II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1307 

To ensure that students in schools have a right to read, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 26, 2023 

Mr. REED introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To ensure that students in schools have a right to read, 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Right to Read Act 

5 of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 Section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu8 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801) is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (19) through 

10 (28), paragraphs (29) through (43), paragraphs 


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1 (44) through (49), and paragraphs (50) through 

2 (52) as paragraphs (20) through (29), paragraphs 

3 (31) through (45), paragraphs (47) through (52), 

4 and paragraphs (54) through (56), respectively; 

5 (2) by inserting after paragraph (18) the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(19) EFFECTIVE SCHOOL LIBRARY.—The term 

8 ‘effective school library’ means a library that— 

9 ‘‘(A) is staffed by supporting staff and at 

10 least one full-time State-certified school librar11 ian who— 

12 ‘‘(i) is an instructional leader, infor13 mation specialist, and teacher; 

14 ‘‘(ii) supports the digital learning en15 vironment and the development of 

16 participatory learning, inquiry learning, 

17 digital literacy, and information literacy; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(iii) supports, supplements, and ele20 vates the literacy experience through guid21 ance in reading for learning and motiva22 tional reading initiatives in order to en23 hance student achievement and foster life24 long reading and learning; 


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1 ‘‘(B) is otherwise adequately staffed to be 

2 open to students before, during, and after the 

3 school day; 

4 ‘‘(C) has a sufficient collection of profes5 sionally curated up-to-date digital and print 

6 materials and technology, including openly li7 censed educational resources; 

8 ‘‘(D) provides appropriate facilities for 

9 maintaining and providing equitable access to 

10 materials, technology, connectivity, and library 

11 and literacy instruction; 

12 ‘‘(E) provides regular skills development or 

13 training for classroom teachers, school librar14 ians, library paraprofessional staff, and other 

15 educators; 

16 ‘‘(F) provides opportunities for collabora17 tion between classroom teachers and school li18 brarians; and 

19 ‘‘(G) implements nationally recognized pro20 fessional standards of practice.’’; 

21 (3) by inserting after paragraph (29), as redes22 ignated by paragraph (1), the following: 

23 ‘‘(30) INFORMATION LITERACY.—The term ‘in24 formation literacy’ means the set of skills needed to 

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1 fectively use information (which encompasses spoken 

2 and broadcast words and videos, printed materials, 

3 and digital content, data, and images).’’; 

4 (4) by inserting after paragraph (45), as redes5 ignated by paragraph (1), the following: 

6 ‘‘(46) RIGHT TO READ.—The term ‘right to 

7 read’ means all students have access to— 

8 ‘‘(A) linguistically and developmentally ap9 propriate, evidence-based reading instruction; 

10 ‘‘(B) effective school libraries; 

11 ‘‘(C) family literacy support; 

12 ‘‘(D) culturally diverse and inclusive mate13 rials; 

14 ‘‘(E) reading materials in the home; and 

15 ‘‘(F) the freedom to choose reading mate16 rials.’’; and 

17 (5) by inserting after paragraph (52), as redes18 ignated by paragraph (1), the following: 

19 ‘‘(53) TEACHER.—The term ‘teacher’ includes a 

20 school librarian.’’. 

21 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE I. 

22 (a) STATE PLANS.—Section 1111 of that Act (20 

23 U.S.C. 6311) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a)(4)(A)(ii)(I)(aa), by insert2 ing ‘‘(including school librarians)’’ after ‘‘teachers’’; 

3 and 

4 (2) in subsection (g)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

6 (i) by redesignating subparagraph (G) 

7 as subparagraph (H); 

8 (ii) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

9 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

10 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

11 (F) the following: 

12 ‘‘(G) how the State will work to ensure 

13 that low-income students, minority students, 

14 students with disabilities, and English learners 

15 are not disproportionally enrolled in schools 

16 that lack an effective school library, and the 

17 measures the State educational agency will use 

18 to evaluate and publicly report the progress of 

19 the State educational agency with respect to en20 suring such access to an effective school library; 

21 and’’; and 

22 (iv) in subparagraph (H), as redesig23 nated by clause (i), by inserting ‘‘, includ24 ing the development of digital literacy and 


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1 information literacy skills’’ after ‘‘academic 

2 standards’’; and 

3 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

4 (i) in subparagraph (J), by inserting 

5 ‘‘(including school librarians)’’ after 

6 ‘‘teachers’’; 

7 (ii) in subparagraph (M), by striking 

8 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

9 (iii) in subparagraph (N), by striking 

10 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

11 and’’; and 

12 (iv) by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(O) the State educational agency has a 

15 policy regarding the right to read and will no16 tify local educational agencies, Indian tribes 

17 and tribal organizations, schools, teachers, 

18 school librarians, principals, other school lead19 ers, specialized support personnel, parents, and 

20 the public of such policy.’’. 

21 (b) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY PLANS.—Section 

22 1112 of that Act (20 U.S.C. 6312) is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(A), by inserting ‘‘(in24 cluding school librarians)’’ after ‘‘teachers’’; and 

25 (2) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (12)(B), by striking 

2 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

3 (B) by striking paragraph (13); and 

4 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(13) how the local educational agency will— 

6 ‘‘(A) support and improve effective school 

7 libraries by supporting the work of State-cer8 tified school librarians to ensure that students 

9 have equitable access to such libraries; and 

10 ‘‘(B) assist schools in developing effective 

11 school libraries to provide students an oppor12 tunity to develop digital literacy and informa13 tion literacy skills and improve academic 

14 achievement; 

15 ‘‘(14) the policies the local educational agency 

16 has in place to protect the right to read; and 

17 ‘‘(15) any other information on how the local 

18 educational agency proposes to use funds to meet 

19 the purposes of this part, and that the local edu20 cational agency determines appropriate to provide, 

21 which may include a description of how the local 

22 educational agency will assist schools in identifying 

23 and serving gifted and talented students.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE II. 

2 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

3 2003 of that Act (20 U.S.C. 6603) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘except for 

5 subpart 2,’’ after ‘‘part B,’’; and 

6 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(c) LITERACY EDUCATION FOR ALL, RESULTS FOR

8 THE NATION.—There are authorized to be appropriated— 

9 ‘‘(1) for grants authorized under section 2222, 

10 $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 and each of the 

11 succeeding 4 fiscal years; and 

12 ‘‘(2) for grants authorized under section 2226, 

13 $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 and each of the 

14 succeeding 4 fiscal years.’’. 

15 (b) FORMULA GRANTS TO STATES.—Section 2101 of 

16 that Act (20 U.S.C. 6611) is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (c)(4)(B)— 

18 (A) by redesignating clauses (xiv) through 

19 (xxi) as clauses (xvii) through (xxiv), respec20 tively; 

21 (B) by striking clause (xiii) and inserting 

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘(xiii) Supporting and improving ef24 fective school libraries that involve collabo25 ration with State-certified school librar26 ians.’’; and 


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1 (C) by inserting after clause (xiii) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(xiv) Developing, improving, and im4 plementing mechanisms to assist local edu5 cational agencies and schools in effectively 

6 recruiting, hiring, and retaining State-cer7 tified school librarians. 

8 ‘‘(xv) Providing training to school li9 brarians, teachers, and school leaders on 

10 how to leverage effective school libraries 

11 for academic achievement, digital literacy, 

12 information literacy, and student and fam13 ily engagement. 

14 ‘‘(xvi) Providing training to library 

15 paraprofessional and other library staff to 

16 improve the effectiveness of school library 

17 programs.’’; and 

18 (2) in subsection (d)(3)(A), by inserting ‘‘(in19 cluding school librarians)’’ after ‘‘teachers’’. 

20 (c) LOCAL USES OF FUNDS.—Section 2103(b)(3) of 

21 that Act (20 U.S.C. 6613(b)(3)) is amended by striking 

22 subparagraph (K) and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘(K) programs and activities to support 

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1 brarians, such as efforts to promote and sup2 port digital literacy, information literacy, ex3 tended student inquiry, and capstone projects;’’. 

4 (d) RESERVATIONS.—Section 2201 of that Act (20 

5 U.S.C. 6621) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking paragraph (2); and 

7 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 

8 paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively. 

9 (e) LEARN PURPOSES AND DEFINITIONS.—Section 

10 2221(b) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 6641(b)) is amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

12 (A) in subparagraph (K), by striking 

13 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

14 (B) in subparagraph (L), by striking the 

15 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

16 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(M) provides opportunities for students to 

18 develop digital literacy and information literacy 

19 skills.’’; and 

20 (2) in paragraph (2)(C), by inserting ‘‘public li21 braries, or pediatric literacy programs’’ after ‘‘which 

22 may include early childhood education programs’’. 

23 (f) COMPREHENSIVE LITERACY STATE DEVELOP24 MENT GRANTS.—Section 2222 of that Act (20 U.S.C. 

25 6642) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘From the 

2 amounts reserved by the Secretary under section 

3 2201(2) and not reserved under subsection (b),’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘From amounts appropriated to carry out 

5 this section’’; and 

6 (2) in subsection (b)— 

7 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

8 by striking ‘‘reserved to carry out this subpart’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘appropriated to carry out this 

10 section’’; and 

11 (B) in paragraphs (2) and (3), by striking 

12 ‘‘subpart’’ and inserting ‘‘section’’ each place 

13 the term appears; 

14 (3) in subsection (d)— 

15 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and the 

16 State agency responsible for administering child 

17 care programs’’ and inserting ‘‘the State agency 

18 responsible for administering child care pro19 grams in the State, and the State library ad20 ministrative agency’’; and 

21 (B) in paragraph (2)(A), by inserting ‘‘, 

22 diverse high quality print materials, and effec23 tive school libraries,’’ after ‘‘teachers of lit24 eracy’’; and 

25 (4) in subsection (f)(2)— 


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1 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 

2 through (E) as subparagraphs (C) through (F), 

3 respectively; and 

4 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(B) Providing technical assistance to eli7 gible entities in the development of effective 

8 school libraries, which may include establishing 

9 a statewide office to coordinate technical assist10 ance for such libraries.’’. 

11 (g) SUBGRANTS TO ELIGIBLE ENTITIES IN SUPPORT

12 OF BIRTH THROUGH KINDERGARTEN ENTRY LIT13 ERACY.—Section 2223(a)(1) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 

14 6643(a)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘the State library ad15 ministrative agency,’’ before ‘‘and, if applicable,’’. 

16 (h) INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO LITERACY.—Sec17 tion 2226(a) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 6646(a)) is amend18 ed— 

19 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

20 striking ‘‘From amounts reserved under section 

21 2201(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘From amounts appro22 priated to carry out this section’’; 

23 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 

24 paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; and 


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1 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(2) increasing the number of State-certified 

4 school librarians supporting students in high need 

5 schools;’’. 

6 (i) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

7 (1) Section 2231(a) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 

8 6661(a)) is amended, in the matter preceding para9 graph (1) by striking ‘‘section 2201(3)’’ and insert10 ing ‘‘section 2201(2)’’. 

11 (2) Section 2241 of that Act (20 U.S.C. 6671) 

12 is amended, in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

13 by striking ‘‘section 2201(4)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

14 2201(3)’’. 

15 SEC. 5. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE IV. 

16 (a) STATE USE OF FUNDS.—Section 

17 4104(b)(3)(A)(i) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 7114(b)(3)(A)(i)) 

18 is amended— 

19 (1) by redesignating subclauses (VI) and (VII) 

20 as subclauses (VII) and (VIII), respectively; and 

21 (2) by inserting after subclause (V) the fol22 lowing: 

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1 grams, including those provided 

2 through effective school libraries;’’. 

3 (b) ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT WELL-ROUNDED EDU4 CATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES.—Section 4107(a)(3) of that 

5 Act (20 U.S.C. 7117(a)(3)) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (I) and (J) 

7 as subparagraphs (J) and (K), respectively; and 

8 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (H) the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(I) programs and activities the promote 

11 the development of digital literacy and informa12 tion literacy skills, including those provided 

13 through an effective school library;’’. 

14 SEC. 6. DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING ON SCHOOL LI15 BRARIES. 

16 (a) DATA COLLECTION.—The Secretary of Education 

17 shall direct the National Center for Education Statistics 

18 to biennially collect data on elementary school and sec19 ondary school libraries. 

20 (b) ELEMENTS.—The data collected biennially under 

21 subsection (a) shall include— 

22 (1) the number and percentage of elementary 

23 schools and secondary schools in each State that 

24 have dedicated school library facilities located on the 


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1 grounds of the school and the square footage of each 

2 such library facility; 

3 (2) the number and percentage of schools 

4 counted under paragraph (1) that employ at least 

5 one full-time State-certified school librarian; and 

6 (3) with respect to each elementary and sec7 ondary school library— 

8 (A) the number of State-certified school li9 brarians; 

10 (B) the number of additional school library 

11 staff; 

12 (C) the number and types of physical col13 lections or assets; 

14 (D) the number and types of virtual collec15 tions or databases the school library has access 

16 to; 

17 (E) the number and types of student use 

18 devices managed by school library staff; 

19 (F) the amount of time State-certified 

20 school librarians spend planning with teachers 

21 and instructing students; 

22 (G) the amount of time State-certified 

23 school librarians spend planning with and pro24 viding professional development for teachers; 

25 and 


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1 (H) other pertinent information that the 

2 Secretary of Education determines is important 

3 in order to support effective school libraries. 

4 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than one year 

5 after the date of enactment of this Act and every two years 

6 thereafter, the Secretary of Education shall submit to 

7 Congress a report that includes the data collected under 

8 this section. 

9 (d) ESEA TERMS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘ele10 mentary school’’ and ‘‘secondary school’’ have the mean11 ings given those terms in section 8101 of the Elementary 

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

13 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

14 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

15 such sums as may be necessary for each fiscal year. 

16 SEC. 7. LIABILITY PROTECTIONS RELATED TO THE RIGHT 

17 TO READ. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8556 of that Act (20 

19 U.S.C. 7946) is amended— 

20 (1) by redesignating subsections (b) through (e) 

21 as subsections (c) through (f), respectively; 

22 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(b) LIABILITY PROTECTIONS RELATED TO THE

25 RIGHT TO READ.—No teacher, school librarian, school 


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1 leader, paraprofessional, or other staff shall be liable for 

2 harm caused by an act or omission of such person if the 

3 actions were carried out in conformity with State or local 

4 policies regarding the right to read.’’; 

5 (3) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding 

6 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘subsection (b)’’ and in7 serting ‘‘subsection (c)’’; 

8 (4) in subsection (c)(3), as redesignated by 

9 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘A State law that’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘Except with respect to subsection (b), a 

11 State law that’’; and 

12 (5) in subsection (f), as redesignated by para13 graph (1)— 

14 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Nothing 

15 in this section’’ and inserting ‘‘Except with re16 spect to subsection (b), nothing in this section’’; 

17 and 

18 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Nothing 

19 in this subpart’’ and inserting ‘‘Except with re20 spect to subsection (b), nothing in this sub21 part’’. 

22 (b) PREEMPTION AND ELECTION OF STATE NON23 APPLICABILITY.—Section 8555(b) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 

24 7945(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘This subpart shall not 


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1 apply’’ and inserting ‘‘Except for section 8556(b), this 

2 subpart shall not apply’’. 

3 SEC. 8. PROTECTING CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS IN SCHOOL 

4 LIBRARIES. 

5 Subpart 2 of part F of title VIII of that Act (20 

6 U.S.C. 7901 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 8549D. PROTECTING CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS IN 

9 SCHOOL LIBRARIES. 

10 ‘‘The Secretary shall require an assurance from each 

11 State and local educational agency receiving funds under 

12 this Act confirming that the State or local educational 

13 agency— 

14 ‘‘(1) will protect the First Amendment rights of 

15 students in school libraries and will affirmatively 

16 further the right to receive information by— 

17 ‘‘(A) providing access to a variety of read18 ing materials; 

19 ‘‘(B) recognizing that public schools pre20 pare individuals for participation as citizens; 

21 ‘‘(C) recognizing that school boards have 

22 important and discretionary functions; 

23 ‘‘(D) acknowledging that among a school 

24 board’s functions is a role to play in deter25 mining the holdings of a school library; 


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1 ‘‘(E) understanding the importance of 

2 First Amendment protections in school libraries 

3 as centers for voluntary inquiry and the dis4 semination of information and ideas; 

5 ‘‘(F) understanding that school boards 

6 must exercise their discretionary authority in a 

7 manner that comports with First Amendment 

8 protections and imperatives; and 

9 ‘‘(G) understanding that the exercise of a 

10 school board’s role in determining the holdings 

11 of a school library may not be done in a manner 

12 that is partisan, political, or otherwise aimed at 

13 prescribing particular schools of thought or 

14 opinion; and 

15 ‘‘(2) will provide equal protection in the conduct 

16 of school libraries in compliance with the require17 ments of the Fourteenth Amendment and non18 discrimination laws.’’. 

Æ 


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