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 kin-
dergarten through grade 12. 
Sec. 9. Additional State activities. 
Sec. 10. National evaluation, information dissemination, and technical assist-
ance. 
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. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds that in order for a comprehensive 
and effective literacy program to address the needs of chil-
dren it is critical to address the following: 
(1) Literacy development is an ongoing process 
that requires a sustained engagement and invest-
ment beginning in early childhood and continuing 
through secondary school. 
(2) Developing literacy skills begins at birth as 
infants and toddlers associate sounds, gestures, and 
marks on paper with consequences and meaning. 
Many teachers and staff in early learning programs 
are not provided with high-quality professional devel-
opment in how to support children’s language and 
literacy development. Such high-quality professional 
learning and preparation, that is job-embedded and 
ongoing, promotes strong early language and literacy 
for all children’s readiness for school. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
04:35 Jul 19, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2706.IH
H2706
jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(3) Research shows that writing leads to im-
proved reading achievement, reading leads to better 
writing performance, and combined instruction leads 
to improvements in both areas. Students in kinder-
garten through grade 12 need to be engaged in com-
bined reading and writing experiences that lead to a 
higher level of thinking than when either process is 
taught alone. 
(4) Teachers and early childhood educators 
need professional development to improve the read-
ing and writing abilities of children who are at risk 
for developmental delays or are reading and writing 
several years below grade level. Middle school and 
secondary school teachers in core academic subjects 
must have the tools and skills to teach reading and 
writing for subject area understanding and to dif-
ferentiate and provide instruction for students with 
varying literacy skills. 
(5) Approximately 70 percent of 4th graders 
and 8th graders read below the proficient level on 
the 2007 National Assessment of Educational 
Progress. 
(6) Between 1971 and 2008, the reading levels 
of 17-year-olds in the United States showed little to 
no improvement. The ability of secondary school stu-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
04:35 Jul 19, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2706.IH
H2706
jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
dents to read complex texts is strongly predictive of 
their performance in postsecondary mathematics and 
science courses. 
(7) Only one-third of secondary school students 
who enter 9th grade each year can expect to grad-
uate in 4 years with the skills needed to succeed in 
higher education and the workplace. 
(8) The 25 fastest growing professions have 
higher than average literacy demands while the fast-
est declining professions have lower than average lit-
eracy demands. 
(9) The intellectual and linguistic skills nec-
essary for reading and writing must be developed 
through explicit, intentional, and systematic lan-
guage activities, to which many low-income and mi-
nority students do not have access. 
(10) Only 71 percent of secondary school stu-
dents graduate on time with a diploma, meaning 
that every year 1,230,000 students fail to graduate 
from secondary school in the United States. These 
1,230,000 nongraduates cost the United States more 
than $319,000,000,000 in lost wages, taxes, and 
productivity over their lifetimes. 
(11) Meaningful engagement of families in their 
children’s early learning supports school readiness 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
04:35 Jul 19, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2706.IH
H2706
jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
and later academic success. Parental literacy habits 
are positively associated with parental reading be-
liefs, parent-child literacy and language activities in 
the home, children’s print knowledge, and interest in 
reading and writing. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are— 
(1) to improve reading, writing, and academic 
achievement for children and students by providing 
Federal support to State educational agencies, in 
collaboration with State agencies that oversee child 
care programs, to develop, coordinate, and imple-
ment comprehensive State literacy plans that ensure 
high-quality instruction and effective practices in 
early language and literacy in early learning pro-
grams (serving children from birth through kinder-
garten entry) and in reading and writing in kinder-
garten through grade 12; and 
(2) to assist State educational agencies and 
State agencies that oversee child care and other 
early childhood programs in achieving the purposes 
described in paragraph (1) by— 
(A) supporting the development and imple-
mentation of early learning through grade 12 
literacy programs that are based on scientif-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
04:35 Jul 19, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2706.IH
H2706
jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
ically valid research, to ensure that every stu-
dent can read and write at grade level or above; 
(B) providing children attending early 
learning programs that serve children from 
birth through kindergarten entry, including pro-
grams, such as child care, Early Head Start, 
Head Start, State-funded preschool, public li-
brary programs, and other early childhood edu-
cation settings, with high-quality, language-rich, 
literature-rich, 
informational 
text-rich, 
cul-
turally relevant, developmentally appropriate 
environments, so that such children develop the 
fundamental knowledge and skills necessary for 
literacy engagement, development, and achieve-
ment in kindergarten and beyond; 
(C) educating parents in the ways they can 
support their child’s communication and lit-
eracy development; 
(D) supporting efforts to link and align 
standards and evidence-based teaching practices 
and instruction in early learning programs serv-
ing children from birth through kindergarten 
entry; 
(E) supporting high-quality, effective edu-
cational and development environments for chil-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
04:35 Jul 19, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2706.IH
H2706
jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS