II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2452

To reduce the reading deficit in the United States by applying the findings

of scientific research in reading instruction to all students who are

learning to read the English language and to amend the Elementary

and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to improve literacy through family

literacy projects and to reauthorize the inexpensive book distribution

program.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 13, 2000

Mr. COVERDELL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

A BILL

To reduce the reading deficit in the United States by applying the findings of scientific research in reading instruction to all students who are learning to read the English

language and to amend the Elementary and Secondary

Education Act of 1965 to improve literacy through family literacy projects and to reauthorize the inexpensive

book distribution program.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reading Deficit Elimi3 nation Act’’.

4 TITLE I—REDUCING THE

5 READING DEFICIT

6 SEC. 101. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress makes the following findings:

8 (1) Millions of dollars have been spent by the

9 Federal Government to determine how the skill of

10 reading is acquired. The principles for teaching such

11 skill are now available and it is time to apply them

12 in the Nation’s classrooms.

13 (2) America has a reading deficit. According to

14 the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS), con15 ducted by the National Center for Education Statis16 tics every 10 years, 41,000,000 adults were unable

17 to perform even the simplest literacy tasks.

18 (3) The 1998 National Assessment of Edu19 cational Progress (NAEP) found that 69 percent of

20 4th grade students are reading below the proficient

21 level.

22 (4) The 1998 NAEP found that minority stu23 dents on average continue to lag far behind their

24 nonminority counterparts in reading proficiency,

25 even though many of the minority students are in

26 programs authorized under title I of the Elementary
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1 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

2 6301 et seq.).

3 (5) Reading scores continue to decline or re4 main stagnant, even though Congress has spent

5 more than $120,000,000 over the past 30 years for

6 such programs, a substantial portion of which has

7 been dedicated to improving the reading skills of dis8 advantaged students.

9 (6) The cost of providing special education at

10 the Federal, State, and local levels exceeds

11 $60,000,000,000 each year.

12 (7) More than half of the students being placed

13 in the special learning disabilities category of special

14 education programs have not learned to read.

15 (8) The ability to read the English language

16 with fluency and comprehension is essential if indi17 viduals are to reach their full potential.

18 (9) Since 1965 the National Institute of Child

19 Health and Human Development (NICHD) has sup20 ported extensive systematic research on reading de21 velopment, reading disorders, and reading difficulties

22 at a cost of more than $200,000,000.

23 (10) Relying extensively on the NICHD sup24 ported research, the National Research Council

25 (NRC), created by the National Science Foundation
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1 (NSF), issued a report in 1998 entitled ‘‘Preventing

2 Reading Difficulties in Young Children’’. The report

3 shows that optimal reading development requires

4 that students acquire skills in phonemic awareness,

5 systematic phonics, reading fluency, and comprehen6 sion strategies, and that the students be provided

7 with interesting reading material written at the stu8 dents’ instructional level.

9 (11) The National Reading Panel (NRP), re10 quested by Congress and created by the NICHD,

11 issued a report in the spring of 2000 that surveyed

12 100,000 reports on reading instruction and analyzed

13 10,000 reports that were based on methodologically

14 sound reading research.

15 (12) The NRP found that systematic phonics

16 instruction is one of the necessary components of a

17 total reading program. According to the NRP re18 port, the sequence of reading instruction that ob19 tains maximum benefits for students should include

20 instruction in phonemic awareness, systematic

21 phonics, reading fluency, spelling, writing, and read22 ing comprehension strategies.

23 (13) The ability to read is the cornerstone of

24 academic success. Without that skill we limit the fu25 ture success of the next generation.
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1 SEC. 102. PURPOSES.

2 The purposes of this title are as follows:

3 (1) To reduce the number of individuals and

4 students who cannot read at all, or who have not

5 mastered the decoding skills necessary to read flu6 ently and with comprehension, by encouraging and

7 providing for the teaching of the decoding skills to

8 children beginning in kindergarten in all schools in

9 the United States.

10 (2) To apply the principles of reading instruc11 tion that have been identified from the findings of

12 more than 30 years of Federal research on reading

13 instruction for all students learning to read the

14 English language.

15 (3) To provide scientifically sound instruction

16 in reading to preschool and elementary school stu17 dents because the ability to read is fundamental to

18 success, not only in learning subject matter, but in

19 all other endeavors in life.

20 SEC. 103. ALLOTMENTS TO STATES.

21 (a) READING ENHANCEMENT AND ACHIEVEMENT

22 DISBURSEMENT (READ) FUND.—

23 (1) REDUCTION.—Notwithstanding any other

24 provision of law, the total amount of Federal discre25 tionary spending appropriated for a fiscal year shall

26 be reduced by an amount that bears the same rela-
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1 tion to 0.5 percent of the total amount of Federal

2 discretionary spending for the preceding fiscal year

3 as the total number of children enrolled in kinder4 garten through fourth grade in public elementary

5 schools in States submitting requests under sub6 section (b) bears to the total number of such chil7 dren in all States. The funds reduced under this

8 paragraph and made available under paragraph (2)

9 shall be known as ‘‘READ funds’’.

10 (2) REALLOTMENT.—The amount of funds re11 duced under the preceding sentence shall be reallot12 ted to States in accordance with the allotments de13 termined under subsection (b) and used in accord14 ance with the requirements under subsections (c)

15 and (d) in order to reduce the national reading def16 icit through the use of programs of reading instruc17 tion based on scientifically based reading research.

18 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall be ef19 fective for fiscal year 2001 and for each fiscal year

20 thereafter until the fiscal year that begins after the

21 date described in section 105.

22 (b) DETERMINATION OF ALLOTMENTS.—For each

23 fiscal year in which subsection (a) applies, the Secretary

24 of Education shall pay to each State, that submits a re25 quest for an allotment under this subsection, an allotment
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1 for such fiscal year in an amount that bears the same rela2 tion to the total amount made available under subsection

3 (a) for the fiscal year as the total number of children en4 rolled in kindergarten through fourth grade in public ele5 mentary schools in the State bears to the total number

6 of such children in all States submitting requests for the

7 fiscal year.

8 (c) WITHIN STATE ALLOCATIONS.—Each State that

9 receives an allotment under this section shall allocate 95

10 percent of the allotted funds to local educational agencies

11 in the State. Each local educational agency in the State

12 shall receive an allocation under this subsection in an

13 amount that bears the same relation to 95 percent of the

14 funds the State receives under this section for a fiscal year

15 as the total number of children enrolled in kindergarten

16 through fourth grade in all public elementary schools

17 served by the local agency bears to the total number of

18 such children in all public elementary schools served by

19 all local educational agencies in the State.

20 (d) REQUIRED USES OF FUNDS.—Funds paid to a

21 local educational agency under this title shall be used in

22 accordance with the following requirements:

23 (1) TEACHER TRAINING.—Ten percent of such

24 funds shall be used to train teachers on the teaching

25 of reading based on scientifically based reading re-
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1 search and using scientific principles of reading in2 struction.

3 (2) INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS.—Twenty per4 cent of such funds shall be used for the purchase of

5 reading instructional materials or programs of read6 ing instruction that have been developed using sci7 entifically based reading research and are based on

8 scientific principles of reading instruction.

9 (3) STUDENT ASSESSMENT.—Ten percent of

10 such funds shall be used to assess the ability of each

11 student enrolled in a public elementary school to

12 proficiently decode words and to read with com13 prehension at the student’s grade level. Standards

14 for such assessments shall be—

15 (A) developed and administered at the

16 State or local level;

17 (B) consistent with all other measurements

18 and criteria used by the State or local edu19 cational agency to evaluate student performance

20 in reading ability;

21 (C) based on standards developed from sci22 entifically based reading research; and

23 (D) made available through the Internet

24 and published in a journal of public record in

25 each school district.
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1 (4) TEACHER BONUSES.—

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Ten percent of such

3 funds may be used toward the payment to

4 teachers in first through fourth grades of a

5 bonus of $200 (not to exceed $1,400 per teach6 er per fiscal year) for each child who enters

7 such a grade at the beginning of a school year

8 unable to read at a proficient level for that

9 grade and who leaves such grade at the conclu10 sion of the school year able to read at a pro11 ficient level, as determined by the State or local

12 assessment standards for that grade level.

13 (B) LIMITATIONS.—

14 (i) PAYMENT TO TEACHER WITH PRI15 MARY RESPONSIBILITY.—A bonus may

16 only be paid under subparagraph (A) to

17 the teacher who was the individual pri18 marily responsible for teaching the child to

19 read during a majority of the school year.

20 (ii) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—The

21 Secretary shall not make an allotment

22 under this section to a State unless the

23 State agrees that, with respect to the

24 amount of the bonus under subparagraph

25 (A), the State or local educational agency
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1 will make available matching funds equal

2 to 30 percent of the Federal funds pro3 vided under the bonus. The matching

4 funds shall be made available from non5 Federal State or local sources.

6 (5) TUITION ASSISTANCE GRANTS.—

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Fifty percent of such

8 funds shall be used to provide tuition assistance

9 grants to a parent or guardian of any child in

10 fourth grade who has no physiological disability

11 and who has not mastered the decoding skills

12 prerequisite to an ability to read at a proficient

13 level (as determined under the State or local as14 sessment standard) by the end of third grade.

15 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—A tuition assistance

16 grant to a parent or guardian under subpara17 graph (A) may not exceed an amount equal to

18 the average per-pupil expenditure for the local

19 educational agency. The tuition assistance

20 grant shall be used to purchase tutoring in

21 reading, during, after, or before regular school

22 hours, or on the weekends, from a private sec23 tor provider, who is approved by the State or

24 local educational agency and uses instructional

25 practices based on scientifically based reading
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1 research, for a child. Assistance under such a

2 grant shall be made available on a month-by3 month basis until the child is reading at a pro4 ficient level for the child’s grade level.

5 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Each State receiv6 ing an allotment under this section may use 5 percent of

7 the allotted funds for the administrative costs of carrying

8 out this title.

9 (f) PRIVATE SECTOR INVOLVEMENT.—Funds to re10 duce the national reading deficit may be matched by the

11 private sector and administered by the State under this

12 title.

13 (g) PRIVATE DONATIONS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF

14 EDUCATION.—The Secretary of Education shall allot any

15 funds received by the Department of Education from the

16 private sector for purposes of this section in the same

17 manner as funds are allotted to the States under sub18 section (b) for use in accordance with subsection (c).

19 (h) STATE OR LOCAL GIFTS, BEQUESTS, AND DE20 VISES.—A State or local educational agency may accept,

21 use, and dispose of gifts, bequests, or devises of services

22 or property, both real and personal, for the purpose of

23 aiding or facilitating the purposes and required uses of

24 this title.
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1 SEC. 104. DEFINITIONS.

2 In this title:

3 (1) AVERAGE PER-PUPIL EXPENDITURE.—The

4 term ‘‘average per-pupil expenditure’’ has the mean5 ing given the term in section 14101 of the Elemen6 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

7 U.S.C. 8801).

8 (2) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL; LOCAL EDU9 CATIONAL AGENCY.—The terms ‘‘elementary school’’

10 and ‘‘local educational agency’’ have the meanings

11 given the terms in section 14101 of the Elementary

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

13 8801).

14 (3) NATIONAL READING DEFICIT.—The term

15 ‘‘national reading deficit’’ means the percentage of

16 children enrolled in grades kindergarten through

17 fourth grade who are unable to read at a proficient

18 reading level for their grade level, as determined by

19 the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

20 (4) READING.—The term ‘‘reading’’ means a

21 complex system of deriving meaning from print that

22 requires all of the following:

23 (A) The skills and knowledge to under24 stand how phonemes (speech sounds) are con25 nected to print.

26 (B) The ability to decode unfamiliar words.
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1 (C) The ability to read fluently.

2 (D) Sufficient background information and

3 vocabulary to foster reading comprehension.

4 (E) The development of appropriate active

5 strategies to construct meaning from print.

6 (F) The development and maintenance of a

7 motivation to read.

8 (G) Scientifically based reading research.

9 (5) SCIENTIFICALLY BASED READING RE10 SEARCH.—The term ‘‘scientifically based reading

11 research’’—

12 (A) means research that involves the appli13 cation of rigorous, systematic, and objective

14 procedures to obtain valid knowledge relevant to

15 reading development, reading instruction, and

16 reading difficulties; and

17 (B) includes research that—

18 (i) employs systematic, empirical

19 methods that draw on observation or ex20 periment;

21 (ii) involves rigorous data analyses

22 that are adequate to test the stated

23 hypotheses and justify the general conclu24 sions drawn;
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1 (iii) relies on measurements or obser2 vational methods that provide valid data

3 across evaluators and observers and across

4 multiple measurements and observations;

5 and

6 (iv) has been accepted by a peer-re7 viewed journal or approved by a panel of

8 independent experts through a comparably

9 rigorous, objective, and scientific review.

10 (6) SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES OF READING IN11 STRUCTION.—The term ‘‘scientific principles of

12 reading instruction’’ means a method of instruction

13 that teaches in sequence the following scientific prin14 ciples of reading:

15 (A) The teaching of phonemic awareness,

16 which is the understanding that spoken words

17 and syllables are made up of sequences of ele18 mentary speech sounds.

19 (B) The teaching, explicitly and in isola20 tion, of each single speech sound-spelling rep21 resented by each letter or letter combination.

22 The provision of practice in recognizing the

23 speech sound-spelling relationship in decodable

24 text.
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1 (C) The teaching of frequent, highly reg2 ular speech sound-spelling relationships system3 atically progressing from easier to more dif4 ficult, and providing practice reading them

5 daily, first in isolation and then in the context

6 of words and sentences.

7 (D) The teaching of students, directly, how

8 to sound out words by blending the words’

9 speech sound-spellings together sequentially

10 from left to right, and then providing practice

11 using words composed of only those speech

12 sound-spelling relationships that have been pre13 viously taught.

14 (E) The use of connected, decodable text

15 for students to practice the speech sound-spell16 ing relationships the students have learned.

17 (F) The teaching of reading comprehension

18 using interesting teacher-read stories that in19 clude words most students have not yet learned

20 to read, but which are part of the students’ spo21 ken vocabulary.

22 (G) The teaching of decoding and com23 prehension skills concurrently but separately,

24 until reading becomes fluent such that com25 prehension skills learned through teacher-read
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1 literature can be applied to students’ own read2 ing once the students become fluent decoders.

3 SEC. 105. SUNSET.

4 Effective on the date the National Assessment of

5 Educational Progress publishes a notice certifying that the

6 national reading deficit is less than 5 percent of the total

7 number of children enrolled in grades kindergarten

8 through fourth grade in the United States, the provisions

9 of this title are repealed.

10 TITLE II—IMPROVING LITERACY

11 THROUGH FAMILY LITERACY

12 PROJECTS; REAUTHORIZA13 TION OF INEXPENSIVE BOOK

14 DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM

15 Subtitle A—Family Literacy

16 SEC. 201. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

17 Section 1002(b) of the Elementary and Secondary

18 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6302(b)) is amended—

19 (1) by striking ‘‘$118,000,000 for fiscal year

20 1995’’ and inserting ‘‘$175,000,000 for fiscal year

21 2001’’; and

22 (2) by striking ‘‘four’’ and inserting ‘‘three’’.
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1 SEC. 202. IMPROVING BASIC PROGRAMS OPERATED BY

2 LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.

3 Section 1111(c) of the Elementary and Secondary

4 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(c)) is amended—

5 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

6 end;

7 (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at

8 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

9 (3) by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(7) the State educational agency will encour11 age local educational agencies and individual schools

12 participating in a program assisted under this part

13 to offer family literacy services (using funds under

14 this part), if the agency or school determines that a

15 substantial number of students served under this

16 part by the agency or school have parents who do

17 not have a high school diploma or its recognized

18 equivalent or who have low levels of literacy.’’.

19 SEC. 203. EVEN START FAMILY LITERACY PROGRAMS.

20 (a) STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.—Section 1201 of the

21 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

22 U.S.C. 6361) is amended—

23 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘high qual24 ity’’ after ‘‘build on’’; and

25 (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol26 lows:
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1 ‘‘(2) promote the academic achievement of chil2 dren and adults;’’;

3 (3) by striking the period at the end of para4 graph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

6 ‘‘(4) use instructional programs based on sci7 entifically based reading research (as defined in sec8 tion 2252) and the prevention of reading difficulties

9 for children and, to the extent such research is avail10 able, scientifically based reading research (as so de11 fined) for adults.’’.

12 (b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—

13 (1) RESERVATION FOR MIGRANT PROGRAMS,

14 OUTLYING AREAS, AND INDIAN TRIBES.—Section

15 1202(a) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu16 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6362(a)) is

17 amended—

18 (A) in paragraph (1), in the matter pre19 ceding subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘(or, if

20 such appropriated amount exceeds

21 $200,000,000, 6 percent of such amount)’’

22 after ‘‘1002(b)’’;

23 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘If the

24 amount of funds made available under this sub25 section exceeds $4,600,000,’’ and inserting
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1 ‘‘After the date of the enactment of the Read2 ing Deficit Elimination Act,’’; and

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

4 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION OF PROGRAMS FOR AMER5 ICAN INDIANS.—The Secretary shall ensure that

6 programs under paragraph (1)(C) are coordinated

7 with family literacy programs operated by the Bu8 reau of Indian Affairs in order to avoid duplication

9 and to encourage the dissemination of information

10 on high quality family literacy programs serving

11 American Indians.’’.

12 (2) RESERVATION FOR FEDERAL ACTIVITIES.—

13 Section 1202(b) of the Elementary and Secondary

14 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6362(b)) is

15 amended to read as follows:

16 ‘‘(b) RESERVATION FOR FEDERAL ACTIVITIES.—

17 ‘‘(1) EVALUATION, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE,

18 PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT, AND REPLICATION ACTIVI19 TIES.—From amounts appropriated under section

20 1002(b), the Secretary may reserve not more than 3

21 percent of such amounts for purposes of—

22 ‘‘(A) carrying out the evaluation required

23 by section 1209; and

24 ‘‘(B) providing, through grants or con25 tracts with eligible organizations, technical as-
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1 sistance, program improvement, and replication

2 activities.

3 ‘‘(2) RESEARCH.—In the case of fiscal years

4 2001 through 2004, if the amounts appropriated

5 under section 1002(b) for any of such years exceed

6 such amounts appropriated for the preceding fiscal

7 year, the Secretary shall reserve from such excess

8 amount $2,000,000 or 50 percent, whichever is less,

9 to carry out section 1211(b).’’.

10 (c) RESERVATION FOR GRANTS.—Section 1202(c)(1)

11 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

12 (20 U.S.C. 6362(c)(1)) is amended—

13 (1) by striking ‘‘From funds reserved under

14 section 2260(b)(3), the Secretary shall award

15 grants,’’ and inserting ‘‘For any fiscal year for

16 which at least one State applies and qualifies and

17 for which the amount appropriated under section

18 1002(b) exceeds the amount appropriated under

19 such section for the preceding fiscal year, the Sec20 retary shall reserve, from the amount of such excess

21 remaining after the application of subsection (b)(2),

22 the amount of such remainder or $1,000,000, which23 ever is less, to award grants,’’; and

24 (2) by adding at the end ‘‘No State may receive

25 more than one grant under this subsection.’’.
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1 (d) ALLOCATIONS.—Section 1202(d)(2) of the Ele2 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

3 6362(d)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘that section’’ and in4 serting ‘‘that part’’.

5 (e) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1202(e) of the Elemen6 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

7 6362(e)) is amended—

8 (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘or’’ after

9 ‘‘higher education,’’ and inserting ‘‘a religious orga10 nization, or’’; and

11 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘nonprofit or12 ganization’’ and inserting ‘‘nonprofit organization,

13 including a religious organization,’’.

14 (f) SUBGRANTS FOR LOCAL PROGRAMS.—Section

15 1203(b)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Education

16 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6363(b)(2)) is amended to read

17 as follows:

18 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM SUBGRANT AMOUNTS.—

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

20 subparagraphs (B) and (C), no State shall

21 award a subgrant under paragraph (1) in an

22 amount less than $75,000.

23 ‘‘(B) SUBGRANTEES IN NINTH AND SUC24 CEEDING YEARS.—No State shall award a

25 subgrant under paragraph (1) in an amount
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1 less than $52,500 to an eligible entity for a fis2 cal year to carry out an Even Start program

3 that is receiving assistance under this part or

4 its predecessor authority for the ninth (or any

5 subsequent) fiscal year.

6 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTION FOR SINGLE

7 SUBGRANT.—A State may award one subgrant

8 in each fiscal year of sufficient size, scope, and

9 quality to be effective in an amount less than

10 $75,000 if, after awarding subgrants under

11 paragraph (1) for such fiscal year in accordance

12 with subparagraphs (A) and (B), less than

13 $75,000 is available to the State to award such

14 subgrants.’’.

15 (g) USES OF FUNDS.—Section 1204 of the Elemen16 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

17 6364) is amended—

18 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘family-cen19 tered education programs’’ and inserting ‘‘family lit20 eracy services’’; and

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

22 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS FOR FAMILY LITERACY SERV23 ICES.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—States may use a portion of

25 funds received under this part to assist eligible enti-
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1 ties receiving a subgrant under section 1203(b) in

2 improving the quality of family literacy services pro3 vided under Even Start programs under this part,

4 except that in no case may a State’s use of funds

5 for this purpose for a fiscal year result in a decrease

6 from the level of activities and services provided to

7 program participants in the preceding year.

8 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In carrying out paragraph (1),

9 a State shall give priority to programs that were of

10 low quality, as evaluated based on the indicators of

11 program quality developed by the State under sec12 tion 1210.

13 ‘‘(3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO HELP LOCAL

14 PROGRAMS RAISE ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—In carrying

15 out paragraph (1), a State may use the funds re16 ferred to in such paragraph to provide technical as17 sistance to help local programs of demonstrated ef18 fectiveness to access and leverage additional funds

19 for the purpose of expanding services and reducing

20 waiting lists.

21 ‘‘(4) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING.—

22 Assistance under paragraph (1) shall be in the form

23 of technical assistance and training, provided by a

24 State through a grant, contract, or cooperative

25 agreement with an entity that has experience in of-
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1 fering high quality training and technical assistance

2 to family literacy providers.’’.

3 (h) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—Section 1205 of the Ele4 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

5 6365) is amended—

6 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (9) and (10)

7 as paragraphs (13) and (14), respectively;

8 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through

9 (8) as paragraphs (6) through (9), respectively;

10 (3) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol11 lowing:

12 ‘‘(5) with respect to the qualifications of staff

13 the cost of whose salaries are paid, in whole or in

14 part, with Federal funds provided under this part,

15 ensure that—

16 ‘‘(A) not later than 4 years after the date

17 of the enactment of the Reading Deficit Elimi18 nation Act—

19 ‘‘(i) a majority of the individuals pro20 viding academic instruction—

21 ‘‘(I) shall have obtained an asso22 ciate’s, bachelor’s, or graduate degree

23 in a field related to early childhood

24 education, elementary school edu25 cation, or adult education; or
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1 ‘‘(II) shall meet qualifications es2 tablished by the State for early child3 hood education, elementary school

4 education, or adult education provided

5 as part of an Even Start program or

6 another family literacy program;

7 ‘‘(ii) the individual responsible for ad8 ministration of family literacy services

9 under this part has received training in the

10 operation of a family literacy program; and

11 ‘‘(iii) paraprofessionals who provide

12 support for academic instruction have a

13 high school diploma or its recognized

14 equivalent; and

15 ‘‘(B) beginning on the date of the enact16 ment of the Reading Deficit Elimination Act,

17 all new personnel hired to provide academic

18 instruction—

19 ‘‘(i) have obtained an associate’s,

20 bachelor’s, or graduate degree in a field re21 lated to early childhood education, elemen22 tary school education, or adult education;

23 or

24 ‘‘(ii) meet qualifications established by

25 the State for early childhood education, el-
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1 ementary school education, or adult edu2 cation provided as part of an Even Start

3 program or another family literacy pro4 gram;’’;

5 (4) by inserting after paragraph (9) (as so re6 designated by paragraph (2)) the following:

7 ‘‘(10) use instructional practices in reading for

8 children based on scientific principles of reading in9 struction (as defined in section 104(6) of the Read10 ing Deficit Elimination Act) and, to the extent sup11 ported by research, apply these practices to adult

12 reading instruction;

13 ‘‘(11) encourage participating families to attend

14 regularly and to remain in the program a sufficient

15 time to meet their program goals;’’;

16 ‘‘(12) include reading readiness activities for

17 preschool children based on scientific principles of

18 reading instruction (as defined in section 104(6) of

19 the Reading Deficit Elimination Act) to ensure chil20 dren enter school ready to learn to read;’’; and

21 (5) in paragraph (14) (as so redesignated), by

22 striking ‘‘program.’’ and inserting ‘‘program to be

23 used for program improvement.’’.
27

•S 2452 IS

1 (i) ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS.—Section 1206 of the

2 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

3 U.S.C. 6366) is amended—

4 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(B) by striking ‘‘part;’’

5 and inserting ‘‘part, or who are attending secondary

6 school;’’; and

7 (2) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the

8 following:

9 ‘‘(3) CHILDREN 8 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER.—

10 If an Even Start program assisted under this part

11 collaborates with a program under part A, and funds

12 received under such part A program contribute to

13 paying the cost of providing programs under this

14 part to children 8 years of age or older, the Even

15 Start program, notwithstanding subsection (a)(2),

16 may permit the participation of children 8 years of

17 age or older.’’.

18 (j) PLAN.—Section 1207(c) of the Elementary and

19 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6367(c)) is

20 amended—

21 (1) in paragraph (1)—

22 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph

23 (A), by inserting ‘‘and continuous improve24 ment’’ after ‘‘plan of operation’’;
28

•S 2452 IS

1 (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking

2 ‘‘goals;’’ and inserting ‘‘objectives, strategies to

3 meet such objectives, and how they are con4 sistent with the program indicators established

5 by the State;’’;

6 (C) in subparagraph (E), by striking

7 ‘‘and’’ at the end;

8 (D) in subparagraph (F)—

9 (i) by striking ‘‘Act, the Goals 2000:

10 Educate America Act,’’ and inserting

11 ‘‘Act’’; and

12 (ii) by striking the period at the end

13 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

14 (E) by adding at the end the following:

15 ‘‘(G) a description of how the plan pro16 vides for rigorous and objective evaluation of

17 progress toward the program objectives de18 scribed in subparagraph (A) and for continuing

19 use of evaluation data for program improve20 ment.’’; and

21 (2) in paragraph (2), in the matter preceding

22 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘(1)(A)’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘(1)’’.
29

•S 2452 IS

1 (k) AWARD OF SUBGRANTS.—Section 1208 of the El2 ementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

3 U.S.C. 6368) is amended—

4 (1) in subsection (a)—

5 (A) in paragraph (1)(B)—

6 (i) by striking ‘‘including a high’’ and

7 inserting ‘‘such as a high’’; and

8 (ii) by striking ‘‘part A;’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘part A, a high number or percentage

10 of parents who have been victims of domes11 tic violence, or a high number or percent12 age of parents who are receiving assistance

13 under a State program funded under part

14 A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42

15 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);’’;

16 (B) in paragraph (1)(F), by striking ‘‘Fed17 eral’’ and inserting ‘‘non-Federal’’;

18 (C) in paragraph (1)(H), by inserting

19 ‘‘family literacy projects and other’’ before

20 ‘‘local educational agencies’’; and

21 (D) in paragraph (3), in the matter pre22 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘one or

23 more of the following individuals:’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘one individual with expertise in family lit25 eracy programs, and may include other individ-
30

•S 2452 IS

1 uals, such as one or more of the following:’’;

2 and

3 (2) in subsection (b)—

4 (A) by striking paragraph (3) and insert5 ing the following:

6 ‘‘(3) CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY.—In awarding

7 subgrant funds to continue a program under this

8 part after the first year, the State educational agen9 cy shall review the progress of each eligible entity in

10 meeting the objectives of the program referred to in

11 section 1207(c)(1)(A) and shall evaluate the pro12 gram based on the indicators of program quality de13 veloped by the State under section 1210.’’; and

14 (B) by amending paragraph (5)(B) to read

15 as follows:

16 ‘‘(B) The Federal share of any subgrant re17 newed under subparagraph (A) shall be limited in

18 accordance with section 1204(b).’’.

19 (l) RESEARCH.—Section 1211 of the Elementary and

20 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6369b) is

21 amended—

22 (1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘subsection

23 (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections (a) and (b)’’;

24 (2) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub25 section (c); and
31

•S 2452 IS

1 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol2 lowing:

3 ‘‘(b) SCIENTIFICALLY BASED RESEARCH ON FAMILY

4 LITERACY.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts reserved

6 under section 1202(b)(2), the National Institute for

7 Literacy shall carry out research that—

8 ‘‘(A) is scientifically based reading re9 search (as defined in section 2252); and

10 ‘‘(B) determines—

11 ‘‘(i) the most effective ways of improv12 ing the literacy skills of adults with read13 ing difficulties; and

14 ‘‘(ii) how family literacy services can

15 best provide parents with the knowledge

16 and skills they need to support their chil17 dren’s literacy development.

18 ‘‘(2) USE OF EXPERT ENTITY.—The National

19 Institute for Literacy shall carry out the research

20 under paragraph (1) through an entity, including a

21 Federal agency, that has expertise in carrying out

22 longitudinal studies of the development of literacy

23 skills in children and has developed effective inter24 ventions to help children with reading difficulties.’’.
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•S 2452 IS

1 (m) TREATMENT OF RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS.—

2 Part B of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Edu3 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6361 et seq.) is amended

4 by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘SEC. 1213. RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS.

6 ‘‘(a) RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS INCLUDED AS

7 PARTNERSHIP PARTICIPANTS.—In carrying out this part,

8 the Secretary, and any grantee or subgrantee receiving as9 sistance under this part, shall treat religious organizations

10 the same as other nongovernmental organizations, so long

11 as this part is implemented in a manner consistent with

12 the Establishment Clause of the first amendment to the

13 Constitution. The Secretary, and any grantee or sub14 grantee receiving assistance under this part, shall not dis15 criminate against an organization that participates in a

16 partnership that is an eligible entity receiving assistance

17 under this part, or an organization that participates in

18 a partnership that is applying to receive such assistance,

19 on the basis that the organization has a religious char20 acter.

21 ‘‘(b) RELIGIOUS CHARACTER AND INDEPEND22 ENCE.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A religious organization

24 that participates in a partnership that is an eligible

25 entity receiving assistance under this part, or that
33

•S 2452 IS

1 participates in a partnership that is applying to re2 ceive such assistance, shall retain its religious char3 acter and control over the definition, development,

4 practice, and expression of its religious beliefs.

5 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL SAFEGUARDS.—Neither the

6 Federal Government nor a State or local government

7 shall require a religious organization—

8 ‘‘(A) to alter its form of internal govern9 ance; or

10 ‘‘(B) to remove religious art, icons, scrip11 ture, or other symbols;

12 in order to be eligible to participate in a partnership

13 that is an eligible entity receiving assistance under

14 this part or to participate in a partnership that is

15 applying to receive such assistance.

16 ‘‘(3) EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES.—A religious or17 ganization’s exemption provided under section 702

18 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–

19 1) regarding employment practices shall not be af20 fected by its participation in, or receipt of funds

21 from, a program under this part.

22 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS ON USE OF FUNDS FOR CERTAIN

23 PURPOSES.—No funds provided to a religious organiza24 tion under this part or section 1002(b) shall be expended

25 for sectarian worship or instruction or proselytization.
34

•S 2452 IS

1 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITION ON SERVING AS FISCAL AGENT.—

2 A religious organization may not serve as a fiscal agent

3 for a partnership that is an eligible entity receiving a

4 subgrant under this part.

5 ‘‘(e) NONDISCRIMINATION AGAINST BENE6 FICIARIES.—Except as otherwise provided in law, a reli7 gious organization shall not discriminate against an indi8 vidual in regard to rendering services under this part on

9 the basis of religion, a religious belief, or refusal actively

10 to participate in a religious practice.

11 ‘‘(f) FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—For pur12 poses of any Federal, State, or local law, receipt of finan13 cial assistance under this part or section 1002(b) shall

14 constitute receipt of Federal financial assistance or aid.

15 ‘‘(g) TREATMENT OF PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS.—An

16 eligible entity may not subject a participant, during an

17 Even Start program assisted under this part, to sectarian

18 worship or instruction or proselytization.

19 ‘‘SEC. 1214. PROHIBITION ON VOUCHERS OR CERTIFICATES.

20 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, no

21 services under this part may be provided through voucher

22 or certificate.’’.

23 SEC. 204. EDUCATION OF MIGRATORY CHILDREN.

24 Section 1304(b) of the Elementary and Secondary

25 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6394(b)) is amended—
35

•S 2452 IS

1 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

2 end;

3 (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at

4 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

5 (3) by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(7) a description of how the State will encour7 age programs and projects assisted under this part

8 to offer family literacy services if the program or

9 project serves a substantial number of migratory

10 children who have parents who do not have a high

11 school diploma or its recognized equivalent or who

12 have low levels of literacy.’’.

13 SEC. 205. DEFINITIONS.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 14101 of the Elementary

15 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801)

16 is amended—

17 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (15) through

18 (29) as paragraphs (16) through (30), respectively;

19 and

20 (2) by inserting after paragraph (14) the fol21 lowing:

22 ‘‘(15) FAMILY LITERACY SERVICES.—The term

23 ‘family literacy services’ means services provided to

24 participants on a voluntary basis that are of suffi25 cient intensity in terms of hours, and of sufficient
36

•S 2452 IS

1 duration, to make sustainable changes in a family,

2 and that integrate all of the following activities:

3 ‘‘(A) Interactive literacy activities between

4 parents and their children.

5 ‘‘(B) Training for parents regarding how

6 to be the primary teacher for their children and

7 full partners in the education of their children.

8 ‘‘(C) Parent literacy training that leads to

9 economic self-sufficiency.

10 ‘‘(D) An age-appropriate education to pre11 pare children for success in school and life ex12 periences.’’.

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

14 (1) EVEN START FAMILY LITERACY PRO15 GRAMS.—Section 1202(e) of the Elementary and

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

17 6362(e)) is amended—

18 (A) by striking paragraph (3); and

19 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and

20 (5) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively.

21 (2) READING AND LITERACY GRANTS.—Section

22 2252 of the Elementary and Secondary Education

23 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6661a) is amended—

24 (A) by striking paragraph (2); and
37

•S 2452 IS

1 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (3)

2 through (5) as paragraphs (2) through (4), re3 spectively.

4 SEC. 206. INDIAN EDUCATION.

5 (a) EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.—

6 Section 1143 of the Education Amendments of 1978 (25

7 U.S.C. 2023) is amended—

8 (1) in subsection (b)(1), in the matter pre9 ceding subparagraph (A)—

10 (A) by striking ‘‘(f)’’ and inserting ‘‘(g)’’;

11 and

12 (B) by striking ‘‘(e))’’ and inserting ‘‘(f))’’;

13 (2) in subsection (d)(1)—

14 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (D)

15 and (E) as subparagraphs (E) and (F), respec16 tively; and

17 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (C)

18 the following:

19 ‘‘(D) family literacy services,’’;

20 (3) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘(f),’’ and in21 serting ‘‘(g),’’;

22 (4) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as

23 subsections (f) and (g), respectively; and

24 (5) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol25 lowing:
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•S 2452 IS

1 ‘‘(e) Family literacy programs operated under this

2 section, and other family literacy programs operated by

3 the Bureau of Indian Affairs, shall be coordinated with

4 family literacy programs for American Indian children

5 under part B of title I of the Elementary and Secondary

6 Education Act of 1965 in order to avoid duplication and

7 to encourage the dissemination of information on quality

8 family literacy programs serving American Indians.’’.

9 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1146 of the Education

10 Amendments of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2026) is amended—

11 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (7) through

12 (14) as paragraphs (8) through (15), respectively;

13 and

14 (2) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol15 lowing:

16 ‘‘(7) the term ‘family literacy services’ has the

17 meaning given such term in section 14101 of the El18 ementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

19 U.S.C. 8801);’’.

20 Subtitle B—Inexpensive Book

21 Distribution program

22 SEC. 211. INEXPENSIVE BOOK DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM

23 FOR READING MOTIVATION.

24 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Section 10501(a) of the Ele25 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
39

•S 2452 IS

1 8131(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘books to students, that

2 motivate children to read.’’ and inserting ‘‘books to young

3 and school-aged children that motivate them to read.’’.

4 (b) REQUIREMENTS OF CONTRACT.—Section

5 10501(b)(4) of the Elementary and Secondary Education

6 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8131(b)(4)) is amended by insert7 ing ‘‘training and’’ before ‘‘technical assistance’’.

8 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section

9 10501(e) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act

10 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8131(e)) is amended by striking

11 ‘‘$10,300,000 for fiscal year 1995’’ and inserting

12 ‘‘$20,000,000 for fiscal year 2000’’.

13 (d) STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.—Section 10501 of the

14 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

15 U.S.C. 8131) is amended—

16 (1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as

17 subsections (g) and (h), respectively;

18 (2) by redesignating subsections (a) through (c)

19 as subsections (b) through (d), respectively; and

20 (3) by inserting after the section heading the

21 following:

22 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this program is to

23 establish and implement a model partnership between a

24 governmental entity and a private entity, to help prepare

25 young children for reading, and motivate older children
40

•S 2452 IS

1 to read, through the distribution of inexpensive books.

2 Local reading motivation programs assisted under this

3 section shall use such assistance to provide books, training

4 for volunteers, motivational activities, and other essential

5 literacy resources, and shall assign the highest priority to

6 serving the youngest and neediest children in the United

7 States.’’.

8 (e) NEW PROVISIONS.—Section 10501 of the Ele9 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

10 8131) is amended by inserting before subsection (g) (as

11 so redesignated by subsection (d)) the following:

12 ‘‘(e) SPECIAL RULES FOR CERTAIN SUBCONTRAC13 TORS.—

14 ‘‘(1) FUNDS FROM OTHER FEDERAL

15 SOURCES.—Subcontractors operating programs

16 under this section in low-income communities with a

17 substantial number or percentage of children with

18 special needs, as described in subsection (c)(3), may

19 use funds from other Federal sources to pay the

20 non-Federal share of the cost of the program, if

21 those funds do not comprise more than 50 percent

22 of the non-Federal share of the funds used for the

23 cost of acquiring and distributing books.

24 ‘‘(2) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding

25 subsection (c), the contractor may waive, in whole or
41

•S 2452 IS

1 in part, the requirement in subsection (c)(1) for a

2 subcontractor, if the subcontractor demonstrates

3 that it would otherwise not be able to participate in

4 the program, and enters into an agreement with the

5 contractor with respect to the amount of the non6 Federal share to which the waiver will apply. In a

7 case in which such a waiver is granted, the require8 ment in subsection (c)(2) shall not apply.

9 ‘‘(f) MULTI-YEAR CONTRACTS.—The contractor may

10 enter into a multi-year subcontract under this section, if—

11 ‘‘(1) the contractor believes that such sub12 contract will provide the subcontractor with addi13 tional leverage in seeking local commitments; and

14 ‘‘(2) the subcontract does not undermine the fi15 nances of the national program.’’.

16 SEC. 212. EFFECTIVE DATE.

17 The amendments made by section 211 shall take ef18 fect on October 1, 2000.

Æ