20 U.S.C. § 6641

Current through P.L. 118-106 (published on www.congress.gov on 10/04/2024)

Section 6641 - Purposes; definitions

(a) Purposes

The 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) Definitions

In this subpart:

(1) Comprehensive literacy instruction

The term "comprehensive literacy instruction" means instruction that-

(A) includes developmentally appropriate, contextually explicit, and systematic instruction, and frequent practice, in reading and writing across content 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 entity

The 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 general

The 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 family

For 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.).

20 U.S.C. § 6641

Pub. L. 89-10, title II, §2221, as added Pub. L. 114-95, §2002, 129 Stat. 1936.

EDITORIAL NOTES

REFERENCES IN TEXTThe Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(3)(B)(i), is act June 4, 1946, ch. 281, 60 Stat. 230, which is classified generally to chapter 13 (§1751 et seq.) of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1751 of Title 42 and Tables.The Social Security Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(3)(B)(ii), (iii), is act Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, 49 Stat. 620. Part A of title IV of the Act is classified generally to part A (§601 et seq.) of subchapter IV of chapter 7 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. Title XIX of the Act is classified generally to subchapter XIX (§1396 et seq.) of chapter 7 of Title 42. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 1305 of Title 42 and Tables.

PRIOR PROVISIONSA prior section 6641, Pub. L. 89-10, title II, §2141, as added Pub. L. 107-110, §201, Jan. 8, 2002, 115 Stat. 1634, related to technical assistance and accountability, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 114-95, §5, title II, §2002, Dec. 10, 2015, 129 Stat. 1806, 1913, effective Dec. 10, 2015, except with respect to certain noncompetitive programs and competitive programs. Another prior section 6641, Pub. L. 89-10, title II, §2201, as added Pub. L. 103-382, §101, 108 Stat. 3621, authorized program for State and local professional development activities, prior to the general amendment of this subchapter by Pub. L. 107-110.

STATUTORY NOTES AND RELATED SUBSIDIARIES

EFFECTIVE DATESection effective Dec. 10, 2015, except with respect to certain noncompetitive programs and competitive programs, see section 5 of Pub. L. 114-95, set out as an Effective Date of 2015 Amendment note under section 6301 of this title.

State

The term "State" means each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and each of the outlying areas.

child

The term "child" means any person within the age limits for which the State provides free public education.

elementary school

The term "elementary school" means a nonprofit institutional day or residential school, including a public elementary charter school, that provides elementary education, as determined under State law.

high school

The term "high school" means a secondary school that-(A) grants a diploma, as defined by the State; and(B) includes, at least, grade 12.

professional development

The term "professional development" means activities that-(A) are an integral part of school and local educational agency strategies for providing educators (including teachers, principals, other school leaders, specialized instructional support personnel, paraprofessionals, and, as applicable, early childhood educators) with the knowledge and skills necessary to enable students to succeed in a well-rounded education and to meet the challenging State academic standards; and(B) are sustained (not stand-alone, 1-day, or short term workshops), intensive, collaborative, job-embedded, data-driven, and classroom-focused, and may include activities that-(i) improve and increase teachers'-(I) knowledge of the academic subjects the teachers teach;(II) understanding of how students learn; and(III) ability to analyze student work and achievement from multiple sources, including how to adjust instructional strategies, assessments, and materials based on such analysis;(ii) are an integral part of broad schoolwide and districtwide educational improvement plans;(iii) allow personalized plans for each educator to address the educator's specific needs identified in observation or other feedback;(iv) improve classroom management skills;(v) support the recruitment, hiring, and training of effective teachers, including teachers who became certified through State and local alternative routes to certification;(vi) advance teacher understanding of-(I) effective instructional strategies that are evidence-based; and(II) strategies for improving student academic achievement or substantially increasing the knowledge and teaching skills of teachers;(vii) are aligned with, and directly related to, academic goals of the school or local educational agency;(viii) are developed with extensive participation of teachers, principals, other school leaders, parents, representatives of Indian tribes (as applicable), and administrators of schools to be served under this chapter;(ix) are designed to give teachers of English learners, and other teachers and instructional staff, the knowledge and skills to provide instruction and appropriate language and academic support services to those children, including the appropriate use of curricula and assessments;(x) to the extent appropriate, provide training for teachers, principals, and other school leaders in the use of technology (including education about the harms of copyright piracy), so that technology and technology applications are effectively used in the classroom to improve teaching and learning in the curricula and academic subjects in which the teachers teach;(xi) as a whole, are regularly evaluated for their impact on increased teacher effectiveness and improved student academic achievement, with the findings of the evaluations used to improve the quality of professional development;(xii) are designed to give teachers of children with disabilities or children with developmental delays, and other teachers and instructional staff, the knowledge and skills to provide instruction and academic support services, to those children, including positive behavioral interventions and supports, multi-tier system of supports, and use of accommodations;(xiii) include instruction in the use of data and assessments to inform and instruct classroom practice;(xiv) include instruction in ways that teachers, principals, other school leaders, specialized instructional support personnel, and school administrators may work more effectively with parents and families;(xv) involve the forming of partnerships with institutions of higher education, including, as applicable, Tribal Colleges and Universities as defined in section 316(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b)), to establish school-based teacher, principal, and other school leader training programs that provide prospective teachers, novice teachers, principals, and other school leaders with an opportunity to work under the guidance of experienced teachers, principals, other school leaders, and faculty of such institutions;(xvi) create programs to enable paraprofessionals (assisting teachers employed by a local educational agency receiving assistance under part A of subchapter I) to obtain the education necessary for those paraprofessionals to become certified and licensed teachers;(xvii) provide follow-up training to teachers who have participated in activities described in this paragraph that are designed to ensure that the knowledge and skills learned by the teachers are implemented in the classroom; and(xviii) where practicable, provide jointly for school staff and other early childhood education program providers, to address the transition to elementary school, including issues related to school readiness.