,,ii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #bjgj ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,july #aj1 #bjai,mr4 ,merkley 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 and ,mr4 ,wyden7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to create a new ,federal grant program that provides grants to ,state libraries to allow schools with summer lunch programs to keep their libraries open for student use during the summer months4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,summer ,meals and ,learning ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,eligible local educational agency ,the term eligible local educational agency means a local educational agency1 as defined in section #haja of the ,elementary and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ghja7-- 7,a7 that serves lunch at a school served by the local educational agency during the summer as part of-- 7i7 the summer food service program for children established under section #ac of the ,richard ,b4 ,russell ,national ,school ,lunch ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #agfa72 or 7ii7 the seamless summer option authorized by section #ac7;a77#h7 of such ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #agfa7;a77#h772 and 7,b7 where at least #ej percent of the students in grades prekindergarten through grade #c at such school-- 7i7 are reading below grade level at grade #c2 or 7ii7 are at risk of reading below grade level at grade #c4 7#b7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,education4 7#c7 ,state ,the term ,state means each of the several ,states of the ,united ,states1 the ,district of ,columbia1 the ,commonwealth of ,puerto ,rico1 ,american ,samoa1 the ,commonwealth of the ,northern ,mariana ,islands1 ,guam1 and the ,united ,states ,virgin ,islands4 7#d7 ,state ,library ,administrative ,agency ,the term ,state library administrative agency has the meaning given the term in section #bac of the ,museum and ,library ,services ,act 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #iabb74 7#e7 ,summer early reading program ,the term summer early reading program means a program held in the summer1 and not less than #f weeks in duration1 that-- 7,a7 is held at a school with a summer lunch site described in paragraph 7#a77;,a72 and 7,b7 provides students participating in the lunch program-- 7i7 access to the school library2 and 7ii7 literacy activities or expanded learning opportunities at the school4 #c4 ,grants for summer early reading programs at summer meal sites 7a7 ,program authorized ,from amounts made available under subsection 7f7 for a fiscal year1 the ,secretary shall award grants1 on a competitive basis1 to ,state library administrative agencies to enable the ,state library administrative agencies to award subgrants to eligible local educational agencies for summer early reading programs4 7b7 ,applications ,a ,state library administrative agency desiring a grant under this section shall submit an application at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,secretary may require4 ,each application shall include-- 7#a7 how the ,state library administrative agency will award subgrants described in subsection 7d71 including any priorities or considerations that the ,state library administrative agency will apply in making such awards1 with an emphasis toward supporting eligible local educational agencies with a disproportionately high ratio of students served at school lunch sites described in section #b7a77;,a7 to such school lunch sites2 7#b7 how the ,state library administrative agency will disseminate1 in a timely manner1 information regarding the subgrants described in subsection 7d7 and the application process for such subgrants to eligible local educational agencies2 7#c7 the criteria that the ,state library administrative agency will require for the summer early reading programs1 including the minimum number of hours that the school library shall remain accessible and any other criteria regarding the activities to be offered2 and 7#d7 an assurance from the ,state library administrative agency that each eligible local educational agency that receives a subgrant will provide a summer early reading program at each school lunch site served by the local educational agency4 7c7 ,use of funds ,a ,state library administrative agency receiving a grant under this section shall use grant funds to award subgrants to eligible local educational agencies under subsection 7d74 7d7 ,subgrants 7#a7 ,in general ,each ,state library administrative agency receiving a grant under this section shall award subgrants1 on a competitive basis1 to eligible local educational agencies to enable the eligible local educational agencies to provide summer early reading programs4 7#b7 ,applications ,an eligible local educational agency desiring a subgrant under this section shall submit an application at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,state library administrative agency may require4 ,each application shall include-- 7,a7 a description of the school lunch sites described in section #b7a77;,a7 that will be participating in the summer early reading program1 and the ratio1 as of the date of application1 of the number of students served to the number of such school lunch sites2 7,b7 proof that the eligible local educational agency meets the requirements of section #b7a72 7,c7 a description of the summer early reading program that the eligible local educational agency will provide at each school lunch site to be served2 and 7,d7 a description of how community partners will be involved in the summer early reading program4 7#c7 ,award basis ,a ,state library administrative agency receiving a grant under this section shall award subgrants based on-- 7,a7 the proposed number of school lunch sites and the number of students that will be served under the summer early reading program2 and 7,b7 any other criteria established by the ,state library administrative agency in the application submitted under subsection 7b74 7#d7 ,use of funds ,an eligible local educational agency receiving a subgrant under this subsection shall use the subgrant funds to work with community partners to-- 7,a7 develop and implement the summer early reading programs proposed in the application submitted under paragraph 7#b72 7,b7 develop and carry out other activities and strategies related to such summer early reading programs2 and 7,c7 hire and train appropriate ,state library administrative agency personnel to teach the summer early reading programs during the summer4 7e7 ,reports ,for each year of a grant or subgrant awarded under this section1 a ,state library administrative agency receiving such grant1 or an eligible local educational agency receiving such subgrant1 shall submit a report regarding the progress made in achieving the purposes of the grant or subgrant1 respectively1 to the ,secretary4 7f7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this ,act #e1jjj1jjj for each of the fiscal years #bjbj through #bjbd4