[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4323 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4323

 To require a comprehensive effort by the Department of Education and 
the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development to widely 
    disseminate the results of the National Reading Panel report to 
                  teachers, parents, and universities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 13, 2000

 Mrs. Northup introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require a comprehensive effort by the Department of Education and 
the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development to widely 
    disseminate the results of the National Reading Panel report to 
                  teachers, parents, and universities.

    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 ``Reading Research Dissemination 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
              (1) The 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress 
        (NAEP) found that 69 percent of 4th grade students are reading 
        below the proficient level.
            (2) This is confirmed by the 1999 National Education Goals 
        Report which reports that the United States has failed to 
        increase the percentage of students scoring at or above 
        proficient in reading for students in grade 4. The report 
        indicates that only 31 percent of our Nation's 4th graders read 
        at or above proficient level, meaning 69 percent of students 
        are failing.
            (3) Too many children in elementary school cannot read at 
        basic levels. The children cannot read fluently and do not 
        understand what they read.
            (4) Research completed by the National Institute of Child 
        Health and Human Development suggests that the majority of the 
        children, at least 90 to 95 percent, can be brought up to 
        average reading skills if there is early identification of 
        children at risk during kindergarten and first grade and the 
        use of appropriate early intervention programs.
            (5) If appropriate early intervention programs 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.
            (6) In 1997, Congress commissioned the National Reading 
        Panel to assess research on reading and implications for 
        reading instruction.
            (7) The National Reading Panel concludes that methods 
        combining instruction in phonological awareness, systematic 
        phonics, and reading comprehension are best suited for all 
        children as they begin to learn to read.
            (8) The National Reading Panel report indicates that 
        repeated oral reading procedures have significant and positive 
        impacts on word recognition, fluency, and comprehension for 
        children across grade levels. As a result, family literacy is 
        seen as extremely important in a child's learning.
            (9) The ability to read effectively and with fluency is the 
        cornerstone for successful learning in other subjects like 
        math, science, and history. Therefore, it is essential for our 
        Nation to focus on our Nation's reading deficit in a timely 
        manner.

SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS.

    The Department of Education and the National Institute on Child 
Health and Human Development shall--
            (1) develop a coordinated effort to disseminate the 
        information of the National Reading Panel report to private and 
        public school teachers, principals, and parents; and
            (2) work with institutions of higher education and programs 
        that train teachers to use methods of teaching which 
        incorporate the ideas reported by the National Reading Panel.
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