Sponsors (34)
Official title: To ensure that students in schools have a right to read, and for other purposes.
Introduced December 4, 2025 by Adelita S. Grijalva · Last progress December 4, 2025
The bill invests substantially in school libraries, librarians, and digital literacy—improving access and instructional capacity for many students—while imposing new federal costs, administrative and compliance burdens, and potential reductions in local control and legal remedies.
Students nationwide — especially in high-need schools — gain materially expanded library and literacy services because the bill provides new, dedicated funding (~$600M/year FY2026–2030) and programmatic support to build effective school libraries.
Underserved students (low-income, racial/ethnic minorities, students with disabilities, English learners) are more likely to get access to staffed, up‑to‑date libraries and equitable services because State and LEA plans must measure disparities and target supports.
Students and teachers benefit from stronger digital and information literacy instruction — the bill explicitly funds and allows activities to teach online research, digital skills, and safe technology use in school libraries and programs.
Taxpayers and the federal budget will face substantial new spending obligations (about $600M/year for five years), increasing federal outlays for education programs.
States, LEAs, and districts will face significant administrative, planning, and reporting burdens (new plans, notifications, data collection, coordination), diverting staff time and local funds toward compliance rather than direct services.
Rural and under-resourced districts may struggle to hire certified librarians, meet facility/hours requirements, or implement programs — potentially widening equity gaps if the mandates are unfunded or underfunded.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Creates a federal "right to read," funds and standards for effective school libraries and certified librarians, requires library data collection, and conditions some federal funds on First Amendment assurances.
Establishes a federal "right to read" framework that requires and funds effective school libraries, school librarian staffing, and literacy supports in K–12 schools. It creates new grant programs, adds literacy and digital/information literacy activities to allowable uses of federal education funds, requires regular national data collection on school libraries, and conditions certain federal funds on state and local assurances protecting First Amendment access to library materials. The bill also adds liability protection for educators and library staff who act in conformance with State or local "right to read" policies, expands definitions in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to include school librarians and information literacy, and sets authorized funding levels for the new grant programs for FY2026–FY2030.