I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2516 

To establish dual language education programs in low-income communities. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 26, 2013 

Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself, Ms. CHU, and Mr. PIERLUISI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 

Workforce 

A BILL 

To establish dual language education programs in low-income 

communities. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Providing Resources 

5 to Improve Dual Language Education Act of 2013’’ or 

6 the ‘‘PRIDE Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 The Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Dual language programs have been found to 

2 provide the greatest academic gains for limited 

3 English proficient children. 

4 (2) Few children from low-income communities, 

5 particularly African-American children, have had ac6 cess to a well-developed and well-implemented dual 

7 language program. 

8 (3) Children in dual language programs experi9 ence substantial gains in language, literacy, and 

10 mathematics. 

11 SEC. 3. DUAL LANGUAGE FLAGSHIP GRANTS. 

12 (a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are as 

13 follows: 

14 (1) To provide incentives for local educational 

15 agencies to develop innovative strategies for working 

16 with low-income and limited English proficient chil17 dren. 

18 (2) To improve the school readiness of low-in19 come and limited English proficient children and to 

20 ensure they enter school ready to succeed. 

21 (3) To provide consistent support for learning 

22 through high-quality dual language programs from 

23 preschool through the fifth grade. 

24 (4) To authorize the Secretary to carry out a 

25 demonstration project to enhance the biliteracy and 


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1 bilingualism skills for children in impoverished com2 munities, including limited English proficient and 

3 minority children, through the use and longitudinal 

4 evaluation of dual language programs beginning in 

5 preschool through the fifth grade. 

6 (b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—From funds made available 

8 under subsection (i), and after reserving funds under 

9 subsection (c), the Secretary is authorized to award 

10 not more than five grants to fund partnerships of 

11 local educational agencies, early childhood education 

12 programs including State-funded preschool programs 

13 and Head Start programs, and technical assistance 

14 providers to demonstrate effective strategies in en15 suring the academic success of low-income minority 

16 students through the implementation and evaluation 

17 of a high-quality dual language program that— 

18 (A) serves cohorts of economically dis19 advantaged minority and limited English pro20 ficient children from preschool through fifth 

21 grade; 

22 (B) establishes an infrastructure that sup23 ports a rigorous assessment system, including 

24 dedicated staff time and professional develop25 ment in assessment, a data collection plan, and 


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1 the collection of multiple measures of academic 

2 progress, bilingualism, and biliteracy; 

3 (C) implements and aligns a curriculum 

4 that promotes the development of bilingual and 

5 biliterate competencies for all students through 

6 at least grade five; 

7 (D) utilizes and aligns student-centered in8 structional methods that enhance the develop9 ment of bilingualism, biliteracy, and academic 

10 achievement; 

11 (E) aligns professional development and 

12 training for early childhood education instruc13 tors and elementary school teachers and staff, 

14 with an emphasis on dual language instruction, 

15 second language acquisition, and content knowl16 edge; 

17 (F) recruits, trains, and continuously de18 velops staff to implement high-quality, dual lan19 guage programs; and 

20 (G) establishes a responsive infrastructure 

21 for positive, active, and ongoing relationships 

22 with students’ families and the community that 

23 responds to and is reflective of the needs of the 

24 community and goals of the program. 


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1 (c) RESERVATION.—The Secretary shall reserve not 

2 more than 5 percent of the amount appropriated under 

3 subsection (i) to carry out this Act, including the technical 

4 assistance and evaluation described is subsection (g) and 

5 dissemination of best practices described in subsection (h). 

6 (d) DURATION.—Each grant under this section shall 

7 be awarded for a period of not more than five years. 

8 (e) APPLICATIONS FOR GRANTS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity desiring 

10 a grant under this section shall submit an applica11 tion to the Secretary at such time and in such man12 ner as the Secretary may require. 

13 (2) REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION.—Each appli14 cation submitted by a partnership under this section 

15 for a proposed program shall include documentation 

16 that— 

17 (A) the partnership has partnered with an 

18 entity that has proven expertise in the imple19 mentation of high-quality dual language pro20 grams to provide on-going technical assistance 

21 and assist with the evaluation of the program; 

22 (B) the partnership has the qualified per23 sonnel to develop, administer, evaluate, and im24 plement the program; and 


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1 (C) the partnership is serving economically 

2 disadvantaged minority and limited English 

3 proficient children. 

4 (3) OTHER APPLICATION CONTENTS.—Each ap5 plication submitted by an entity under this section 

6 for a proposed program shall include— 

7 (A) data showing that the program is serv8 ing economically disadvantaged and limited 

9 English proficient children; 

10 (B) a description of how the program will 

11 align the language of assessment with the lan12 guage of instruction; 

13 (C) a description of how the program will 

14 be evaluated to assess the goals of the program; 

15 (D) a description of how the evaluation will 

16 be used to inform broader efforts to improve in17 struction for limited English proficient children, 

18 including for preschool-aged children; 

19 (E) a description of activities that will be 

20 pursued by the program including a description 

21 of— 

22 (i) how the activities will further the 

23 school readiness and academic progress of 

24 children served by this program and supVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:14 Jul 01, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2516.IH H2516

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1 port dual language development through 

2 grade five; 

3 (ii) methods of designing culturally 

4 and linguistically appropriate dual lan5 guage curriculum; and 

6 (iii) methods of teacher training and 

7 parent outreach that will be used or devel8 oped through the programs; 

9 (F) an assurance that the program will an10 nually provide to the Secretary such informa11 tion as may be required by subsection (f); and 

12 (G) any other information that the sec13 retary may require. 

14 (f) SELECTION OF GRANTEES.— 

15 (1) CRITERIA.—The Secretary through a peer 

16 review process shall select partnerships to receive 

17 grants under this section based on— 

18 (A) the articulation of preschool through 

19 fifth-grade instructional practices, curriculum, 

20 and assessments strategies; 

21 (B) the extent to which school leadership 

22 has been involved and has demonstrated a com23 mitment to a high-quality dual language pro24 gram; and 


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1 (C) the quality of the programs proposed 

2 in the applications submitted under subsection 

3 (b). 

4 (g) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND EVALUATION.— 

5 From funds reserved under subsection (i) for a fiscal year, 

6 the Secretary shall reserve $250,000 to contract with an 

7 entity with a proven track record in dual language pro8 grams for the purpose of— 

9 (1) providing technical assistance to local edu10 cation agencies receiving grants under this Act in 

11 order to strengthen programs conducted by grantees 

12 pursuant to this Act; and 

13 (2) conducting an evaluation of programs fund14 ed under this act, which shall— 

15 (A) be used by the Secretary to determine 

16 effectiveness of programs funded through this 

17 Act and improve services to participating chil18 dren; and 

19 (B) include— 

20 (i) a comprehensive evaluation of the 

21 impact of the programs on students, in22 cluding an assessment of literacy skills and 

23 language development in both English and 

24 the minority language; 


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1 (ii) a comprehensive evaluation of the 

2 effectiveness of instructional practices used 

3 in the programs; and 

4 (iii) a comprehensive evaluation of 

5 professional development strategies. 

6 (h) DISSEMINATION OF BEST PRACTICES.—The Sec7 retary shall disseminate information on model programs, 

8 materials, and other information developed under this sec9 tion that the Secretary determines to be appropriate for 

10 use by early childhood education providers to improve the 

11 school readiness of limited English proficient children. 

12 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the 

13 purposes of carrying out this section, there are authorized 

14 to be appropriated $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2014 and 

15 such sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 suc16 ceeding fiscal years. 

17 (j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 (1) DUAL LANGUAGE PROGRAM.—The term 

19 ‘‘dual language program’’ means an instructional 

20 strategy in which students are taught literacy and 

21 content in two languages and use the partner lan22 guage for at least half of the instructional day and 

23 foster bilingualism, biliteracy, enhanced awareness of 

24 linguistic and cultural diversity, and high levels of 


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1 academic achievement through instruction in two 

2 languages. 

3 (2) STATE-FUNDED PRESCHOOL PROGRAM.— 

4 The term ‘‘State-funded preschool program’’ means 

5 a program that— 

6 (A) serves children who are ages 3 through 

7 5; 

8 (B) has a primary focus of supporting 

9 early childhood education, including supporting 

10 children’s cognitive, social, emotional, and phys11 ical development and approaches to learning; 

12 (C) helps prepare children for a successful 

13 transition to kindergarten; 

14 (D) is either a school- or community-based 

15 program; and 

16 (E) is funded either in whole or in part by 

17 a State through a State agency with authority 

18 to promulgate regulations and monitor partici19 pating programs. 

20 (3) LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT.—The term 

21 ‘‘limited English proficient’’, when used with respect 

22 to a child, means a child— 

23 (A)(i) who was not born in the United 

24 States or whose native language is a language 

25 other than English; 


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1 (ii)(I) who is a Native American (as de2 fined in section 9101 of the Elementary and 

3 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

4 7801)), an Alaska Native, or a native resident 

5 of an outlying area (as defined in such section 

6 9101); and 

7 (II) who comes from an environment where 

8 a language other than English has had a sig9 nificant impact on the child’s level of English 

10 language proficiency; or 

11 (iii) who is migratory, whose native lan12 guage is a language other than English, and 

13 who comes from an environment where a lan14 guage other than English is dominant; and 

15 (B) whose difficulties in speaking or un16 derstanding the English language may be suffi17 cient to deny the child— 

18 (i) the ability to successfully achieve 

19 in a classroom in which the language of in20 struction is English; or 

21 (ii) the opportunity to participate fully 

22 in society. 

Æ 


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