Right to Read Act 2025

Summary#

This bill, the Right to Read Act of 2025, adds rules to federal K–12 law to promote school libraries, librarians, and reading instruction. Its main changes are new definitions (for example, “effective school library” and “right to read”), new planning and reporting duties for states and local school districts, funding authorizations for literacy grants, required federal data collection on school libraries, and a limited liability protection for staff who follow local or state "right to read" policies. The bill also requires states and districts that get federal funds to promise they will protect students’ First Amendment rights in school libraries.

Key changes:

• Defines “effective school library,” “information literacy,” and “right to read,” and counts school librarians as teachers.
• Adds requirements to state and local education plans to support effective school libraries and to notify stakeholders about a “right to read” policy.
• Authorizes federal grant funding: $500 million per year for certain literacy grants and $100 million per year for specified innovative literacy grants for FY2026 and the next four years.
• Directs the National Center for Education Statistics to collect biennial data on school libraries and report to Congress.
• Adds a liability protection saying staff are not liable for harm if they acted in line with state or local “right to read” policies.
• Requires assurance from grantees that they will protect First Amendment and equal-protection rights in school libraries.

What it means for you#

• Students

  • Could get greater access to staffed school libraries, more reading materials, and more training in digital and information literacy.
  • The bill emphasizes access to culturally diverse materials and the “freedom to choose reading materials.”

• School librarians and library staff

  • Are formally counted as teachers under federal K–12 law.
  • May benefit from new federal and state efforts to recruit, train, and retain State-certified school librarians.
  • The bill tracks time librarians spend on instruction and planning as part of federal data collection.

• Teachers and school leaders

  • May get more training and opportunities to collaborate with school librarians on digital literacy, information literacy, and reading instruction.
  • Local policies on the “right to read” must be developed and communicated.

• Parents and families

  • The bill includes family literacy support as part of the “right to read” and asks states and districts to notify the public about right-to-read policies.

• Local educational agencies (school districts) and states

  • Must include how they will support effective school libraries in their federal plans and may need to create or update policies protecting the right to read.
  • Will need to supply data to NCES about library facilities, staffing, collections, and librarian activities.
  • Could receive new federal grant money aimed at literacy and libraries, if Congress appropriates funds.

• School boards

  • Must reconcile their traditional role in setting library holdings with the bill’s federal assurance requirements about protecting free expression and avoiding partisan or political targeting of materials.

• Federal agencies

  • The Department of Education must collect and report library data and verify assurances from grantees about First and Fourteenth Amendment protections.

Expenses#

Estimated public cost: The bill authorizes $500 million per year for grants under one literacy program and $100 million per year for grants under another program for fiscal year 2026 and each of the next four years; additional costs are authorized but not specified.

Details:

• Direct authorizations: $500,000,000 per year for grants authorized under section 2222 and $100,000,000 per year for grants authorized under section 2226 for FY2026 and each of the succeeding four fiscal years.
• Data collection: The bill authorizes “such sums as may be necessary” for the National Center for Education Statistics to collect biennial school library data.
• Other likely costs: State and local agencies may face administrative, reporting, staffing, training, and library-material costs to meet the new plan, reporting, and staffing expectations. The bill does not provide a full fiscal estimate of those costs.
• Note: Authorization to appropriate money is not the same as actually funding it; Congress must appropriate the money for spending to occur.

Proponents' View#

• The bill appears intended to ensure that all students have access to evidence-based reading instruction and staffed, resourced school libraries.
• Supporters may argue it will improve literacy and digital/information skills by funding librarians, training, and library resources.
• The data collection requirement could be seen as improving oversight by measuring how many schools have librarians, library space, collections, and librarian instructional time.
• The requirement for grantees to affirm First Amendment protections aims to safeguard students’ access to a variety of viewpoints and materials in school libraries.

Opponents' View#

• One concern is that the bill does not clearly define some key terms used in practice, such as what qualifies as a “State-certified school librarian” or exactly what counts as an “effective school library.”
• The liability protection for staff acting in conformity with state or local “right to read” policies could raise questions about how broadly that shield applies and whether it might protect harmful actions if local policies are permissive. This could affect legal accountability.
• The federal assurance about protection of First Amendment rights is broad but could conflict with local school-board decisions about library collections; the bill does not fully explain how disputes would be resolved.
• The bill authorizes substantial grant spending but does not include a full cost estimate of implementation for states and local districts; the actual cost to states and districts for staffing, facilities, or compliance is not provided.
• Reporting and data collection will add administrative work for schools and states; the bill does not quantify that burden.