Concerned about the well-being of America’s teenagers, senators on Capitol Hill are gradually gathering support for the PASS Act—“Pathways for All Students to Succeed.” Introduced in August 2003 by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), the measure would raise substantial monies to tackle the high school drop-out problem and provide extended support for teens seeking employment after graduation.

Murray cites statistics indicating that every school day 3,000 secondary students drop out of school. She says that in 2003, nearly 540,000 young people left school without attaining a high school diploma.

On average, then, high school students are performing poorly in reading, supporters of the legislation reason. PASS Act advocates assert that 29 percent of boys and 20 percent of girls in eighth grade are reading at “below basic” levels. Worse, the reading achievement of twelfth graders has declined at all performance levels since 1998; 33 percent of twelfth grade boys and 20 percent of girls in the same grade read below the basic level, according to Senate champions of the legislation.

If approved, the PASS Act would provide “the best possible support for students and teachers, and provide direct, targeted assistance to the students most in need of help,” backers state.

High school reading programs, in particular, would be upgraded through the initiative. Literacy coaching (one coach per 20 students, ideally) is a key feature of the PASS Act. These coaches “will help teachers incorporate research-based literacy instruction into their mathematics, science, history, civics, geography, literature, language arts, and other core courses…” As envisioned, literacy coaches would give additional reading instruction, assess students to determine their needs and coordinate services to ensure the young people receive the appropriate supports.

In addition to Murray, co-sponsors of the PASS Act include Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Thomas Daschle (D-SD), Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Richard Durbin (D-IL).