World Language Advancement and Readiness Act of 2017

Summary: World Language Advancement and Readiness Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Defense to award three-year competitive grants to state and local educational agencies for the establishment, improvement, or expansion of world language (e.g., foreign language or American Sign Language) programs in elementary and secondary schools.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``World Language Advancement and 
Readiness Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The national security of the United States continues to 
        depend on language readiness, in particular among the seventeen 
        agencies of the Intelligence Community.
            (2) The levels of language proficiency required for 
        national security necessitate long sequences of language 
        training for personnel in the Intelligence Community and the 
        Department of Defense.
            (3) The future national security and economic well-being of 
        the United States will depend substantially on the ability of 
        its citizens to communicate and compete by knowing the 
        languages and cultures of other countries.
            (4) The Federal Government has an interest in ensuring that 
        the employees of its departments and agencies with national 
        security responsibilities are prepared to meet the challenges 
        of this changing international environment.
            (5) The Federal Government also has an interest in taking 
        actions to alleviate the problem of American students being 
        inadequately prepared to meet the challenges posed by 
        increasing global interaction among nations.
            (6) American elementary schools, secondary schools, 
        colleges, and universities must place a new emphasis on 
        improving the teaching of foreign languages, area studies, 
        counterproliferation studies, and other international fields to 
        help meet those challenges.

SEC. 3. WORLD LANGUAGE ADVANCEMENT AND READINESS GRANTS.

    (a) Program Authority.--The Secretary of Defense, in consultation 
with the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of 
Education, shall carry out a program under which the Secretary of 
Defense makes grants, on a competitive basis, to State educational 
agencies and local educational agencies to pay the Federal share of the 
cost of innovative model programs providing for the establishment, 
improvement, or expansion of world language study for elementary school 
and secondary school students.
    (b) Duration.--Each grant under this Act shall be awarded for a 
period of 3 years.
    (c) Requirements for State and Local Educational Agencies.--
            (1) Grants to state educational agencies.--In awarding a 
        grant under subsection (a) to a State educational agency, the 
        Secretary of Defense shall support programs that promote 
        systemic approaches to improving world language learning in the 
        State.
            (2) Grants to local educational agencies.--In awarding a 
        grant under subsection (a) to a local educational agency, the 
        Secretary of Defense shall support programs that--
                    (A) show the promise of being continued beyond the 
                grant period;
                    (B) demonstrate approaches that can be disseminated 
                to and duplicated in other local educational agencies; 
                and
                    (C) may include a professional development 
                component.
    (d) Federal Share.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
        Federal share for each fiscal year shall be 50 percent.
            (2) Exception.--The Secretary of Defense may determine the 
        Federal share for any local educational agency that the 
        Secretary determines does not have adequate resources to pay 
        the non-Federal share.
    (e) Allocation of Funds.--
            (1) Not less than 75 percent of the funds made available to 
        carry out this Act for a fiscal year shall be used for the 
        expansion of world language learning in elementary schools.
            (2) Not less than 75 percent of the funds made available to 
        carry out this Act for a fiscal year shall be used to support 
        instruction in world languages determined by the Secretary of 
        Defense to be critical to the national security interests of 
        the United States.
            (3) The Secretary of Defense may reserve not more than 5 
        percent of funds made available to carry out this Act for a 
        fiscal year to evaluate the efficacy of programs that receive 
        grants under subsection (a)
    (f) Applications.--
            (1) In general.--To be considered for a grant under 
        subsection (a), a State educational agency or local educational 
        agency shall submit an application to the Secretary of Defense 
        at such time, in such manner, and containing such information 
        and assurances as the Secretary may require.
            (2) Special consideration.--The Secretary of Defense shall 
        give special consideration to applications describing programs 
        that--
                    (A) include intensive summer world language 
                programs for professional development of world language 
                teachers;
                    (B) link nonnative English speakers in the 
                community with the schools in order to promote two-way 
                language learning;
                    (C) promote the sequential study of a world 
                language for students, beginning in elementary schools;
                    (D) make effective use of technology, such as 
                computer-assisted instruction, language laboratories, 
                or distance learning, to promote world language study;
                    (E) promote innovative activities, such as dual 
                language immersion, partial world language immersion, 
                or content-based instruction; and
                    (F) are carried out through a consortium comprised 
                of the agency receiving the grant, an elementary school 
                or secondary school, and an institution of higher 
                education (as that term is defined in section 102 of 
                the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002)).

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) ESEA terms.--The terms ``elementary school'', ``local 
        educational agency'', ``secondary school'', and ``State 
        educational agency'' have the meanings given the terms in 
        section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
        1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
            (2) World language.--The term ``world language'' means--
                    (A) any natural language other than English, 
                including--
                            (i) languages determined by the Secretary 
                        of Defense to be critical to the national 
                        security interests of the United States;
                            (ii) classical languages;
                            (iii) American sign language; and
                            (iv) Native American languages; and
                    (B) any language described in subparagraph (A) that 
                is taught in combination with English as part of a dual 
                language or immersion learning program.