H.R. 7890 · 119th Congress

Science of Reading Act of 2026

Introduced on Mar 12, 2026 by Erin Houchin (R-IN-9). 3 cosponsors, 1 of them from another party. Latest action (Sep 17, 2026): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Mar 12, 2026
Cosponsors
3
1 from the other party
Policy area
Education
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to exclude certain instructional approaches from comprehensive literacy instruction, to prioritize certain funds to promote the use of evidence-based literacy instruction and supports aligned to the science of reading, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Education programs funding
  • Elementary and secondary education
  • Language arts
  • Teaching, teachers, curricula

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Reported to House, Jun 29, 2026). Public domain.

Science of Reading Act of 2026

This bill revises the Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) grant program to prioritize literacy instruction that is aligned to the science of reading.

Under the bill, science of reading is defined as an interdisciplinary body of evidence-based research about reading and issues related to reading and writing that (1) identifies instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and writing as essential components to skilled reading; (2) demonstrates the importance of background knowledge, oral language, the connection between reading and writing, and strong writing instruction; (3) explains why some students have difficulty with reading and writing; and (4) does not use a three-cueing model. Three-cueing model means an instructional approach or model that (1) uses meaning drawn from context, pictures, or syntax as the primary basis for teaching word recognition; or (2) teaches visual memory as the primary basis for word recognition.

Current law authorizes competitive CLSD grants to state educational agencies (SEAs) and, through them, competitive subgrants to local educational agencies for the development and implementation of a comprehensive literacy instruction plan, professional development, and other activities. Eligible early childhood education programs may also receive subgrants for early literacy services.

The bill (1) specifies that comprehensive literacy instruction for CLSD grants does not include the use of a three-cueing model, and (2) requires the Department of Education and SEAs to prioritize awarding CLSD grants and subgrants for evidence-based activities that are aligned to the science of reading.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Erin HouchinR-IN-9Sponsor

Democrats · 1

Independents · 1

Republicans · 1

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

No recorded roll call on this measure: it moved by voice vote or unanimous consent, or has not reached the floor.

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Mar 12, 2026Introduced in House
  2. Mar 12, 2026Introduced in House
  3. Mar 12, 2026 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
  4. Mar 17, 2026 · HouseCommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
  5. Mar 17, 2026 · HouseOrdered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 33 - 0.
  6. Jun 29, 2026Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Education and Workforce. H. Rept. 119-717.
  7. Jun 29, 2026 · HouseReported (Amended) by the Committee on Education and Workforce. H. Rept. 119-717.
  8. Jun 29, 2026 · HousePlaced on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 623.
  9. Sep 16, 2026 · HouseMr. Walberg moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
  10. Sep 16, 2026 · HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H5911-5913)
  11. Sep 16, 2026 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 7890.
  12. Sep 16, 2026Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
  13. Sep 16, 2026 · HouseOn motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H5911)
  14. Sep 16, 2026 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  15. Sep 17, 2026 · SenateReceived in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Who lobbied on it

Organizations whose lobbying reports (LD-2) name this measure. Spending is what they reported for those quarters on all issues, not on this measure alone.

  1. American Federation of Teachers2 reports
    $900K reported (all issues)
  2. INTERNET WORKS1 report
    $45K reported (all issues)
  3. NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION1 report
    $670K reported (all issues)
  4. NATIONAL PARENTS UNION ACTION FUND INC.1 report

Reports filed in 2026.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 9, 2026 · loaded Oct 9, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 9, 2026 · loaded Oct 9, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.
  • Money and votes are shown side by side; neither explains the other.