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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 738 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 738

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the goal of 
the education system shall be that virtually every American student be 
                 able to read at grade level or better.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 28, 2023

Mr. Huizenga submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
              the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the goal of 
the education system shall be that virtually every American student be 
                 able to read at grade level or better.

Whereas literacy is an essential skill for success in America;
Whereas illiteracy continues to challenge thousands of students annually, across 
        many grade levels;
Whereas illiteracy has been a silent epidemic which has not been addressed in 
        America for decades and now finds us at a crisis level;
Whereas a literacy gap nationwide--measuring 8th grade students who are reading 
        below proficiency--exists at well over 50 percent;
Whereas children who struggle to read, become adults who struggle in society; 
        leading to a cycle of poverty;
Whereas literacy transforms the lives of students and creates strong 
        communities;
Whereas a literacy curriculum with a structured literacy approach that includes 
        multisensory, phonics, and decoding components are foundational reading 
        skills;
Whereas literacy programs that include an individual diagnostic assessment by a 
        certified teacher are best set to improve outcomes;
Whereas research shows students who are tutored one-on-one, five days a week 
        achieve grade-level movement in reading;
Whereas research shows individuals who can read at least at a high school level 
        are more likely to be hired in the job force;
Whereas research shows individuals who can read at least at a high school level 
        are less likely to be incarcerated in prison;
Whereas research shows Junior ROTC students who are reading at grade level or 
        better are more likely to be accepted into the military; and
Whereas the COVID-19 Pandemic exacerbated learning loss among K-12 students.
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the goal of the education system shall be 
        that virtually every American student be able to read at grade 
        level or better;
            (2) encourages that literacy programs should be set up to 
        include one-on-one tutoring for each student diagnosed with a 
        literacy gap of one year or more, five days per week until the 
        student is reading at grade level;
            (3) encourages State and local government agencies working 
        with private organizations with proven literacy programs to 
        work together to identify and establish solutions to 
        illiteracy; and
            (4) encourages these same State and local government 
        agencies and private organizations to establish adult literacy 
        programs to help adults who have reading gaps below eighth 
        grade.
                                 <all>
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