H.R. 10031 — READ Act

This section establishes definitions for the comprehensive literacy instruction program, including an "eligible low-performing State" as one ranking in the lowest quintile on NAEP 4th-grade reading for the two most recent consecutive cycles, "high-impact tutoring" as one-on-one or small-group instruction with trained personnel that complements core classes and includes progress monitoring, "science of reading" as interdisciplinary research on explicit systematic instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and related components, and "universal early literacy screening" as periodic evidence-based assessment of all students' foundational reading skills. It also revises the definition of comprehensive literacy instruction to exclude three-cueing models that rely primarily on context, pictures, syntax, or visual memory for word recognition and to require effective language instruction supporting oral language development for English learners and children with disabilities.

This section reauthorizes the comprehensive literacy state development grants program. It reduces maximum grant duration to 4 years (from 5 years) and requires the Secretary to award grants to all eligible low-performing states in addition to competitive awards. It expands the 5 percent national activities reservation to include a non-cancelable evaluation meeting section 2225 requirements and support for regional educational laboratories and comprehensive centers. It revises state application contents to require at least 15 percent of funds for birth through kindergarten entry, 40 percent for kindergarten through grade 5, and 40 percent for grades 6 through 12, plus assurances on early childhood collaboration and parent notification of reading difficulties.

This section applies the Act and its amendments to funds awarded under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 on or after the date of enactment. It prohibits the Secretary of Education from issuing regulations that define the science of reading and comprehensive literacy instruction or that mandate, direct, or control any state, local educational agency, or school’s instructional content, academic standards and assessments, curricula, or program of instruction. It also preserves all rights, protections, and individualized requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

This section directs the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences to sponsor basic and applied research on comprehensive literacy instruction and student outcomes, including the relationship between reading books rather than passages and reading stamina, writing instruction and reading comprehension, optimal classroom time allocations for reading and writing, essential components of effective reading curricula, links between teacher preparation and professional development and effective instruction, out-of-school factors such as oral language development, and decreases in cognitive capabilities and attention spans among children and youth related to screentime, social media, and addictive technology. It also requires the Director to conduct initiatives that promote engagement with such research, synthesize findings, develop related evidence-based practices, and disseminate results in ways responsive to challenges facing students, families, practitioners, and education leaders.

This section requires the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences, acting through the Commissioner for Education Statistics, to publicly release and submit to each State a report within 5 days after releasing biennial NAEP results for grades 4 and 8 in reading and mathematics. The report must include the State’s academic outcomes, rankings compared to other States on proficiency levels (including adjusted for poverty or demographics and on achievement gaps), and relevant trend data.