# 119-s-4689: READ Act

119-s-4689, READ Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Cassidy, Bill [R-LA] (R-LA); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-15).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4689
- As of: 2026-10-15
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-4689
- Congress: 119
- Title: READ Act
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2026-06-04
- Sponsor: Sen. Cassidy, Bill [R-LA] (R-LA)
- Cosponsors: 5
- Policy area: Education
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-15

## Summary

**This bill creates a federal Literacy Improvement Grants program to help the lowest‑performing states improve K–8 reading by funding instruction and supports grounded in the _science of reading_.** It ties money to screening, teacher preparation, high‑quality materials, tutoring, and parent notification to raise Grade 4 reading outcomes.

## Cosponsors (5)

- Sen. Hassan, Margaret Wood [D-NH] (D-NH), 2026-06-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Banks, Jim [R-IN] (R-IN), 2026-06-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hickenlooper, John W. [D-CO] (D-CO), 2026-06-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Scott, Tim [R-SC] (R-SC), 2026-06-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Kelly, Mark [D-AZ] (D-AZ), 2026-06-04T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- More grants for low-reading states: benefit, medium. If enacted, this would create federal grants for states with very low 4th-grade reading scores. Up to 10% of subpart funds would be reserved for eligible State grants, up to 5% for national activities, 0.5% for Bureau of Indian Education schools, and 0.5% for outlying areas. State shares would be b…
- New literacy research, state plans, reports: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would fund new basic and applied literacy research at the Institute of Education Sciences on topics like curriculum, tutoring, writing, and screen time. States receiving funds would need to complete a statewide literacy needs assessment and a comprehensive plan within one year.…
- Define science of reading; limit rules: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would define the "science of reading" to require explicit, systematic instruction in skills like phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and background knowledge and would exclude three-cueing approaches. The bill would change what counts as "evidence-based" for the program by removing o…

## Related bills

- 119-s-4744: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act
- 119-s-199: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide special rules for the taxation of certain residents of Taiwan with income from sources within the…
- 119-s-2511: College Transparency Act
- 119-s-558: Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2025
- 119-s-1032: Major Richard Star Act
- 119-s-339: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act

## Sources
- [119-s-4689 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4689)

## Related
- [119-s-4744: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4744)
- [119-s-199: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide special rules for…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-199)
- [119-s-2511: College Transparency Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2511)
- [119-s-558: Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-558)
- [119-s-1032: Major Richard Star Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1032)
- [119-s-339: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage A…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-339)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4689 (as of 2026-10-15).