores on the reading or lan24 guage arts assessments conducted under 

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


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
42 

•HR 2272 IH

1 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

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

3 (ii) National Assessment of Edu4 cational Progress reading scores, as appro5 priate; 

6 (iii) the percentage of students in 

7 need of reading and writing remediation; 

8 (iv) core course passing and failure 

9 rates for secondary school students; 

10 (v) credit accumulation for secondary 

11 school students; and 

12 (vi) graduation rates. 

13 (2) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.—How each 

14 participating school, eligible entity, or a provider of 

15 high-quality professional development will provide 

16 ongoing high-quality professional development in 

17 language development, English language acquisition 

18 (as appropriate), and literacy instruction to all 

19 teachers, principals, and other school leaders served 

20 by the school. 

21 (3) INTERVENTIONS.—How each participating 

22 school will identify students in need of interventions 

23 and provide appropriate scientifically valid instruc24 tional interventions and extended learning time for 

25 struggling students. 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
43 

•HR 2272 IH

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. 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
44 

•HR 2272 IH

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 

25 day but which may be augmented by inVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:53 Jun 28, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2272.IH H2272

rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
45 

•HR 2272 IH

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’ 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
46 

•HR 2272 IH

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 in grades kin6 dergarten through grade 5 reading below grade 

7 level. 

8 (G) Provide training to principals and 

9 other school and district personnel in imple10 menting the literacy initiative, particularly in 

11 the areas of— 

12 (i) utilizing data; 

13 (ii) assessing the quality of literacy in14 struction across content areas; and 

15 (iii) providing time and support for 

16 teachers to plan literacy instruction. 

17 (H) Provide family literacy services for 

18 students and their parents, including training 

19 to enable families and caregivers to support the 

20 literacy initiative. 

21 (I) Promote writing experiences and imple22 ment programs that instruct and engage stu23 dents in practicing writing for multiple audi24 ences and purposes appropriate to the interests 

25 and capacities of students. 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
47 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (J) Annually collect, analyze, and report 

2 data to the State educational agency. 

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

4 receives a subgrant under this section may use the 

5 subgrant funds to carry out the following activities 

6 for students in kindergarten through grade 12: 

7 (A) Acquire and utilize developmentally ap8 propriate instructional materials based on sci9 entifically valid research, including materials 

10 that utilize technology. 

11 (B) Hire and train literacy coaches. 

12 (C) Select and implement a multitier sys13 tem of supports that includes intensive, supple14 mental interventions for students in grades 6 

15 through 12 reading below grade level. 

16 (D) Promote reading, library, and writing 

17 programs that provide access to engaging read18 ing material in school and at home. 

19 (E) Connect out-of-school learning oppor20 tunities to in-school learning, including the 

21 alignment of after-school activities with in22 school curricula, in order to improve the literacy 

23 achievement of students. 

24 (F) Form an acting partnership with 1 or 

25 more public or private nonprofit organizations 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
48 

•HR 2272 IH

1 that have a demonstrated record of effective2 ness in improving literacy development or pro3 viding professional development aligned with 

4 the activities described in this subsection. 

5 (G) Providing time for teachers and school 

6 librarians to meet to plan literacy instruction, 

7 as appropriate. 

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

9 entity receiving a subgrant under this section shall, in dis10 tributing subgrant funds under this subsection, provide 

11 the subgrant funds only to schools, including public char12 ter schools, that— 

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

14 entity with the highest numbers or percentages of 

15 students in grades kindergarten through 12 reading 

16 and writing below grade level, based on the most 

17 current State data as available; and 

18 (2) have the highest numbers or percentages of 

19 children counted under section 1124(c) of the Ele20 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

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

22 SEC. 9. ADDITIONAL STATE ACTIVITIES. 

23 (a) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—A State educational 

24 agency, in consultation with the State agency that over25 sees child care programs, shall use funds made available 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
49 

•HR 2272 IH

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

2 6(a)(1)(D) to carry out each of the following activities: 

3 (1) Providing technical assistance or engaging 

4 qualified providers to provide such assistance, to as5 sist eligible entities to design and implement literacy 

6 initiatives. 

7 (2) Identifying and supporting high-quality pro8 fessional development in literacy instruction for eligi9 ble entities. 

10 (3) Coordinating activities under this Act with 

11 reading, writing, and other literacy resources and 

12 programs across the State. 

13 (4) Disseminating information, including mak14 ing publicly available on the Web sites of the State 

15 educational agency and the State agency that over16 sees child care programs, on promising practices to 

17 improve children’s early literacy and language devel18 opment and student literacy achievement. 

19 (5) Reviewing and developing recommendations 

20 in collaboration with teachers, early childhood pro21 viders, statewide educational and professional orga22 nizations representing teachers, and statewide and 

23 educational and professional organizations rep24 resenting institutions of higher education, to 

25 strengthen State licensure and certification standVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:53 Jun 28, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2272.IH H2272

rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
50 

•HR 2272 IH

1 ards for literacy instruction in early education 

2 through grade 12. 

3 (6) Coordinating with institutions of higher 

4 education in the State to strengthen and enhance 

5 pre-service course work for students preparing to 

6 teach literacy to children and students from birth 

7 through grade 12. 

8 (7) Administration and reporting. 

9 (b) PERMISSIVE ACTIVITIES.—A State educational 

10 agency, in collaboration with the State agency that over11 sees child care programs, may use funds made available 

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

13 6(a)(1)(D) to carry out one or more of the following activi14 ties: 

15 (1) Training personnel of eligible entities to use 

16 data systems to track student literacy achievement. 

17 (2) Developing and providing training to lit18 eracy coaches, including literacy coaches with exper19 tise in early literacy development, language develop20 ment, and adolescent literacy. 

21 SEC. 10. NATIONAL EVALUATION, INFORMATION DISSEMI22 NATION, AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

23 (a) NATIONAL EVALUATION.— 

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

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


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
51 

•HR 2272 IH

1 Secretary shall perform a 5-year national evaluation 

2 of the grant and subgrant programs assisted under 

3 this Act by entering into one or more contracts or 

4 cooperative agreements with independent organiza5 tions. Such evaluation shall include scientifically 

6 valid research that applies rigorous and systematic 

7 procedures to obtain information relevant to the im8 plementation and effect of the programs assisted 

9 under this Act. 

10 (2) CONTENTS OF EVALUATION.—The evalua11 tion described in this subsection shall include an 

12 analysis of each of the following: 

13 (A) IMPACT.—The impact of literacy ini14 tiatives supported under this Act on improving 

15 early literacy skills and student academic out16 comes, including student literacy development 

17 in reading and writing, student literacy develop18 ment in other academic content areas, grade 

19 promotion, and graduation. 

20 (B) IMPLEMENTATION OF CORE FEA21 TURES.—The fidelity of implementation of core 

22 program features, such as coherence of program 

23 across grades, quality of technical assistance, 

24 State and school district leadership, profes25 sional development for teachers and administraVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:53 Jun 28, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2272.IH H2272

rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
52 

•HR 2272 IH

1 tors, use of quality materials and pedagogy, and 

2 use of assessment. 

3 (C) OTHER INQUIRIES.—Other inquiries as 

4 designated by the Secretary, such as— 

5 (i) the types of literacy initiatives that 

6 have demonstrated the greatest impact on 

7 student achievement; 

8 (ii) how State standards, local edu9 cational agency and school curricula, as10 sessments, and interventions combine to 

11 improve literacy; 

12 (iii) how screening, diagnostic, and 

13 formative assessments of reading and writ14 ing assist teachers in identifying students’ 

15 reading and writing needs; 

16 (iv) how job-embedded, ongoing, high17 quality professional development improves 

18 teacher practice and increases literacy 

19 skills of children and students; 

20 (v) the types of literacy activities that 

21 improve the early reading, writing, and 

22 language skills of children from birth 

23 through kindergarten entry; 

24 (vi) how early learning providers are 

25 being prepared with scientifically valid reVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:53 Jun 28, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2272.IH H2272

rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
53 

•HR 2272 IH

1 search on early childhood literacy and lit2 eracy development; 

3 (vii) how early literacy instructional 

4 materials and activities based on scientif5 ically valid research are being integrated 

6 into preschools, child care programs and 

7 programs carried out under the Head 

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

9 family literacy programs; 

10 (viii) the impact of adolescent literacy 

11 initiatives on student motivation, engage12 ment, and participation in adolescent lit13 eracy activities; 

14 (ix) the impact of literacy initiatives 

15 on diverse learners, including English lan16 guage learners; 

17 (x) the relationship between students’ 

18 literacy achievement and secondary school 

19 graduation rates; and 

20 (xi) effective strategies to integrate 

21 school and public library programs to im22 prove literacy. 

23 (3) REPORTS.— 

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

25 years after the date of the enactment of this 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
54 

•HR 2272 IH

1 Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Congress 

2 an interim report on the national evaluation 

3 conducted under this subsection. 

4 (B) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 5 

5 years after the date of the enactment of this 

6 Act, the Secretary shall submit a final report 

7 containing the results of the national evaluation 

8 conducted under this subsection to— 

9 (i) State educational agencies and eli10 gible entities on a periodic basis for use in 

11 program improvement; and 

12 (ii) the Congress. 

13 (b) INFORMATION DISSEMINATION AND TECHNICAL

14 ASSISTANCE.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts reserved 

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

17 4(b), the Secretary shall, in collaboration with the 

18 Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Direc19 tor of the National Institute of Child Health and 

20 Human Development, regional educational labora21 tories established under section 174 of the Edu22 cation Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 

23 9564), and the comprehensive centers established 

24 under section 203 of the Educational Technical As25 sistance Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9602), distribute 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
55 

•HR 2272 IH

1 information and provide technical assistance on lit2 eracy instruction, including— 

3 (A) information on literacy instruction and 

4 the impact of the instruction on— 

5 (i) student achievement, motivation, 

6 and engagement for literacy; and 

7 (ii) student graduation with a sec8 ondary school diploma; 

9 (B) information on elements of job-embed10 ded, ongoing, high-quality professional develop11 ment that improves literacy achievement in chil12 dren and students in early education through 

13 grade 12; and 

14 (C) information on schools, eligible enti15 ties, and States that have successfully improved 

16 literacy achievement in early education through 

17 grade 12. 

18 (2) DISSEMINATION AND COORDINATION.—The 

19 Secretary shall disseminate and make publicly avail20 able the information described in paragraph (1) to— 

21 (A) recipients of Federal financial assist22 ance under this Act, part A of title I of the Ele23 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

24 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.), the Head Start Act 

25 (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), the Individuals with 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
56 

•HR 2272 IH

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

2 seq.), and the Adult Education and Family Lit3 eracy Act (20 U.S.C. 9201 et seq.); and 

4 (B) each school operated or funded by the 

5 Bureau of Indian Education. 

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

7 subsection, the Secretary shall, to the extent prac8 ticable, use information and dissemination networks 

9 developed and maintained through other public and 

10 private entities. 

11 SEC. 11. CONSEQUENCES OF INSUFFICIENT PROGRESS, RE12 PORTING REQUIREMENTS, AND CONFLICTS 

13 OF INTEREST. 

14 (a) CONSEQUENCES OF INSUFFICIENT PROGRESS.— 

15 (1) CONSEQUENCES FOR GRANT RECIPIENTS.— 

16 If the Secretary determines that a State educational 

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

18 eligible entity receiving a subgrant under section 7 

19 or 8 is not making significant progress in meeting 

20 the purposes of this Act after the submission of a 

21 report described in subsection (b), then the Sec22 retary may withhold, in whole or in part, further 

23 payments under this Act in accordance with section 

24 455 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 

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


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
57 

•HR 2272 IH

1 by law as the Secretary determines necessary, in2 cluding providing technical assistance upon request 

3 of the State educational agency, or eligible entity, 

4 respectively. 

5 (2) CONSEQUENCES FOR SUBGRANT RECIPI6 ENTS.—A State educational agency or State agency 

7 that oversees child care programs, as appropriate, 

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

9 award subgrant funds to an eligible entity under sec10 tion 7 or 8 if such State agency finds that the eligi11 ble entity is not making significant progress in meet12 ing the purposes of this Act, after— 

13 (A) providing technical assistance to the el14 igible entity; and 

15 (B) affording the eligible entity notice and 

16 an opportunity for a hearing. 

17 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

18 (1) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY REPORTS.— 

19 Each State educational agency receiving an award 

20 under section 6 shall report annually to the Sec21 retary regarding the State educational agency’s 

22 progress and the progress of the State agency that 

23 oversees child care programs in addressing the pur24 poses of this Act. Such report shall include, at a 

25 minimum, a description of— 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
58 

•HR 2272 IH

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; 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
59 

•HR 2272 IH

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; 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
60 

•HR 2272 IH

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 

24 award, including the experience and qualificaVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:53 Jun 28, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2272.IH H2272

rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
61 

•HR 2272 IH

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 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
62 

•HR 2272 IH

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 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
63 

•HR 2272 IH

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 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
64 

•HR 2272 IH

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). 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
65 

•HR 2272 IH

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; 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
66 

•HR 2272 IH

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 

25 one or more public or private early learnVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:53 Jun 28, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00066 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2272.IH H2272

rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
67 

•HR 2272 IH

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— 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
68 

•HR 2272 IH

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 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
69 

•HR 2272 IH

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; 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
70 

•HR 2272 IH

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; 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
71 

•HR 2272 IH

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— 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
72 

•HR 2272 IH

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 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
73 

•HR 2272 IH

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 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
74 

•HR 2272 IH

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, and may include a one-day or short11 term workshop or conference, if such workshop 

12 or conference is part of a professional develop13 ment plan for the attendee; 

14 (C) is designed to increase the knowledge 

15 and expertise of instructional staff in imple16 menting the essential components of early lit17 eracy instruction and the essential components 

18 of reading and writing instruction, as appro19 priate; 

20 (D) includes and supports teachers and 

21 early learning providers in administering age22 and developmentally appropriate assessments; 

23 and analyzing the results of these student as24 sessments when implementing the essential 

25 components of early literacy instruction and the 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
75 

•HR 2272 IH

1 essential components of reading and writing in2 struction for the purposes of planning, moni3 toring, adapting, and improving classroom in4 struction or teaching strategies to improve stu5 dent learning, as appropriate; 

6 (E) for kindergarten through 12th grade, 

7 supports the integration of literacy instruction 

8 in core academic subjects and, to the extent 

9 practicable, other subjects taught at school, 

10 such as career and technical education; 

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

12 small group, and classroom-based instructional 

13 materials and approaches based on scientifically 

14 valid research on literacy; 

15 (G) provides ongoing instructional literacy 

16 coaching— 

17 (i) to ensure high-quality implementa18 tion of effective practices of literacy in19 struction that is content centered, inte20 grated across the curricula, collaborative, 

21 and school, setting, and classroom embed22 ded; and 

23 (ii) that uses student data to improve 

24 instruction; 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
76 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (H) includes and supports teachers in set2 ting high reading and writing achievement goals 

3 for all students and provides the teachers with 

4 the instructional tools and skills, including 

5 strategies consistent with the principles of uni6 versal design for learning, to help students 

7 reach such goals; and 

8 (I) is differentiated for educators working 

9 with children from birth through kindergarten 

10 entry, students in kindergarten through grade 

11 5, and students in grades 6 through 12, and, as 

12 appropriate, by student grade or student need. 

13 (12) INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘instruc15 tional staff’’ means individuals who have re16 sponsibility for teaching students to read and 

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

18 kindergarten entry, teaching early literacy skills 

19 and language development. 

20 (B) INCLUSIONS.—Such term includes 

21 principals, teachers, early learning providers, 

22 supervisors of instruction, pupil services per23 sonnel, librarians, library school media special24 ists, teachers of academic subjects other than 

25 reading or writing, other school leaders, literacy 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
77 

•HR 2272 IH

1 coaches, and other individuals who have respon2 sibility for assisting children to learn to read 

3 and write. 

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

5 coach’’ means a professional— 

6 (A) who— 

7 (i) has previous teaching experience 

8 and— 

9 (I) for the purpose of literacy 

10 coaches working with early learning 

11 programs, has expertise in early child12 hood development and early literacy; 

13 and 

14 (II) for the purpose of literacy 

15 coaches working with kindergarten 

16 through grade 12— 

17 (aa) a master’s degree with 

18 a concentration in reading and 

19 writing education; or 

20 (bb) has demonstrated pro21 ficiency in teaching reading or 

22 writing in a core academic sub23 ject; and 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
78 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (ii) is able to demonstrate the ability 

2 to help early learning providers or teach3 ers— 

4 (I) use evidence-based research 

5 on how children and students become 

6 successful readers, writers, and com7 municators; 

8 (II) use multiple forms of assess9 ment to guide instructional decision10 making; 

11 (III) for the purpose of literacy 

12 coaches working with— 

13 (aa) early learning pro14 grams, support and coordinate 

15 the language and literacy cur16 ricula and activities with the 

17 overall early childhood education 

18 program; and 

19 (bb) teachers in kinder20 garten through grade 12, im21 prove student writing and read22 ing in and across content areas 

23 such as mathematics, science, so24 cial studies, and language arts; 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
79 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (IV) develop and implement dif2 ferentiated instruction and teaching 

3 approaches to serve the needs of di4 verse learners, including English lan5 guage learners and children with dis6 abilities; 

7 (V) use the principles of uni8 versal design for learning in instruc9 tional strategies and in selecting ma10 terials and tools to serve the diverse 

11 needs of all learners, including 

12 English language learners and chil13 dren with disabilities; 

14 (VI) employ best practices in en15 gaging instructional staff to change 

16 school cultures to better encourage 

17 and support literacy development and 

18 achievement; 

19 (VII) use data to improve in20 struction; and 

21 (VIII) for the purpose of literacy 

22 coaches working with— 

23 (aa) early learning pro24 grams, set developmentally ap25 propriate early literacy goals and 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
80 

•HR 2272 IH

1 select and acquire instructional 

2 tools and skills to help children 

3 reach such goals; and 

4 (bb) kindergarten through 

5 grade 12, set high reading and 

6 writing achievement goals for all 

7 students and select and acquire 

8 instructional tools and skills to 

9 help students reach such goals; 

10 and 

11 (B) whose role with early learning pro12 viders, teachers and school personnel is— 

13 (i) to provide high-quality professional 

14 development opportunities in literacy and 

15 language development for early learning 

16 providers, teachers and school personnel, 

17 including in the case of early learning pro18 viders, helping staff in planning and imple19 mentation of ongoing professional develop20 ment; 

21 (ii) to work cooperatively and collabo22 ratively with principals, teachers, early 

23 learning providers and other professionals 

24 in planning programs to help, as appro25 priate— 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
81 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (I) early learning providers iden2 tify children’s early literacy needs so 

3 that such providers can meet the early 

4 literacy needs of children at risk for 

5 delayed development and later aca6 demic difficulties; and 

7 (II) teachers identify student lit8 eracy needs and teach literacy across 

9 the content areas so that the teachers 

10 can meet the needs of students read11 ing and writing below grade level; and 

12 (iii) to work cooperatively and collabo13 ratively with other professionals in plan14 ning programs to help early learning pro15 viders and teachers teach literacy across 

16 content areas so that the early learning 

17 providers and teachers can meet the needs 

18 of diverse learners, including children with 

19 disabilities, English language learners, and 

20 students who are reading at grade level. 

21 (14) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

22 ‘‘local educational agency’’— 

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

24 section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary 

25 Education Act of 1965; and 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
82 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (B) includes any public charter school that 

2 constitutes a local educational agency under 

3 State law. 

4 (15) MULTITIER SYSTEM OF SUPPORTS.—The 

5 term ‘‘multitier system of supports’’ means a com6 prehensive system of differentiated supports that in7 cludes evidence-based instruction, universal screen8 ing, progress monitoring, formative assessment, and 

9 research-based interventions matched to student 

10 needs, and educational decisionmaking using student 

11 outcome data. 

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

13 complex system of deriving meaning from print that 

14 requires all of the following: 

15 (A) The skills and knowledge to under16 stand how phonemes, or speech sounds, are 

17 connected to print. 

18 (B) The ability to decode unfamiliar words. 

19 (C) The ability to read fluently. 

20 (D) Sufficient background information and 

21 vocabulary to foster reading comprehension. 

22 (E) The development of appropriate active 

23 strategies to construct meaning from print. 

24 (F) The development and maintenance of a 

25 motivation to read. 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
83 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (17) SCHOOL LEADER.—The term ‘‘school lead2 er’’ means an individual who— 

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

4 and 

5 (B) is responsible for— 

6 (i) the school’s performance; and 

7 (ii) the daily instructional and mana8 gerial operations of the school. 

9 (18) SCIENTIFICALLY VALID RESEARCH.—The 

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

11 given the term in section 200 of the Higher Edu12 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021). 

13 (19) SCREENING ASSESSMENT.—The term 

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

15 (A) is developmentally, linguistically, and 

16 culturally appropriate; 

17 (B) is valid, reliable, and based on scientif18 ically valid research on literacy and English lan19 guage acquisition; and 

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

21 in identifying children who may be at high risk 

22 for delayed development or later academic dif23 ficulties and in need of further diagnosis of the 

24 children’s need for special services or additional 

25 literacy instruction. 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
84 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (20) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

2 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Com3 monwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin 

4 Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Common5 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

6 (21) STATE LITERACY LEADERSHIP TEAM.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.— 

8 (i) APPOINTMENT; RESPONSIBILITY; 

9 COMPOSITION.—The term ‘‘State literacy 

10 leadership team’’ means a team that— 

11 (I) is appointed and coordinated 

12 by the State educational agency, ex13 cept that individuals described in sub14 clauses (I)(aa), (I)(hh), and (II)(gg) 

15 of clause (ii) shall be appointed by the 

16 State agency that oversees child care 

17 programs; and 

18 (II) is composed of not less than 

19 13 individuals and includes the indi20 viduals described in clause (ii). 

21 (ii) INDIVIDUALS INCLUDED.—A 

22 State literacy team— 

23 (I) shall include— 

24 (aa) an individual who has 

25 literacy expertise with respect to 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
85 

•HR 2272 IH

1 children from birth through kin2 dergarten entry; 

3 (bb) an individual who has 

4 literacy expertise with respect to 

5 students in kindergarten through 

6 grade 5; 

7 (cc) an individual who has 

8 literacy expertise with respect to 

9 students in grades 6 through 12; 

10 (dd) a school principal; 

11 (ee) a special education 

12 teacher with literacy expertise; 

13 (ff) a representative from 

14 the family literacy community; 

15 (gg) a teacher or adminis16 trator with expertise in teaching 

17 English language learners; 

18 (hh) a representative from 

19 the State’s agency that oversees 

20 child care programs; 

21 (ii) a representative from 

22 the State educational agency who 

23 oversees literacy initiatives; and 

24 (jj) a representative from 

25 higher education who is actively 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
86 

•HR 2272 IH

1 involved in research, develop2 ment, and teacher preparation in 

3 literacy instruction and interven4 tion based on scientifically valid 

5 research; and 

6 (II) may include— 

7 (aa) a literacy specialist 

8 serving in a school district within 

9 the State; 

10 (bb) a literacy coach; 

11 (cc) a library media spe12 cialist; 

13 (dd) a school counselor; 

14 (ee) a teacher of a core aca15 demic subject; 

16 (ff) a special education ad17 ministrator; 

18 (gg) an early learning pro19 vider; 

20 (hh) a college or university 

21 professor; 

22 (ii) a parent; 

23 (jj) a business leader; 

24 (kk) a representative from 

25 the Governor’s office; 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
87 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (ll) a representative from 

2 the State board of education; 

3 (mm) a representative from 

4 the State legislature; 

5 (nn) a nonprofit and com6 munity-based organization pro7 viding literacy instruction and 

8 support; and 

9 (oo) a representative from a 

10 school district superintendent’s 

11 office. 

12 (B) INCLUSION OF A PREEXISTING PART13 NERSHIP.—If, before the date of the enactment 

14 of this Act, a State educational agency estab15 lished a consortium, partnership, or any other 

16 similar body that was considered a literacy 

17 partnership for purposes of subpart 1 or 2 of 

18 part B of title I of the Elementary and Sec19 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6361 

20 et seq., 6371 et seq.) and that includes the indi21 viduals required under subparagraph (A)(ii)(I), 

22 such consortium, partnership, or body may be 

23 considered a State literacy leadership team for 

24 purposes of subparagraph (A). 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
88 

•HR 2272 IH

1 (22) STUDENT WITH A DISABILITY.—The term 

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

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

4 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 

5 (20 U.S.C. 1401(3)). 

6 (23) SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT.—The term 

7 ‘‘summative assessment’’ means an assessment 

8 that— 

9 (A) is developmentally, linguistically, and 

10 culturally appropriate; 

11 (B) is valid, reliable, and based on scientif12 ically valid research on literacy and English lan13 guage acquisition; and 

14 (C) measures how young children have pro15 gressed over time relative to developmental 

16 norms and what students have learned over 

17 time. 

18 (24) UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING.—The 

19 term ‘‘universal design for learning’’ has the mean20 ing given the term in section 103 of the Higher 

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

22 (25) WRITING.—The term ‘‘writing’’ means— 

23 (A) the ability to compose meaning and 

24 print to communicate ideas, including the use of 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
89 

•HR 2272 IH

1 vocabulary, tone, and genre to fit purpose, audi2 ence and occasion; 

3 (B) the use of conventions such as spelling 

4 and punctuation; and 

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

6 clarity of ideas, coherence, logical development, 

7 and precision of language use. 

8 SEC. 14. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

10 this Act— 

11 (1) $2,350,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

12 (2) $2,350,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; 

13 (3) $2,350,000,000 for fiscal year 2014; 

14 (4) $2,350,000,000 for fiscal year 2015; and 

15 (5) $2,350,000,000 for fiscal year 2016. 

Æ 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS