SenateS. 5659119th Congress
Literacy Improvement for Transformation Act of 2026
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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5659 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5659
To authorize the Secretary of Education to carry out a grant program to
assist local educational agencies with ensuring that each elementary
school and secondary school has at least one reading or literacy
specialist on staff.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 30, 2026
Mr. Heinrich (for himself and Mr. Cassidy) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Education to carry out a grant program to
assist local educational agencies with ensuring that each elementary
school and secondary school has at least one reading or literacy
specialist on staff.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Literacy Improvement for
Transformation Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) ESEA terms.--The terms ``elementary school'',
``evidence-based'', ``institution of higher education'',
``local educational agency'', ``secondary school'', and ``State
educational agency'' have the meanings given those terms in
section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
(2) IDEA terms.--The terms ``child with a disability'',
``individualized education program'' or ``IEP'', and ``specific
learning disability'' have the meanings given those terms in
section 602 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(20 U.S.C. 1401).
(3) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
(A) a local educational agency;
(B) a partnership between a State educational
agency and one or more local educational agencies in
the State, entered into for the purposes of a grant
under this Act;
(C) a nonprofit entity with expertise in structured
literacy approaches (including multisensory structured
language education), reading intervention, or specific
learning disabilities (including dyslexia), in
partnership with a State educational agency or one or
more local educational agencies;
(D) a school operated by the Bureau of Indian
Education or operated by an Indian Tribe, or an
organization controlled or sanctioned by an Indian
Tribal government, for the children of that Tribe under
a contract with, or grant from, the Department of the
Interior under the Indian Self-Determination Act (25
U.S.C. 5321 et seq.) or the Tribally Controlled Schools
Act of 1988 (25 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.); or
(E) an institution of higher education (including a
Tribal College or University (as defined in section
316(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1059c(b)))) in partnership with a State educational
agency or one or more local educational agencies.
(4) High-need local educational agency.--The term ``high-
need local educational agency'' has the meaning given such term
in section 200 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1021).
(5) Licensed professional.--The term ``licensed
professional'' means a psychologist, speech- language
pathologist, neuropsychologist, or pediatrician that is
licensed by the State to practice in the applicable field.
(6) Reading or literacy specialist.--The term ``reading or
literacy specialist'' means a certified professional--
(A) whose primary responsibility is working with
students who struggle with reading and writing,
including students with dyslexia;
(B) who--
(i) has completed a certification or
training course in literacy (which may include
a certification or course that meets
accreditation standards described by the
International Multisensory Structured Language
Education Council); and
(ii) is able to demonstrate the ability to
implement intervention strategies using
structured literacy approaches, including
multisensory structured language programs, to
improve reading proficiency and literacy
skills; and
(C) who may also be referred to as an
interventionist, a reading teacher, a reading
specialist, or by an alternative title.
(7) Section 504 plan.--The term ``section 504 plan'' means
a reasonable accommodation developed for students with
disabilities to receive the appropriate educational support
services to fully participate in school activities and have
equal access to educational opportunities, in accordance with
section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794).
(8) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Education.
SEC. 3. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to assist State educational agencies and
local educational agencies with ensuring that every elementary school
and secondary school has at least one full-time certified reading or
literacy specialist on staff, and to support the recruitment, hiring,
retention, and development of certified reading or literacy
specialists.
SEC. 4. LITERACY IMPROVEMENT AND TRANSFORMATION GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Grant Program Authorized.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a program to
award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to
carry out the activities described under subsection (d).
(2) Duration.--Grants awarded under this section shall be
for a period of 5 years.
(b) Application.--An eligible entity desiring a grant under this
section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in
such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may
require, including--
(1) a needs assessment of the elementary schools or
secondary schools served by the eligible entity that
demonstrates the existence of persistent shortages of reading
or literacy specialists or persistent shortages of full-time
reading or literacy specialists;
(2) demographic information about the student population of
the elementary schools or secondary schools served by the
eligible entity, disaggregated (to the extent that such
information complies with applicable privacy law and protects
personally identifiable information), by status as a student
that--
(A) has a section 504 plan;
(B) is not considered ``proficient'' in reading
according to the most recent National Assessment of
Educational Progress assessment in reading
comprehension for which data is available;
(C) has an IEP; or
(D) is identified as having been diagnosed by a
licensed professional with dyslexia, dysgraphia,
dyscalculia, or a specific learning disability;
(3) a description of the relevant academic needs of the
student population of the elementary schools or secondary
schools served by the eligible entity, including--
(A) the ratio of reading and literacy specialists
to whole student population; and
(B) an overview of student performance related to
reading, literacy, and comprehension on formative and
summative reading assessments, standardized tests, and
district and State benchmarks, including such
information disaggregated (to the extent that such
information complies with applicable privacy law and
protects personally identifiable information), by
status as a student that--
(i) has a section 504 plan;
(ii) is not considered ``proficient'' in
reading according to the most recent National
Assessment of Educational Progress assessment
in reading comprehension for which data is
available;
(iii) has an IEP; or
(iv) is identified as having been diagnosed
by a licensed professional with dyslexia,
dysgraphia, dyscalculia, or a specific learning
disability;
(4) graduation rates, attendance data, and disciplinary
data (as determined by the Secretary), disaggregated (to the
extent that such information complies with applicable privacy
law and protects personally identifiable information) by status
as a student that--
(A) has a section 504 plan;
(B) is not considered ``proficient'' in reading
according to the most recent National Assessment of
Educational Progress assessment in reading
comprehension for which data is available;
(C) has an IEP; or
(D) is identified as having been diagnosed by a
licensed professional with dyslexia, dysgraphia,
dyscalculia, or a specific learning disability;
(5) a comprehensive plan for the use of grant funds to
address persistent shortages described in the needs assessment
under paragraph (1), including a description of--
(A) how grant funds will be used in accordance with
subsection (d);
(B) how such activities will improve or strengthen
evidence-based intervention strategies;
(C) how such funds will target early intervention
in kindergarten through grade 3; and
(D) how such funds will be used to ensure that the
eligible entity will continue to employ and retain
reading or literacy specialists after the completion of
the grant period; and
(6) an assurance that the eligible entity will ensure
compliance with the requirement described in subsection (e).
(c) Selection and Priority.--In awarding grants under this section,
the Secretary shall--
(1) give a first priority to eligible entities that are
located in a State that is in the lowest half of States, in a
ranking of all States, ranked in descending order by the
percentage of students in grades 4 and 8 in the State who score
at or above a level of proficient on the most recent National
Assessment of Educational Progress reading assessments for
students in grades 4 and 8 for which data are available;
(2) if the priority in paragraph (1) has been satisfied, or
if no applicants described in paragraph (1) apply, then the
Secretary shall give priority to applicants that plan to direct
grant funding primarily to elementary schools; and
(3) if the priorities in paragraphs (1) and (2) have been
satisfied, or if no applicants described in paragraphs (1) or
(2) apply, then the Secretary shall give priority to applicants
that are a high-need local educational agency or are a
partnership between a State educational agency and a consortium
of high-need local educational agencies.
(d) Activities.--Grant funds awarded under this section shall be
used by an eligible entity to carry out one or more of the following
activities:
(1) Recruiting, hiring, and developing full-time reading or
literacy specialists at elementary schools or secondary
schools.
(2) Providing resources necessary to support the
development of reading or literacy specialists from a part-time
to full-time capacity at elementary schools or secondary
schools served by the eligible entity, including through full
funding for teachers who are employed by the eligible entity at
the time of the grant to earn an evidence-based reading or
literacy specialist certification from an accredited
institution of higher education.
(3) Supporting the retention of reading or literacy
specialists at elementary schools or secondary schools,
including by increasing salaries.
(4) Ensuring that at least 1 full-time reading or literacy
specialist is on staff at each elementary school and secondary
school served by the eligible entity.
(5) Providing continual professional development
opportunities regarding reading difficulties in students who
are children with disabilities at elementary schools or
secondary schools, including how to identify dyslexia in
students with other diagnoses.
(e) Requirement; Rule of Construction.--
(1) Requirement.--Each grant recipient shall ensure that
any reading or literacy specialist whose position is partially
or fully funded by grant funds spends not less than 80 percent
of their time in that position working with teachers and
students to improve student outcomes relating to literacy.
(2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be
construed to limit the preservation or use of Native American
languages.
(f) Report.--Each eligible entity awarded a grant under this
section shall submit to the Secretary an annual report for each year of
the grant award. Such report shall be compiled after a collection of
relevant data from elementary schools and secondary schools served by
the eligible entity. The report shall include--
(1) a summary of the eligible entity's progress in
employing at least 1 full-time reading or literacy specialist
at each elementary school and secondary school served by the
eligible entity;
(2) data on the number of full-time and part-time reading
or literacy specialists employed at each elementary school and
secondary school served by the eligible entity and data on the
ratio of students to reading or literacy specialists at each
such school; and
(3) a summary of any progress made by the eligible entity
in addressing reading or literacy, as identified in the needs
assessment required under subsection (b)(1), as a result of the
activities carried out with a grant under this section.
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