[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 939 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 939

 To establish a National Panel on Early Reading Research and Effective 
                          Reading Instruction.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 19, 1997

  Mr. Cochran introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
         referred to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish a National Panel on Early Reading Research and Effective 
                          Reading Instruction.

    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 ``Successful Reading Research and 
Instruction Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) At least 20 percent, and in some States 50 to 60 
        percent, of children in elementary school cannot read at basic 
        levels. The children cannot read fluently and do not understand 
        what they read.
            (2) Research suggests that the majority of the children, at 
        least 90 to 95 percent, can be brought up to average reading 
        skills if--
                    (A) children at risk for reading failure are 
                identified during the kindergarten and first grade 
                years; and
                    (B) early intervention programs that combine 
                instruction in phonological awareness, phonics, and 
                reading comprehension are provided by well-trained 
                teachers.
            (3) If the early intervention programs described in 
        paragraph (2)(B) are delayed until the children reach 9 years 
        of age (the time that most children are identified), 
        approximately 75 percent of the children will continue to have 
        reading difficulties through high school.
            (4) While older children and adults can be taught to read, 
        the time and expense of doing so is enormous.
    (b) Purpose.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to conduct an assessment of research and knowledge 
        relevant to early reading development, and instruction in early 
        reading, to determine the readiness of the research and 
        knowledge for application in the Nation's classrooms;
            (2) if appropriate, to develop a national strategy for the 
        rapid dissemination of the research and knowledge to teachers 
        and schools throughout the United States as a means of 
        facilitating effective early reading instruction; and
            (3) to develop a plan for additional research regarding 
        early reading development, and instruction in early reading, if 
        the additional research is warranted.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL PANEL.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Education, or the Secretary's 
designee, and the Director of the National Institute of Child Health 
and Human Development, or the Director's designee, jointly shall--
            (1) establish a National Panel on Early Reading Research 
        and Effective Reading Instruction;
            (2) establish the membership of the panel in accordance 
        with subsection (b);
            (3) select a chairperson of the panel;
            (4) provide the staff and support necessary for the panel 
        to carry out the panel's duties; and
            (5) prepare and submit to Congress a report regarding the 
        findings and recommendations of the panel.
    (b) Membership.--The panel shall be composed of 15 individuals, who 
are not officers or employees of the Federal Government. The panel 
shall include leading scientists in reading research, representatives 
of colleges of education, reading teachers, educational administrators, 
and parents.
    (c) Duties.--The panel shall--
            (1) conduct a thorough study of the research and knowledge 
        relevant to early reading development, and instruction in early 
        reading, including research described in section 9 of the 
        Health Research Extension Act of 1985 (42 U.S.C. 281 note);
            (2) determine which research findings and what knowledge 
        are available for application in the Nation's classrooms; and
            (3) determine how to disseminate the research findings and 
        knowledge to the Nation's schools and classrooms.
    (d) Termination.--The panel shall terminate 9 months after the date 
of enactment of this Act.
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