Open Books, Open Doors Grant Program

(a) Establishment (1) In general The Secretary shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to qualified applicants to help promote child literacy. (2) Funding allocations The Secretary shall allocate funds appropriated to carry out this Act for a fiscal year as follows: (A) Not less than 70 percent of the funds shall be awarded as grants to qualified applicants located within, or that coordinate or provide services to, communities within book deserts and that collaborate with— (i) barbershops or salons; (ii) houses of worship; (iii) community centers; (iv) childcare centers; (v) Head Start or Early Head Start centers; (vi) laundromats; (vii) primary care providers, community health centers, health clinics, and urgent care centers; (viii) a local entity providing services under the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children established under section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786); (ix) independent bookstores; (x) youth-serving organizations; (xi) direct mail programs; (xii) family literacy programs; or (xiii) other highly trafficked places, as designated by the Secretary. (B) 15 percent of the funds shall be awarded as grants to qualified applicants for early screening, early intervention, and educator training related to children with learning disabilities— (i) which shall— (I) complement funding awarded under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.); (II) support programs that are developmentally-appropriate, non-punitive, and followed by family communication and support, not identification alone; and (III) support programs that do not stigmatize or over-pathologize early readers; and (ii) priority for which shall be to qualified applicants serving areas where the rate of reading disabilities or the rate of dyslexia screening or identification, is higher than the national average. (C) (i) Not less than 8 percent of the funds shall be awarded as grants to qualified applicants proposing to develop, pilot, or scale promising strategies that expand access to books, promote reading engagement, or enhance literacy instruction and family literacy, of which— (I) not less than 25 percent shall be awarded to qualified applicants that are small entities or community-based organizations or pilot programs serving not more than 5,000 children; and (II) not less than 25 percent shall be awarded to qualified applicants that conduct family literacy programs; (ii) Recipients of grants under clause (i) shall participate in an evaluation process as determined by the Secretary to assess effectiveness, scalability, and alignment with the purpose of this Act. (iii) The Secretary shall publish and disseminate findings, toolkits, or case studies from strategies developed, piloted, or scaled under this paragraph to qualified applicants, State agencies, educators, and the general public to encourage replication or continuous improvement. (D) Not more than 5 percent of the funds may be used for technical assistance and capacity building, including for regional hubs or intermediary nonprofit organizations to provide coaching, help convene grantees, or share best practices. (E) Not more than 3 percent of the funds may be used to support public engagement or awareness campaigns, including supporting national or regional campaigns to promote reading habits, funding public service announcements, digital ads, or toolkits for local partners, and conducting special campaigns for reading in non-English languages or within immigrant or refugee communities. (F) Not more than 3 percent of the funds may be used to support disaster-impacted areas, as defined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. (b) Applications A qualified applicant that desires to receive a grant under this Act shall submit an application to the Secretary at such a time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require, including the following: (1) A description of the educational and financial need of the community to be served by the qualified applicant. (2) A description of how the qualified applicant would partner with local publishers, businesses, libraries, or other stakeholders to raise additional funds to carry out grant activities and increase book donations. (3) A description of how the qualified applicant would conduct outreach to marginalized and underserved communities to understand their literacy needs. (4) A sustainability plan for how the qualified applicant will continue to promote child literacy after the grant period ends. (5) A description on how the qualified applicant will, where appropriate, partner with or procure qualified literacy materials through local businesses as a way to support local economies. (6) A description of how the qualified applicant will deliver, or collaborate with partners already engaged in, evidence-based literacy programs. (c) Grant activities (1) In general A qualified applicant that receives a grant under this Act shall use the grant funds for at least one of the following: (A) Purchasing or renting property to construct and maintain distribution facilities for qualified literacy materials. (B) Establishing new literacy centers, book-exchange boxes, neighborhood libraries, mobile libraries, and book banks. (C) Purchasing and transporting qualified literacy materials or hosting book drives. (D) Conducting in person programs and utilizing digital and online tools that promote literacy, adult engagement, and reading comprehension. (E) Eliminating or waiving late fees at public and school-based libraries. (F) Facilitating community or cultural events that promote literacy and family literacy. (G) Implementing universal early screening and diagnostic or identification tools for learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, including training for staff on identifying and supporting students with reading disabilities. (H) Purchasing screening tools and providing follow-up assessments and referrals in collaboration with local educational agencies or community health providers. (I) Hiring, paying, and training (including coaching) educators, volunteers, health care professionals, caretakers, and parents in evidence-based literacy programs. (J) Providing meals or transportation services for individuals receiving services in any of the activities described in this subsection. (2) Administrative cap (A) Nonpublic entity A qualified applicant that is a non public entity and receives a grant under this Act may use not more than 25 percent of the grant funds on operating expenses, including salaries, utilities, equipment, and supplies, unless the Secretary approves a waiver of such cap. (B) Public entity A qualified applicant that is a public entity and receives a grant under this Act may use not more than 25 percent of the grant funds on operating expenses, including salaries, utilities, equipment, and supplies, unless the Secretary approves a waiver of such cap. (d) Maintenance of effort A qualified applicant may receive grant funds for a fiscal year only if the Secretary finds that the expenditures of the qualified applicant on literacy efforts for the preceding fiscal year were not less than the expenditures of the qualified applicant on literacy efforts for the second preceding fiscal year. (e) Matching requirements (1) In general Each qualified applicant that receives a grant under this Act shall provide, from non-Federal sources, an amount equal to 25 percent of the amount of the grant to carry out activities supported by the grant. (2) Waiver The Secretary may waive the requirement under paragraph (1) when determined appropriate by the Secretary.