119-hr1572

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1572 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 1572

 To direct the Secretary of Education to award grants to local 
 educational agencies to establish or improve world language or dual 
 language programs, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 February 25, 2025

 Mrs. Kiggans of Virginia (for herself and Mr. Panetta) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
 Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To direct the Secretary of Education to award grants to local 
 educational agencies to establish or improve world language or dual 
 language programs, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``World Language Education Assistance 
Program Act'' or the ``World LEAP Act''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

 The purpose of this Act is to establish and make assistance 
available to the World Language Education Assistance Program in order 
to--

    (1) establish or improve and carry out World Language 
 Education Assistance Program grant programs;

    (2) support and uplift dual language and world language 
 programs; and

    (3) provide students with the language skills necessary for 
 an interconnected and global world.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

 Congress finds the following:

    (1) Recent academic studies demonstrate that America's 
 language capacity has reached a crisis point, with only one 
 fifth of United States residents speaking a language other than 
 English at home, 90 percent of United States-based employers 
 reporting a reliance on employees with language skills other 
 than English, and one third of foreign language-dependent 
 employers reporting a language skills gap. This language crisis 
 has real world implications for business, government, the 
 military, and diplomatic and intelligence services.

    (2) The Department of Education does not have an innovative 
 world languages program for elementary and secondary students.

    (3) The Nation's education system is suffering from severe 
 shortages of world language, English learner, and bilingual and 
 dual language immersion educators.

    (4) The lack of a Federal elementary and secondary school 
 world language and dual language program, coupled with the 
 continuing shortage of world language and bilingual teachers, 
 creates significant obstacles to providing equitable 
 opportunities for all students to develop multilingualism. 
 English learners, a population which has grown by 2,100,000 
 between 2000 and 2019, have been disproportionately impacted.

    (5) The Federal Government has a strong interest in better 
 preparing American students to compete in the global economy.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) Community-based heritage language school.--The term 
 ``community-based heritage language school'' means a nonprofit, 
 community-based school that offers classes for students in pre-
 kindergarten through grade 12, for the purpose of maintaining 
 and teaching the language and culture of non-English speaking 
 communities.

    (2) Dual language program.--The term ``dual language 
 program'' means--
        (A) with respect to pre-kindergarten and elementary 
 school, a bilingual education program in which students 
 receive instruction in English and a language other 
 than English for at least half of the instructional 
 school day for each year of pre-kindergarten and 
 elementary school, with the goal of achieving 
 proficiency in both languages; and
        (B) with respect to grades 6 through 8, a bilingual 
 education program in which students who participated in 
 a program described in subparagraph
        (A) continue to 
 receive instruction in English and a language other 
 than English for at least half of the instructional 
 school day for each year of such grades 6 through 8.

    (3) ESEA 

=== definitions. ===
-The terms ``English learner'', 
 ``secondary school'', ``local educational agency'', 
 ``professional development'', ``Secretary'', and ``State'' have 
 the meanings given those terms in 

section 8101 of the 
 Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).

    (4) Heritage learner.--The term ``heritage learner'' means 
 an individual--
        (A) with proficiency in, or a cultural connection 
 to (through family, community, or country of origin), a 
 language other than English; and
        (B) who is studying such language in pre-
 kindergarten, elementary school, or secondary school.

    (5) World language program.--The term ``world language 
 program'' means a program that educates and prepares pre-
 kindergarten, elementary, or secondary school students to 
 communicate, in a proficient and culturally competent manner, 
 with individuals who speak a language other than English.

SEC. 5. WORLD LANGUAGE EDUCATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--

    (1) In general.--The Secretary shall award, on a 
 competitive basis, grants to local educational agencies to 
 establish and carry out new, or improve existing world language 
 or dual language programs.

    (2) Duration.--A grant awarded under this section shall be 
 for a period of 3 years and may be renewed at the discretion of 
 the Secretary.

    (b) Application.--A local educational agency desiring a grant under 
this section shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 
in such manner, and containing such information and assurances as the 
Secretary may require.
            (c) Criteria for Selection.--

    (1) In general.--In awarding a grant to a local educational 
 agency under this section, the Secretary shall select 
 applications describing programs that--
        (A) provide approaches to instruction that lead to 
 demonstrated growth in language proficiency from 
 kindergarten through grade 12;
        (B) can be disseminated and duplicated in other 
 local educational agencies;
            (C) have a plan for how the program will continue 
 after the conclusion of the grant period; and
            (D) include a professional development component.

    (2) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the 
 Secretary shall give priority to applications describing 
 programs that--
        (A) include intensive summer professional 
 development for world language program and dual 
 language program teachers;
        (B) enter into partnerships with community-based 
 heritage language schools and communities;
            (C) provide world language and dual language 
 immersion programs, including with respect to English 
 learners and heritage learners;
            (D) are carried out through a consortium that shall 
 include the agency receiving the grant and an 
 elementary school or secondary school served by such 
 agency, with a preference for consortia that include an 
 institution of higher education;
        (E) collaborate with the appropriate State 
 licensure office to broaden pathways for language or 
 dual language teacher certification; or
        (F) conduct outreach and recruit secondary and 
 post-secondary students, including former English 
 learners and heritage learners, into programs that 
 prepare such students to become dual language or world 
 language program teachers.
            (d) Use of Funds.--A local educational agency that receives a grant 
under this section shall--

    (1) reserve not less than 20 percent of such grant funds to 
 provide--
        (A) accessible pathways for paraprofessionals to 
 gain certification and licensure as world language or 
 dual language teachers; and
        (B) professional development for certified and 
 licensed world language or dual language teachers;

    (2) reserve not more than 5 percent of such grant funds to 
 evaluate the efficacy of programs carried out with funds 
 awarded under this section; and

    (3) after making the reservations required under paragraphs

    (1) and

    (2) , use the remainder of such grant funds to establish 
 and carry out new, and improve existing, world language or dual 
 language programs (including any associated administrative 
 expenses).

    (e) Reporting Requirements.--

    (1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after receiving a 
 grant under this section, each local educational agency shall 
 submit to the Secretary a report that--
        (A) describes the implementation of the program for 
 which the local educational agency received the grant; 
 and
        (B) includes data that identifies--
            (i) the number of students enrolled in 
 language education at the elementary and 
 secondary schools served by the local 
 educational agency prior to receiving a grant 
 under this section;
            (ii) the number of students enrolled in 
 such language instruction as of the date of 
 submission of the report;
            (iii) the number of certified bilingual 
 educators working for the local educational 
 agency prior to receiving a grant under this 
 section;
            (iv) the number of certified bilingual 
 educators working for the local educational 
 agency as of the date of submission of the 
 report; and
            (v) levels of community support for 
 language education--
            (I) prior to receiving a grant 
 under this section; and
            (II) as of the date of submission 
 of the report.

    (2) Student privacy.--A local educational agency shall 
 prepare the report required under paragraph

    (1) in a manner 
 that protects the privacy rights of each student in accordance 
 with 

section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 
 U.S.C. 1232g; commonly known as the ``Family Educational Rights 
 and Privacy Act of 1974'').

    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2026 
and for each subsequent fiscal year.
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