I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2192
To establish a National Panel on Early Reading Research and Effective
Reading Instruction.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 17, 1997
Mrs. NORTHUP introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To establish a National Panel on Early Reading Research
and Effective Reading Instruction.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Successful Reading
Research and Instruction Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-
ings:
(1) At least 20 percent, and in some States 50
to 60 percent, of children in elementary school can-
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not read at basic levels. The children cannot read
fluently and do not understand what they read.
(2) Research suggests that the majority of the
children, at least 90 to 95 percent, can be brought
up to average reading skills if—
(A) children at risk for reading failure are
identified during the kindergarten and first
grade years; and
(B) early intervention programs that com-
bine instruction in phonological awareness,
phonics, and reading comprehension are pro-
vided by well-trained teachers.
(3) If the early intervention programs described
in paragraph (2)(B) are delayed until the children
reach 9 years of age (the time that most children
are identified), approximately 75 percent of the chil-
dren will continue to have reading difficulties
through high school.
(4) While older children and adults can be
taught to read, the time and expense of doing so is
enormous.
(b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to conduct an assessment of research and
knowledge relevant to early reading development,
and instruction in early reading, to determine the
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readiness of the research and knowledge for applica-
tion in the Nation’s classrooms;
(2) if appropriate, to develop a national strat-
egy for the rapid dissemination of the research and
knowledge to teachers and schools throughout the
United States as a means of facilitating effective
early reading instruction; and
(3) to develop a plan for additional research re-
garding early reading development, and instruction
in early reading, if the additional research is war-
ranted.
SEC. 3. NATIONAL PANEL.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education, or
the Secretary’s designee, and the Director of the National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development, or the
Director’s designee, jointly shall—
(1) establish a National Panel on Early Read-
ing Research and Effective Reading Instruction;
(2) establish the membership of the panel in ac-
cordance with subsection (b);
(3) select a chairperson of the panel;
(4) provide the staff and support necessary for
the panel to carry out the panel’s duties; and
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(5) prepare and submit to Congress a report re-
garding the findings and recommendations of the
panel.
(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The panel shall be composed of
15 individuals, who are not officers or employees of the
Federal Government. The panel shall include leading sci-
entists in reading research, representatives of colleges of
education, reading teachers, educational administrators,
and parents.
(c) DUTIES.—The panel shall—
(1) conduct a thorough study of the research
and knowledge relevant to early reading develop-
ment, and instruction in early reading, including re-
search described in section 9 of the Health Research
Extension Act of 1985 (42 U.S.C. 281 note);
(2) determine which research findings and what
knowledge are available for application in the Na-
tion’s classrooms; and
(3) determine how to disseminate the research
findings and knowledge to the Nation’s schools and
classrooms.
(d) TERMINATION.—The panel shall terminate 9
months after the date of enactment of this Act.
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