A bill to expand equitable access to developmentally-appropriate literacy materials, programs, and family engagement in reading, especially in underserved communities, and strengthen the connection between literacy and long-term academic and economic success.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 4028 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4028 To expand equitable access to developmentally-appropriate literacy materials, programs, and family engagement in reading, especially in underserved communities, and strengthen the connection between literacy and long-term academic and economic success. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 9, 2026 Mr. Kim introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To expand equitable access to developmentally-appropriate literacy materials, programs, and family engagement in reading, especially in underserved communities, and strengthen the connection between literacy and long-term academic and economic success. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Open Books, Open Doors Act''. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress finds the following: (1) The 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress reading assessment results show a continued decline in reading scores for both fourth and eighth grade students, with average scores lower than both 2022 and 2019 levels. (2) According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, 1 in 6 children who are not reading proficiently in third grade do not graduate from high school on time, a rate 4 times greater than that for proficient readers. (3) Families with incomes of $100,000 or more have nearly twice the number of books than families with less than $35,000 in annual income, at 125 and 73 respectively. (4) According to the American Consortium for Equity in Education, 45 percent of children in the United States live in neighborhoods that lack public libr