I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 523 
To aid and support pediatric involvement in reading and education. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 26, 2015 
Mr. MCGOVERN (for himself and Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce 
A BILL 
To aid and support pediatric involvement in reading and 
education. 
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 ‘‘Prescribe A Book 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PEDIATRIC INVOLVEMENT IN READING AND EDU-
CATION. 
Part D of title V of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7241 et seq.) is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘Subpart 22—Pediatric Early Literacy Programs 
‘‘SEC. 5621. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this subpart: 
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en-
tity’ means a nonprofit organization that has, as de-
termined by the Secretary, demonstrated effective-
ness in the following areas: 
‘‘(A) Providing peer-to-peer training to 
healthcare providers in research-based methods 
of literacy promotion as part of routine pedi-
atric health supervision visits. 
‘‘(B) Delivering a training curriculum 
through a variety of medical education settings, 
including residency training, continuing medical 
education, and national pediatric conferences. 
‘‘(C) Providing technical assistance to local 
healthcare facilities to effectively implement a 
high-quality Pediatric Early Literacy Program. 
‘‘(D) Offering opportunities for local 
healthcare facilities to obtain books at signifi-
cant discounts, as described in section 5626. 
‘‘(E) Integrating the latest developmental 
and educational research into the training cur-
riculum for healthcare providers described in 
subparagraph (B). 
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‘‘(2) PEDIATRIC EARLY LITERACY PROGRAM.— 
The term ‘Pediatric Early Literacy Program’ means 
a program that— 
‘‘(A) creates and implements a 3-part 
model through which— 
‘‘(i) healthcare providers, doctors, and 
nurses, trained in research-based methods 
of early language and literacy promotion, 
encourage parents to read aloud to their 
young children, and offer developmentally 
appropriate recommendations and strate-
gies to parents for the purpose of reading 
aloud to their children; 
‘‘(ii) healthcare providers, at health 
supervision visits, provide each child be-
tween the ages of 6 months and 5 years a 
new, developmentally appropriate chil-
dren’s book to take home and keep; and 
‘‘(iii) healthcare facilities create lit-
eracy-rich environments that include gently 
used books for waiting room use or volun-
teer readers to model for parents the tech-
niques of reading aloud to young children; 
‘‘(B) demonstrates, through research pub-
lished in peer-reviewed journals, effectiveness in 
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positively altering parent behavior regarding 
reading aloud to children, and improving ex-
pressive and receptive language in young chil-
dren; and 
‘‘(C) receives the endorsement of nationally 
recognized medical associations and academies. 
‘‘SEC. 5622. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 
‘‘The Secretary is authorized to award grants to eligi-
ble entities to enable the eligible entities to implement Pe-
diatric Early Literacy Programs. 
‘‘SEC. 5623. APPLICATIONS. 
‘‘An eligible entity that desires to receive a grant 
under section 5622 shall submit an application to the Sec-
retary at such time, in such manner, and including such 
information as the Secretary may reasonably require. 
‘‘SEC. 5624. MATCHING REQUIREMENT. 
‘‘An eligible entity receiving a grant under section 
5622 shall provide, either directly or through private con-
tributions, non-Federal matching funds equal to not less 
than 50 percent of the grant received by the eligible entity 
under section 5622. Such matching funds may be in cash 
or in-kind. 
‘‘SEC. 5625. USE OF GRANT FUNDS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity receiving a 
grant under section 5622 shall— 
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