20 USC 6641 - Purposes; definitions

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§ 6641. Purposes; definitions
§ 6642. Comprehensive literacy State development grants
§ 6643. Subgrants to eligible entities in support of birth through kindergarten entry literacy
§ 6644. Subgrants to eligible entities in support of kindergarten through grade 12 literacy
§ 6645. National evaluation and information dissemination
§ 6646. Innovative approaches to literacy

§ 6641. Purposes; definitions

(a) PurposesThe purposes of this subpart are—

(1) to improve student academic achievement in reading and writing by providing Federal support to States to develop, revise, or update comprehensive literacy instruction plans that, when implemented, ensure high-quality instruction and effective strategies in reading and writing from early education through grade 12; and

(2) for States to provide targeted subgrants to early childhood education programs and local educational agencies and their public or private partners to implement evidence-based programs that ensure high-quality comprehensive literacy instruction for students most in need.

(b) DefinitionsIn this subpart:

(1) Comprehensive literacy instructionThe term “comprehensive literacy instruction” means instruction that—

(A) includes developmentally appropriate, contextually explicit, and systematic instruction, and frequent practice, in reading and writing across span areas;

(B) includes age-appropriate, explicit, systematic, and intentional instruction in phonological awareness, phonic decoding, vocabulary, language structure, reading fluency, and reading comprehension;

(C) includes age-appropriate, explicit instruction in writing, including opportunities for children to write with clear purposes, with critical reasoning appropriate to the topic and purpose, and with specific instruction and feedback from instructional staff;

(D) makes available and uses diverse, high-quality print materials that reflect the reading and development levels, and interests, of children;

(E) uses differentiated instructional approaches, including individual and small group instruction and discussion;

(F) provides opportunities for children to use language with peers and adults in order to develop language skills, including developing vocabulary;

(G) includes frequent practice of reading and writing strategies;

(H) uses age-appropriate, valid, and reliable screening assessments, diagnostic assessments, formative assessment processes, and summative assessments to identify a child’s learning needs, to inform instruction, and to monitor the child’s progress and the effects of instruction;

(I) uses strategies to enhance children’s motivation to read and write and children’s engagement in self-directed learning;

(J) incorporates the principles of universal design for learning;

(K) depends on teachers’ collaboration in planning, instruction, and assessing a child’s progress and on continuous professional learning; and

(L) links literacy instruction to the challenging State academic standards, including the ability to navigate, understand, and write about, complex print and digital subject matter.

(2) Eligible entityThe term “eligible entity” means an entity that consists of—

(A) one or more local educational agencies that serve a high percentage of high-need schools and—

(i) have the highest number or proportion of children who are counted under section 6333(c) of this title, in comparison to other local educational agencies in the State;

(ii) are among the local educational agencies in the State with the highest number or percentages of children reading or writing below grade level, based on the most currently available State academic assessment data under section 6311(b)(2) of this title; or

(iii) serve a significant number or percentage of schools that are implementing comprehensive support and improvement activities and targeted support and improvement activities under section 6311(d) of this title;

(B) one or more early childhood education programs serving low-income or otherwise disadvantaged children, which may include home-based literacy programs for preschool-aged children, that have a demonstrated record of providing comprehensive literacy instruction for the age group such program proposes to serve; or

(C) a local educational agency, described in subparagraph (A), or consortium of such local educational agencies, or an early childhood education program, which may include home-based literacy programs for preschool-aged children, acting in partnership with 1 or more public or private nonprofit organizations or agencies (which may include early childhood education programs) that have a demonstrated record of effectiveness in—

(i) improving literacy achievement of children, consistent with the purposes of participation under this subpart, from birth through grade 12; and

(ii) providing professional development in comprehensive literacy instruction.

(3) High-need school

(A) In generalThe term “high-need school” means—

(i) an elementary school or middle school in which not less than 50 percent of the enrolled students are children from low-income families; or

(ii) a high school in which not less than 40 percent of the enrolled students are children from low-income families, which may be calculated using comparable data from the schools that feed into the high school.

(B) Low-income familyFor purposes of subparagraph (A), the term “low-income family” means a family—

(i) in which the children are eligible for a free or reduced-price lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.);

(ii) receiving assistance under the program of block grants to States for temporary assistance for needy families established under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); or

(iii) in which the children are eligible to receive medical assistance under the Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.).

(Pub. L. 89–10, title II, § 2221, as added Pub. L. 114–95, title II, § 2002, Dec. 10, 2015, 129 Stat. 1936.)

§ 6642. Comprehensive literacy State development grants

(a) Grants authorizedFrom the amounts reserved by the Secretary under section 6621(2) of this title and not reserved under subsection (b), the Secretary shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to State educational agencies to enable the State educational agencies to—

(1) provide subgrants to eligible entities serving a diversity of geographic areas, giving priority to entities serving greater numbers or percentages of children from low-income families; and

(2) develop or enhance comprehensive literacy instruction plans that ensure high-quality instruction and effective strategies in reading and writing for children from early childhood education through grade 12, including English learners and children with disabilities.

(b) ReservationFrom the amounts reserved to carry out this subpart for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve—

(1) not more than a total of 5 percent for national activities, including a national evaluation, technical assistance and training, data collection, and reporting;

(2) one half of 1 percent for the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a program described in this subpart at schools operated or funded by the Bureau of Indian Education; and

(3) one half of 1 percent for the outlying areas to carry out a program under this subpart.

(c) Duration of grantsA grant awarded under this subpart shall be for a period of not more than 5 years total. Such grant may be renewed for an additional 2-year period upon the termination of the initial period of the grant if the grant recipient demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary that—

(1) the State has made adequate progress; and

(2) renewing the grant for an additional 2-year period is necessary to carry out the objectives of the grant described in subsection (d).

(d) State applications

(1) In general

(2) ContentsAn application described in paragraph (1) shall include, at a minimum, the following:

(A) A needs assessment that analyzes literacy needs across the State and in high-need schools and local educational agencies that serve high-need schools, including identifying the most significant gaps in literacy proficiency and inequities in student access to effective teachers of literacy, considering each of the subgroups of students, as defined in section 6311(c)(2) of this title.

(B) A description of how the State educational agency, in collaboration with the State literacy team, if applicable, will develop a State comprehensive literacy instruction plan or will revise and update an already existing State comprehensive literacy instruction plan.

(C) An implementation plan that includes a description of how the State educational agency will carry out the State activities described in subsection (f).

(D) An assurance that the State educational agency will use implementation grant funds described in subsection (f)(1) for comprehensive literacy instruction programs as follows:

(i) Not less than 15 percent of such grant funds shall be used for State and local programs and activities pertaining to children from birth through kindergarten entry.

(ii) Not less than 40 percent of such grant funds shall be used for State and local programs and activities, allocated equitably among the grades of kindergarten through grade 5.

(iii) Not less than 40 percent of such grant funds shall be used for State and local programs and activities, allocated equitably among grades 6 through 12.

(E) An assurance that the State educational agency will give priority in awarding a subgrant under section 6643 of this title to an eligible entity that—

(i) serves children from birth through age 5 who are from families with income levels at or below 200 percent of the Federal poverty line; or

(ii) is a local educational agency serving a high number or percentage of high-need schools.

(e) Priority

(f) State activities

(1) In general

(2) ReservationA State educational agency receiving a grant under this section may reserve not more than 5 percent for activities identified through the needs assessment and comprehensive literacy plan described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (d)(2), including the following activities:

(A) Providing technical assistance, or engaging qualified providers to provide technical assistance, to eligible entities to enable the eligible entities to design and implement literacy programs.

(B) Coordinating with institutions of higher education in the State to provide recommendations to strengthen and enhance pre-service courses for students preparing to teach children from birth through grade 12 in explicit, systematic, and intensive instruction in evidence-based literacy methods.

(C) Reviewing and updating, in collaboration with teachers and institutions of higher education, State licensure or certification standards in the area of literacy instruction in early education through grade 12.

(D) Making publicly available, including on the State educational agency’s website, information on promising instructional practices to improve child literacy achievement.

(E) Administering and monitoring the implementation of subgrants by eligible entities.

(3) Additional usesAfter carrying out the activities described in paragraphs (1) and (2), a State educational agency may use any remaining amount to carry out 1 or more of the following activities:

(A) Developing literacy coach training programs and training literacy coaches.

(B) Administration and evaluation of activities carried out under this subpart.

(Pub. L. 89–10, title II, § 2222, as added Pub. L. 114–95, title II, § 2002, Dec. 10, 2015, 129 Stat. 1938.)

§ 6643. Subgrants to eligible entities in support of birth through kindergarten entry literacy

(a) Subgrants

(1) In general

(2) Duration

(3) Sufficient size and scope

(b) Local applications

An eligible entity desiring to receive a subgrant under this section shall submit an application to the State educational agency, at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the State educational agency may require. Such application shall include a description of—

(1) how the subgrant funds will be used to enhance the language and literacy development and school readiness of children, from birth through kindergarten entry, in early childhood education programs, which shall include an analysis of data that support the proposed use of subgrant funds;

(2) how the subgrant funds will be used to prepare and provide ongoing assistance to staff in the programs, including through high-quality professional development;

(3) how the activities assisted under the subgrant will be coordinated with comprehensive literacy instruction at the kindergarten through grade 12 levels; and

(4) how the subgrant funds will be used to evaluate the success of the activities assisted under the subgrant in enhancing the early language and literacy development of children from birth through kindergarten entry.

(d) Local uses of funds

An eligible entity that receives a subgrant under this section shall use the subgrant funds, consistent with the entity’s approved application under subsection (b), to—

(1) carry out high-quality professional development opportunities for early childhood educators, teachers, principals, other school leaders, paraprofessionals, specialized instructional support personnel, and instructional leaders;

(2) train providers and personnel to develop and administer evidence-based early childhood education literacy initiatives; and

(3) coordinate the involvement of families, early childhood education program staff, principals, other school leaders, specialized instructional support personnel (as appropriate), and teachers in literacy development of children served under the subgrant.

(Pub. L. 89–10, title II, § 2223, as added Pub. L. 114–95, title II, § 2002, Dec. 10, 2015, 129 Stat. 1940.)

§ 6644. Subgrants to eligible entities in support of kindergarten through grade 12 literacy

(a) Subgrants to eligible entities

(1) Subgrants

(2) Duration

(3) Sufficient size and scope

(4) Local applicationsAn eligible entity desiring to receive a subgrant under this section shall submit an application to the State educational agency at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the State educational agency may require. Such application shall include, for each school that the eligible entity identifies as participating in a subgrant program under this section, the following information:

(A) A description of the eligible entity’s needs assessment conducted to identify how subgrant funds will be used to inform and improve comprehensive literacy instruction at the school.

(B) How the school, the local educational agency, or a provider of high-quality professional development will provide ongoing high-quality professional development to all teachers, principals, other school leaders, specialized instructional support personnel (as appropriate), and other instructional leaders served by the school.

(D) An explanation of how the school will integrate comprehensive literacy instruction into a well-rounded education.

(E) A description of how the school will coordinate comprehensive literacy instruction with early childhood education programs and activities and after-school programs and activities in the area served by the local educational agency.

(b) Priority

(c) Local uses of funds for kindergarten through grade 5An eligible entity that receives a subgrant under this section shall use the subgrant funds to carry out the following activities pertaining to children in kindergarten through grade 5:

(1) Developing and implementing a comprehensive literacy instruction plan across span areas for such children that—

(A) serves the needs of all children, including children with disabilities and English learners, especially children who are reading or writing below grade level;

(B) provides intensive, supplemental, accelerated, and explicit intervention and support in reading and writing for children whose literacy skills are below grade level; and

(C) supports activities that are provided primarily during the regular school day but that may be augmented by after-school and out-of-school time instruction.

(2) Providing high-quality professional development opportunities for teachers, literacy coaches, literacy specialists, English as a second language specialists (as appropriate), principals, other school leaders, specialized instructional support personnel, school librarians, paraprofessionals, and other program staff.

(3) Training principals, specialized instructional support personnel, and other local educational agency personnel to support, develop, administer, and evaluate high-quality kindergarten through grade 5 literacy initiatives.

(4) Coordinating the involvement of early childhood education program staff, principals, other instructional leaders, teachers, teacher literacy teams, English as a second language specialists (as appropriate), special educators, school personnel, and specialized instructional support personnel (as appropriate) in the literacy development of children served under this subsection.

(5) Engaging families and encouraging family literacy experiences and practices to support literacy development.

(d) Local uses of funds for grades 6 through 12An eligible entity that receives a subgrant under this section shall use subgrant funds to carry out the following activities pertaining to children in grades 6 through 12:

(1) Developing and implementing a comprehensive literacy instruction plan described in subsection (c)(1) for children in grades 6 through 12.

(2) Training principals, specialized instructional support personnel, school librarians, and other local educational agency personnel to support, develop, administer, and evaluate high-quality comprehensive literacy instruction initiatives for grades 6 through 12.

(3) Assessing the quality of adolescent comprehensive literacy instruction as part of a well-rounded education.

(4) Providing time for teachers to meet to plan evidence-based adolescent comprehensive literacy instruction to be delivered as part of a well-rounded education.

(5) Coordinating the involvement of principals, other instructional leaders, teachers, teacher literacy teams, English as a second language specialists (as appropriate), paraprofessionals, special educators, specialized instructional support personnel (as appropriate), and school personnel in the literacy development of children served under this subsection.

(e) Allowable usesAn eligible entity that receives a subgrant under this section may, in addition to carrying out the activities described in subsections (c) and (d), use subgrant funds to carry out the following activities pertaining to children in kindergarten through grade 12:

(1) Recruiting, placing, training, and compensating literacy coaches.

(2) Connecting out-of-school learning opportunities to in-school learning in order to improve children’s literacy achievement.

(3) Training families and caregivers to support the improvement of adolescent literacy.

(4) Providing for a multi-tier system of supports for literacy services.

(5) Forming a school literacy leadership team to help implement, assess, and identify necessary changes to the literacy initiatives in 1 or more schools to ensure success.

(6) Providing time for teachers (and other literacy staff, as appropriate, such as school librarians or specialized instructional support personnel) to meet to plan comprehensive literacy instruction.

(Pub. L. 89–10, title II, § 2224, as added Pub. L. 114–95, title II, § 2002, Dec. 10, 2015, 129 Stat. 1941.)

§ 6645. National evaluation and information dissemination

(a) National evaluation

(b) Program improvement

The Secretary shall—

(1) provide the findings of the evaluation conducted under this section to State educational agencies and subgrant recipients for use in program improvement;

(2) make such findings publicly available, including on the websites of the Department and the Institute of Education Sciences;

(3) submit such findings to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives; and

(4) make publicly available, in a manner consistent with paragraph (2), best practices for implementing evidence-based activities under this subpart, including evidence-based activities, defined for the purpose of this paragraph as activities meeting the requirements of section 7801(21)(A)(i) of this title.

(Pub. L. 89–10, title II, § 2225, as added Pub. L. 114–95, title II, § 2002, Dec. 10, 2015, 129 Stat. 1943.)

§ 6646. Innovative approaches to literacy

(a) In general

From amounts reserved under section 6621(2) of this title, the Secretary may award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities for the purposes of promoting literacy programs that support the development of literacy skills in low-income communities, including—

(1) developing and enhancing effective school library programs, which may include providing professional development for school librarians, books, and up-to-date materials to high-need schools;

(2) early literacy services, including pediatric literacy programs through which, during well-child visits, medical providers trained in research-based methods of early language and literacy promotion provide developmentally appropriate books and recommendations to parents to encourage them to read aloud to their children starting in infancy; and

(3) programs that provide high-quality books on a regular basis to children and adolescents from low-income communities to increase reading motivation, performance, and frequency.

(b) Definitions

In this section:

(1) Eligible entity

The term “eligible entity” means—

(A) a local educational agency in which 20 percent or more of the students served by the local educational agency are from families with an income below the poverty line;

(B) a consortium of such local educational agencies;

(D) an eligible national nonprofit organization.

(2) Eligible national nonprofit organization

The term “eligible national nonprofit organization” means an organization of national scope that—

(A) is supported by staff, which may include volunteers, or affiliates at the State and local levels; and

(B) demonstrates effectiveness or high-quality plans for addressing childhood literacy activities for the population targeted by the grant.

(Pub. L. 89–10, title II, § 2226, as added Pub. L. 114–95, title II, § 2002, Dec. 10, 2015, 129 Stat. 1944.)