In an effort to reduce summer learning loss among the nation's most vulnerable students, two Oregon U.S. Senators have proposed a bill that would keep open libraries in schools that serve free summer meals.
The legislation is based on a successful state-based pilot program, Oregon's Summer Learning Partnership, that launched in 2012.
While more affluent children are able to access extracurricular activities over the summer, too many children from low-income families are not able access summer learning when school is closed.
Bill co-sponsor Sen. Jeff Merkley, the son of a librarian, cited research that shows high-quality summer learning can help students maintain or increase academic skills over the summer, especially in reading. However, the majority of school libraries are closed during summer months, and there is no dedicated source of funding for summer learning.
If adopted, the Summer Learning and Meals Act would be run by the Department of Education and provide grants to state libraries to fund summer reading programs at schools that have a summer lunch program, and where at least 50 percent of students read below grade level or are at risk of reading below grade level.
The bill requests $5 million in funding for each fiscal year from 2019 through 2023.
