Union Calendar No. 202
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2614
[Report No. 105–348]
A BILL
To improve the reading and literacy skills of chil-
dren and families by improving in-service instruc-
tional practices for teachers who teach reading,
to stimulate the development of more high-qual-
ity family literacy programs, to support extended
learning-time opportunities for children, to en-
sure that children can read well and independ-
ently not later than third grade, and for other
purposes.
OCTOBER 24, 1997
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commit-
tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
ordered to be printed
IB
Union Calendar No. 202
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2614
[Report No. 105–348]
To improve the reading and literacy skills of children and families by improv-
ing in-service instructional practices for teachers who teach reading,
to stimulate the development of more high-quality family literacy pro-
grams, to support extended learning-time opportunities for children, to
ensure that children can read well and independently not later than
third grade, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 6, 1997
Mr. GOODLING introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and the Workforce
OCTOBER 24, 1997
Additional sponsors: Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mr. MCKEON, Mr. RIGGS, Mr.
GREENWOOD, Mr. NORWOOD, and Ms. DANNER
OCTOBER 24, 1997
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on October 6, 1997]
A BILL
To improve the reading and literacy skills of children and
families by improving in-service instructional practices
for teachers who teach reading, to stimulate the develop-
ment of more high-quality family literacy programs, to
support extended learning-time opportunities for chil-
dren, to ensure that children can read well and independ-
ently not later than third grade, and for other purposes.
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 ‘‘Reading Excellence Act’’.
TITLE I—READING GRANTS
SEC. 101. AMENDMENT TO ESEA FOR READING GRANTS.
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
‘‘TITLE XV—READING GRANTS
‘‘SEC. 15101. PURPOSE.
‘‘The purposes of this title are as follows:
‘‘(1) To teach every child to read in their early
childhood years—
‘‘(A) as soon as they are ready to read; or
‘‘(B) as soon as possible once they enter
school, but not later than 3d grade.
‘‘(2) To improve the reading skills of students,
and the in-service instructional practices for teachers
who teach reading, through the use of findings from
reliable, replicable research on reading, including
phonics.
‘‘(3) To expand the number of high-quality fam-
ily literacy programs.
‘‘(4) To reduce the number of children who are
inappropriately referred to special education due to
reading difficulties.
‘‘SEC. 15102. DEFINITIONS.
‘‘For purposes of this title:
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
PROVIDER.—The term ‘eligible professional develop-
ment provider’ means a provider of professional devel-
opment in reading instruction to teachers that is
based on reliable, replicable research on reading.
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE
RESEARCH
INSTITUTION.—The
term ‘eligible research institution’ means an institu-
tion of higher education at which reliable, replicable
research on reading has been conducted.
‘‘(3) FAMILY
LITERACY
SERVICES.—The term
‘family literacy services’ means services provided to
participants on a voluntary basis that are of suffi-
cient intensity in terms of hours, and of sufficient du-
ration, to make sustainable changes in a family (such
as eliminating or reducing welfare dependency) and
that integrate all of the following activities:
‘‘(A) Interactive literacy activities between
parents and their children.
working with children to improve their
reading skills, particularly a community-
based organization using volunteers.
‘‘(B) OPTIONAL PARTICIPANTS.—A reading
and literacy partnership may include additional
participants, who shall be selected jointly by the
Governor and the chief State school officer, which
may include—
‘‘(i) State directors of appropriate Fed-
eral or State programs with a strong read-
ing component;
‘‘(ii) a parent of a public or private
school student or a parent who educates
their child or children in their home;
‘‘(iii) a teacher who teaches reading; or
‘‘(iv) a representative of (I) an institu-
tion of higher education operating a pro-
gram of teacher preparation in the State;
(II) a local educational agency; (III) an eli-
gible research institution; (IV) a private
nonprofit or for-profit eligible professional
development provider providing instruction
based on reliable, replicable research on
reading; (V) a family literacy service pro-
vider; (VI) an adult education provider;
(VII) a volunteer organization that is in-
volved in reading programs; or (VIII) a
school or a public library that offers read-
ing or literacy programs for children or
families.
‘‘(2) AGREEMENT.—The contractual agreement
that establishes a reading and literacy partnership—
‘‘(A) shall specify—
‘‘(i) the nature and extent of the asso-
ciation among the participants referred to
in paragraph (1); and
‘‘(ii) the roles and duties of each such
participant; and
‘‘(B) shall remain in effect during the entire
grant period proposed in the partnership’s grant
application under subsection (e).
‘‘(3) FUNCTIONS.—Each reading and literacy
partnership for a State shall prepare and submit an
application under subsection (e) and, if the partner-
ship receives a grant under this section—
‘‘(A) shall solicit applications for, and
award, subgrants under sections 15104 and
15105;
‘‘(B) shall oversee the performance of the
subgrants and submit performance reports in ac-
cordance with subsection (h);
‘‘(C) if sufficient grant funds are available
under this title—
‘‘(i) work to enhance the capacity of
agencies in the State to disseminate reliable,
replicable research on reading to schools,
classrooms, and providers of early education
and child care;
‘‘(ii) facilitate the provision of tech-
nical assistance to subgrantees under sec-
tions 15104 and 15105 by providing them
information about technical assistance pro-
viders; and
‘‘(iii) build on, and promote coordina-
tion among, literacy programs in the State,
in order to increase their effectiveness and
to avoid duplication of their efforts; and
‘‘(D) shall ensure that each local edu-
cational agency to which the partnership makes
a subgrant under section 15104 makes available,
upon request and in an understandable and uni-
form format, to any parent of a student attend-
ing any school selected under section 15104(a)(2)
in the geographic area served by the agency, in-
formation regarding the qualifications of the stu-
dent’s classroom teacher to provide instruction in
reading.
‘‘(4) FISCAL
AGENT.—The State educational
agency shall act as the fiscal agent for the reading
and literacy partnership for the purposes of receipt of
funds from the Secretary, disbursement of funds to
subgrantees under sections 15104 and 15105, and ac-
counting for such funds.
‘‘(c) PRE-EXISTING PARTNERSHIP.—If, before the date
of the enactment of the Reading Excellence Act, a State es-
tablished a consortium, partnership, or any other similar
body, that includes the Governor and the chief State school
officer and has, as a central part of its mission, the pro-
motion of literacy for children in their early childhood
years through the 3d grade, but that does not satisfy the
requirements of subsection (b)(1), the State may elect to
treat that consortium, partnership, or body as the reading
and literacy partnership for the State notwithstanding such
subsection, and it shall be considered a reading and literacy
partnership for purposes of the other provisions of this title.
‘‘(d) MULTI-STATE PARTNERSHIP ARRANGEMENTS.—
A reading and literacy partnership that satisfies the re-
quirements of subsection (b) may join with other such part-
nerships in other States to develop a single application that
satisfies the requirements of subsection (e) and identifies
which State educational agency, from among the States
joining, shall act as the fiscal agent for the multi-State ar-
rangement. For purposes of the other provisions of this title,
any such multi-State arrangement shall be considered to
be a reading and literacy partnership.
‘‘(e) APPLICATIONS.—A reading and literacy partner-
ship that desires to receive a grant under this section shall
submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in
such manner, and including such information as the Sec-
retary may require. The application—
‘‘(1) shall describe how the partnership will en-
sure that 95 percent of the grant funds are used to
make subgrants under sections 15104 and 15105;
‘‘(2) shall be integrated, to the maximum extent
possible, with State plans and programs under this
Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,
and, to the extent appropriate, the Adult Education
Act;
‘‘(3) shall describe how the partnership will en-
sure that professional development funds available at
the State and local levels are used effectively to im-
prove instructional practices for reading and are
based on reliable, replicable research on reading;
‘‘(4) shall describe—
‘‘(A) the contractual agreement that estab-
lishes the partnership, including at least the ele-
ments of the agreement referred to in subsection
(b)(2);
‘‘(B) how the partnership will assess, on a
regular basis, the extent to which the activities
undertaken by the partnership and the partner-
ship’s subgrantees under this title have been ef-
fective in achieving the purposes of this title;
‘‘(C) what evaluation instruments the part-
nership will use to determine the success of local
educational agencies to whom subgrants under
sections 15104 and 15105 are made in achieving
the purposes of this title;
‘‘(D) how subgrants made by the partner-
ship under such sections will meet the require-
ments of this title, including how the partnership
will ensure that subgrantees will use practices
based on reliable, replicable research on reading;
and
‘‘(E) how the partnership will, to the extent
practicable, make grants to subgrantees in both
rural and urban areas;
‘‘(5) shall include an assurance that each local
educational agency to whom the partnership makes a
subgrant under section 15104—
‘‘(A) will carry out family literacy pro-
grams based on the Even Start family literacy
model authorized under part B of title I to en-
able parents to be their child’s first and most im-
portant teacher, and will make payments for the
receipt of technical assistance for the develop-
ment of such programs;
‘‘(B) will carry out programs to assist those
kindergarten students who are not ready for the
transition to 1st grade, particularly students ex-
periencing difficulty with reading skills;
‘‘(C) will use supervised individuals (in-
cluding tutors), who have been appropriately
trained using reliable, replicable research on
reading, to provide additional support, before
school, after school, on weekends, during non-in-
structional periods of the school day, or during
the summer, for students in grades 1 through 3
who are experiencing difficulty reading; and
‘‘(D) will carry out professional develop-
ment for the classroom teacher and other appro-
priate teaching staff on the teaching of reading
based on reliable, replicable research on reading;
and
‘‘(6) shall describe how the partnership will en-
sure that a portion of the grant funds that the part-
nership receives in each fiscal year will be used to
make subgrants under section 15105.
‘‘(f) PEER REVIEW PANEL.—
‘‘(1) COMPOSITION OF PEER REVIEW PANEL.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The National Institute
for Literacy, in consultation with the National
Research Council of the National Academy of
Sciences, the National Institute of Child Health
and Human Development, and the Secretary,
shall convene a panel to evaluate applications
under this section. At a minimum the panel
shall include representatives of the National In-
stitute for Literacy, the National Research Coun-
cil of the National Academy of Sciences, the Na-
tional Institute of Child Health and Human De-
velopment, and the Secretary.
‘‘(B) EXPERTS.—The panel shall include
experts who are competent, by virtue of their
training, expertise, or experience, to evaluate ap-
plications under this section, and experts who
provide professional development to teachers of
reading to children and adults, based on reliable,
replicable research on reading.
‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—Not more than 1⁄3 of the
panel may be composed of individuals who are
employees of the Federal Government.
‘‘(2) PAYMENT OF FEES AND EXPENSES OF CER-
TAIN MEMBERS.—The Secretary shall use funds re-
served under section 15109(b)(2) to pay the expenses
and fees of panel members who are not employees of
the Federal Government.
‘‘(3) DUTIES OF PANEL.—
‘‘(A) MODEL
APPLICATION
FORMS.—The
peer review panel shall develop a model applica-
tion form for reading and literacy partnerships
desiring to apply for a grant under this section.
The peer review panel shall submit the model ap-
plication form to the Secretary for final ap-
proval.
‘‘(B) SELECTION OF APPLICATIONS.—
‘‘(i) RECOMMENDATIONS OF PANEL.—
‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary
shall receive grant applications from
reading 
and 
literacy 
partnerships
under this section and shall provide
the applications to the peer review
panel for evaluation. With respect to
each application, the peer review panel
shall initially recommend the applica-
tion for funding or for disapproval.
‘‘(II) PRIORITY.—In recommend-
ing applications to the Secretary, the
panel shall give priority to applica-
tions from States that have modified,
are modifying, or provide an assurance
that not later than 1 year after receiv-
ing a grant under this section the
State will modify, State teacher certifi-
cation in the area of reading to reflect
reliable, replicable research, except that
nothing in this Act shall be construed
to establish a national system of teach-
er certification.
‘‘(III) 
RANKING
OF
APPLICA-
TIONS.—With respect to each applica-
tion recommended for funding, the
panel shall assign the application a
rank, relative to other recommended
applications, based on the priority de-
scribed in subclause (II), the extent to
which the application furthers the pur-
poses of this part, and the overall qual-
ity of the application.
‘‘(IV) 
RECOMMENDATION
OF
AMOUNT.—With respect to each appli-
cation recommended for funding, the
panel shall make a recommendation to
the Secretary with respect to the
amount of the grant that should be
made.
‘‘(ii) SECRETARIAL SELECTION.—
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to
clause (iii), the Secretary shall deter-
mine, based on the peer review panel’s
recommendations, which applications
from reading and literacy partnerships
shall receive funding and the amounts
of such grants. In determining grant
amounts, the Secretary shall take into
account the total amount of funds
available for all grants under this sec-
tion and the types of activities pro-
posed to be carried out by the partner-
ship.
‘‘(II) EFFECT
OF
RANKING
BY
PANEL.—In making grants under this
section, the Secretary shall select appli-
cations according to the ranking of the
applications by the peer review panel,
except in cases where the Secretary de-
termines, for good cause, that a vari-
ation from that order is appropriate.
‘‘(iii) MINIMUM
GRANT
AMOUNTS.—
Each reading and literacy partnership se-
lected to receive a grant under this section
shall receive an amount for each fiscal year
that is not less than $100,000.
‘‘(g) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—A
reading and literacy partnership that receives a grant
under this section may use not more than 3 percent of the
grant funds for administrative costs.
‘‘(h) REPORTING.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A reading and literacy part-
nership that receives a grant under this section shall
submit performance reports to the Secretary pursuant
to a schedule to be determined by the Secretary, but
not more frequently than annually. Such reports shall
include—
‘‘(A) the results of use of the evaluation in-
struments referred to in subsection (e)(4)(C);
‘‘(B) the process used to select subgrantees;
‘‘(C) a description of the subgrantees receiv-
ing funds under this title; and
‘‘(D) with respect to subgrants under section
15104, the model or models of reading instruc-
tion, based on reliable, replicable research on
reading, selected by subgrantees.
‘‘(2) PROVISION TO PEER REVIEW PANEL.—The
Secretary shall provide the reports submitted under
paragraph (1) to the peer review panel convened
under subsection (f). The panel shall use such reports
in recommending applications for funding under this
section.
‘‘SEC. 15104. LOCAL READING IMPROVEMENT SUBGRANTS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—
‘‘(1) SUBGRANTS.—A reading and literacy part-
nership that receives a grant under section 15103
shall make subgrants, on a competitive basis, to local
educational agencies that have at least 1 school that
is identified for school improvement under section
1116(c) in the geographic area served by the agency.
‘‘(2) ROLE OF LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—
A local educational agency that receives a subgrant
under this section shall use the subgrant in a manner
consistent with this section to advance reform of read-
ing instruction in any school selected by the agency
that—
‘‘(A) is identified for school improvement
under section 1116(c) at the time the agency re-
ceives the subgrant; and
‘‘(B) has a contractual association with 1
or more community-based organizations that
have established a record of effectiveness with re-
spect to reading readiness, reading instruction
for children in kindergarten through 3d grade,
and early childhood literacy.
‘‘(b) GRANT PERIOD.—A subgrant under this section
shall be for a period of 3 years and may not be revoked
or terminated on the ground that a school ceases, during
the grant period, to be identified for school improvement
under section 1116(c).
‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.—A local educational agency that
desires to receive a subgrant under this section shall submit
an application to the reading and literacy partnership at
such time, in such manner, and including such information
as the partnership may require. The application—
‘‘(1) shall select 1 or more models of reading in-
struction, developed using reliable, replicable research
on reading, as a model for implementing and improv-
ing reading instruction by all teachers and for all
children in each of the schools selected by the agency
under subsection (a)(2) and, where appropriate, their
parents;
‘‘(2) shall describe each such model;
‘‘(3) shall demonstrate that a person responsible
for the development of each such model, or a person
with experience or expertise about such model and its
implementation, has agreed to work with the appli-
cant in connection with such implementation and im-
provement efforts;
‘‘(4) shall describe—
‘‘(A) how the applicant will ensure that
funds available under this title, and funds avail-
able for reading for grades kindergarten through
grade 6 from other appropriate sources, are effec-
tively coordinated and, where appropriate, inte-
grated, with funds under this Act in order to im-
prove existing activities in the areas of reading
instruction, professional development, program
improvement, parental involvement, technical as-
sistance, and other activities that can help meet
the purposes of this title; and
‘‘(B) the amount of funds available for
reading for grades kindergarten through grade 6
from appropriate sources other than this title,
including title I of this Act (except that such de-
scription shall not be required to include funds
made available under part B of title I of this Act
unless the applicant has established a contrac-
tual association in accordance with subsection
(d)(2) with an eligible entity under such part
B), the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act, and any other law providing Federal finan-
cial assistance for professional development for
teachers of such grades who teach reading, which
will be used to help achieve the purposes of this
title;
‘‘(5) shall describe the amount and nature of
funds from any other public or private sources, in-
cluding funds received under this Act and the Indi-
viduals with Disabilities Education Act, that will be
combined with funds received under the subgrant;
‘‘(6) shall include an assurance that the appli-
cant—
‘‘(A) will carry out family literacy pro-
grams based on the Even Start family literacy
model authorized under part B of title I to en-
able parents to be their child’s first and most im-
portant teacher, will make payments for the re-
ceipt of technical assistance for the development
of such programs;
‘‘(B) will carry out programs to assist those
kindergarten students who are not ready for the
transition to 1st grade, particularly students ex-
periencing difficulty with reading skills;
‘‘(C) will use supervised individuals (in-
cluding tutors), who have been appropriately
trained using reliable, replicable research on
reading, to provide additional support, before
school, after school, on weekends, during non-in-
structional periods of the school day, or during
the summer, for students in grades 1 through 3
who are experiencing difficulty reading; and
‘‘(D) will carry out professional develop-
ment for the classroom teacher and other teach-
ing staff on the teaching of reading based on reli-
able, replicable research on reading;
‘‘(7) shall describe how the local educational
agency provides instruction in reading to children
who have not been determined to be a child with a
disability (as defined in section 602 of the Individ-
uals with Disabilities Education Act), pursuant to
section 614(b)(5) of such Act, because of a lack of in-
struction in reading; and
‘‘(8) shall indicate the amount of the subgrant
funds (if any) that the applicant will use to carry out
the duties described in section 15105(b)(2).
‘‘(d) PRIORITY.—In approving applications under this
section, a reading and literacy partnership shall give prior-
ity to applications submitted by applicants who dem-
onstrate that they have established—
‘‘(1) a contractual association with 1 or more
Head Start programs under the Head Start Act
under which—
‘‘(A) the Head Start programs agree to se-
lect the same model or models of reading instruc-
tion, as a model for implementing and improv-
ing the reading readiness of children participat-
ing in the program, as was selected by the appli-
cant; and
‘‘(B) the applicant agrees—
‘‘(i) to share with the Head Start pro-
grams an appropriate amount of their in-
formation resources with respect to the
model, such as curricula materials; and
‘‘(ii) to train personnel from the Head
Start programs;