Improving America's Literacy Act

This bill changes federal literacy grant programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. It bars states receiving Comprehensive Literacy State Development grants from using a "three-cueing model," which teaches word recognition mainly through context, pictures, syntax, or visual memory. It requires those grant funds to support evidence-based instruction focused on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. It limits these grants to 5 years, with a possible 2-year renewal, and requires an annual public review by the Secretary of Education. It also applies similar literacy requirements to school improvement funds and directs the Institute of Education Sciences to study successful state and local literacy strategies and report to Congress within 5 years.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Ted Cruz Republican sponsor
• 1 cosponsors