IV
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION H. RES. 163
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the goal of edu-
cation in schools across America shall be that virtually every student
in the United States achieves grade-level reading proficiency, providing
them with the foundation to develop the skills and knowledge needed
for success in school, work, and life.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY25, 2025
Mr. H
UIZENGA(for himself, Mr. MOOLENAAR, Mr. THANEDAR, Mrs. DIN-
GELL, Ms. MCDONALDRIVET, Ms. SCHOLTEN, and Mr. JAMES) sub-
mitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on
Education and Workforce
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that
the goal of education in schools across America shall
be that virtually every student in the United States
achieves grade-level reading proficiency, providing them
with the foundation to develop the skills and knowledge
needed for success in school, work, and life.
Whereas literacy is an essential skill for success in the United
States;
Whereas illiteracy continues to challenge thousands of stu-
dents annually across many grade levels;
VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Feb 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR163.IH HR163
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2
•HRES 163 IH
Whereas illiteracy has been a silent epidemic that has not
been addressed in the United States for decades and now
finds the Nation at a crisis level;
Whereas a literacy gap nationwide, measuring 8th-grade stu-
dents who are reading below proficiency, exists at well
over 50 percent;
Whereas children who struggle to read become adults who
struggle in society, leading to a cycle of poverty;
Whereas literacy transforms the lives of students and creates
strong communities;
Whereas a literacy curriculum with a structured literacy ap-
proach that includes multisensory, phonics, and decoding
components is foundational to reading skills;
Whereas literacy programs that include an individual diag-
nostic assessment overseen by a certified teacher are best
set to improve outcomes;
Whereas research shows students who are tutored 1-on-1, 5
days a week achieve grade-level movement in reading;
Whereas research shows individuals who can read at least at
a high school level are more likely to be hired in the
workforce;
Whereas research shows individuals who can read at least at
a high school level are less likely to be incarcerated;
Whereas research shows Junior Reserve Officers’ Training
Corps students who are reading at a high school level or
better are more likely to be accepted into the military;
and
Whereas the COVID–19 pandemic exacerbated learning loss
among elementary school and secondary school students:
Now, therefore, be it
VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Feb 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR163.IH HR163
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3
•HRES 163 IH
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1
(1) recognizes the goal of education in schools 2
across America shall be that virtually every student 3
in the United States achieves grade-level reading 4
proficiency, providing them with the foundation to 5
develop the skills and knowledge needed for success 6
in school, work, and life; 7
(2) encourages the development and use of lit-8
eracy programs that include 1-on-1 tutoring for each 9
student diagnosed with a literacy gap of 1 year or 10
more, 5 days per week until the student is reading 11
at grade level; 12
(3) encourages State and local governments, in-13
cluding educational agencies, to collaborate with pri-14
vate organizations offering proven literacy programs 15
to identify and implement effective solutions to ad-16
dress illiteracy; and 17
(4) encourages State and local governments, in-18
cluding educational agencies, to collaborate with pri-19
vate organizations that offer proven literacy pro-20
grams to create adult literacy initiatives aimed at 21
helping adults with reading skills below an eighth- 22
grade level. 23
Æ
VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Feb 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR163.IH HR163
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB