AAP on the Hill / Issues: Education & Literacy
September 15, 2003
Ensure Every Child in America has Access to Books
Support the Access to Books for Children “ABC” Act (H.R. 2795)The ABC Act: Ensures that infants and children in low-income families in America have access to books prior to entering school.
A child from a low-income family enters kindergarten with a listening vocabulary of 3,000 words, while a child of a middle-income family enters with a listening vocabulary of 20,000 words. 1
The ABC Act: Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to provide vouchers for the purchase of educational books for infants and children participating in the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children (WIC).
In 1999, only 53 percent of children aged 3 to 5 were read to daily by a family member. Children in families with incomes below the poverty line are less likely to be read aloud to everyday than are children in families with incomes at or above the poverty line. 2
The ABC Act: Authorizes the expenditure of $10 million over three fiscal years to enable participating local agencies to distribute book vouchers worth up to $5 to women participating in the program.
Children who score at the 90th percentile on a reading test spent five times as many minutes per day reading books as children at the 50th percentile. 3
The ABC Act: Allows women participating in WIC the opportunity to pick out a book and read with their child.
Studies of individual families show that what they do to support literacy in the home is more important to student success than family income or education. 4
For more information on H.R. 2795 contact Angela Murphy at the Association of American Publishers at amurphy@publishers.org. To cosponsor this legislation, contact Jennifer Keaton (x7944) in the office of Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney.
1 Hart, B., & Risley, T. R. (1995). Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children. Baltimore, MD: Paul H Brookes
2 National Center for Education Statistics (2001a). NCES Fast Facts, Family Reading. Office of Educational Research and Improvement. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.
3 Anderson, R., Wilson, P., and Fielding, L. (1983). "Growth in Reading and How Children Spend Their Time Outside School." Reading Research Quarterly, 23, pp. 285-303.
4 Ballen, J., & Moles, O. (1994). Strong Families, Strong Schools: Building Community Partnerships for Learning. National Family Initiative. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.
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To view the full text of the bill, please click on the above link for more information.For more information contact:
Gloria Romanelli
Ph: 202-220-4542
Email: gromanelli@publishers.org