Bill · S. 5110· Senate(119-S-5110)
Improving America's Literacy Act
- Introduced
- 7/23/2026
- Last activity
- 7/23/2026 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- Sponsored by
- Ted Cruz
- Cosponsors
- - 0 - 1
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The Improving America's Literacy Act introduces new requirements for literacy activities under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. It prohibits the use of the "three-cueing model" in comprehensive literacy state development grants. The bill requires grant recipients to focus on instructional strategies like phonics and phonemic awareness. It also establishes an annual review process for state educational agencies to monitor the impact of funding on student outcomes. Additionally, the act mandates research to identify successful state and local literacy strategies.
Yes· 3 of 5
Would children be better off under this?+6
The bill focuses on improving literacy outcomes through evidence-based instructional strategies like phonics.
Would students be better off under this?+6
The bill aims to improve student literacy outcomes through mandated research and focused instructional strategies.
Does this put more money into scientific research?+5
The bill mandates research by the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences to identify effective literacy strategies.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Improved Literacy Outcomes: The Secretary will conduct an annual review of how funding impacts student literacy outcomes to ensure effectiveness (Section 2, subsection (b)(2)(A)(i)).
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Transparency for the Public: The Secretary is required to issue an annual report summarizing reviews of grant recipients, which must be made available on the Department of Education website (Section 2, subsection (b)(2)(B)).
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Focus on Proven Instruction: Grant funds must be used for evidence-based activities and instructional strategies that focus on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension (Section 2, subsection (e)).
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Identification of Best Practices: The Director of the Institute of Education Sciences will conduct research to identify instructional practices, curricular materials, and policy supports that lead to sustained increases in literacy achievement (Section 4, subsection (a)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
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Restrictions on Instructional Models: The bill explicitly prohibits the use of the "three-cueing model," which involves using meaning from context, pictures, or syntax as the primary basis for teaching word recognition (Section 2, subsection (a)(2)).
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Grant Limitation: Comprehensive literacy state development grants are limited to a period of no more than 5 years total (Section 2, subsection (b)(1)).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Children+6Good For Students+6
- Education And Technology
- Increases Scientific Research Funding+5Increases Public School Funding+3
- Governance And Ideology
- Improves Government Transparency+5
- 7/23/2026
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- Introduced in Senate
Brian SchatzDemocrat · Hawaii