I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2690

To amend the Native American Languages Act to provide for the support 

of Native American language survival schools, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 9, 2003

Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico (for herself, Mr. PEARCE, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, 

Mr. CASE, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, and Mr. 

REHBERG) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL

To amend the Native American Languages Act to provide 

for the support of Native American language survival 

schools, and for other purposes.

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; PURPOSES. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Native American Languages Act Amendments Act of 

6 2003’’. 

7 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol8 lows: 
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1 (1) To encourage and support, consistent with 

2 the policy of the United States as expressed in the 

3 Native American Languages Act (25 U.S.C. 2901 et 

4 seq.)—

5 (A) the development of Native American 

6 language survival schools as innovative means 

7 of addressing the effects of past discrimination 

8 against Native American language speakers; 

9 and 

10 (B) the revitalization of Native American 

11 languages through—

12 (i) education in Native American lan13 guages; and 

14 (ii) instruction in other academic sub15 jects using Native American languages as 

16 an instructional medium. 

17 (2) To demonstrate the positive effects of Na18 tive American language survival schools on the aca19 demic success of Native American students and the 

20 students’ mastery of standard English. 

21 (3) To encourage and support the involvement 

22 of families in the educational and cultural survival 

23 efforts of Native American language survival schools. 

24 (4) To encourage communication, cooperation, 

25 and educational exchange among Native American 
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1 language survival schools and the administrators of 

2 Native American language survival schools. 

3 (5) To provide support for Native American 

4 language survival school facilities and endowments. 

5 (6) To provide support for Native American 

6 language nests—

7 (A) as part of Native American language 

8 survival schools; or 

9 (B) as separate programs that will be de10 veloped into more comprehensive Native Amer11 ican language survival schools. 

12 (7) To support the development of local and na13 tional models that can be disseminated to the public 

14 and made available to other schools as exemplary 

15 methods of teaching Native American students. 

16 (8) To develop a support center system for Na17 tive American language survival schools at the uni18 versity level. 

19 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

20 Section 103 of the Native American Languages Act 

21 (25 U.S.C. 2902) is amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS. 

23 ‘‘In this title: 

24 ‘‘(1) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘ele25 mentary school’ has the meaning given the term in 
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1 section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu2 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

3 ‘‘(2) INDIAN.—The term ‘Indian’ has the mean4 ing given the term in section 7151 of the Elemen5 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

6 U.S.C. 7491). 

7 ‘‘(3) INDIAN RESERVATION.—The term ‘Indian 

8 reservation’ has the meaning given the term ‘res9 ervation’ in section 3 of the Indian Financing Act of 

10 1974 (25 U.S.C. 1452). 

11 ‘‘(4) INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 

12 ‘Indian tribal government’ has the meaning given 

13 the term in section 502 of the Indian Environmental 

14 General Assistance Program Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 

15 4368b). 

16 ‘‘(5) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ 

17 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

18 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

19 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

20 ‘‘(6) NATIVE AMERICAN.—The term ‘Native 

21 American’ means—

22 ‘‘(A) an Indian; 

23 ‘‘(B) a Native American Pacific Islander; 

24 and 

25 ‘‘(C) a Native Hawaiian. 
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1 ‘‘(7) NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE.—The term 

2 ‘Native American language’ means a historical, tra3 ditional language spoken by Native Americans. 

4 ‘‘(8) NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE COLLEGE.—

5 The term ‘Native American language college’ 

6 means—

7 ‘‘(A) a tribally controlled college or univer8 sity (as defined in section 2 of the Tribally Con9 trolled College or University Assistance Act of 

10 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1801)); 

11 ‘‘(B) a college that is applying for, or has 

12 obtained, funds under section 109 for a Native 

13 American language survival school in a Native 

14 American language that—

15 ‘‘(i) the college regularly offers as 

16 part of the curriculum of the college; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) has the support of an Indian 

18 tribal government traditionally affiliated 

19 with the Native American language; and 

20 ‘‘(C) Ka Haka ‘Ula O Ke’elikolani College. 

21 ‘‘(9) NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE EDU22 CATIONAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘Native Amer23 ican language educational organization’ means an 

24 organization that—

25 ‘‘(A) is governed by a board consisting—
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1 ‘‘(i) primarily of Native Americans; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(ii) as many speakers of 1 or more 

4 Native American languages as practicable; 

5 ‘‘(B) is currently providing instruction 

6 through the use of a Native American language 

7 to at least 10 preschool, elementary school, or 

8 secondary school students for at least 700 

9 hours per year per student; 

10 ‘‘(C) has provided instruction through the 

11 use of a Native American language to at least 

12 10 preschool, elementary school, or secondary 

13 school students for at least 700 hours per year 

14 per student for a period of not less than 3 years 

15 before the date of application for a grant or 

16 contract under this title; and 

17 ‘‘(D) may be a public school that meets the 

18 requirements of subparagraphs (A), (B), and 

19 (C). 

20 ‘‘(10) NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE NEST.—

21 The term ‘Native American language nest’ means a 

22 site-based educational program that—

23 ‘‘(A) enrolls families with children under 

24 the age of 7; 
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1 ‘‘(B) is conducted through a Native Amer2 ican language for at least 700 hours per year 

3 per student; and 

4 ‘‘(C) has the specific goal of strengthening, 

5 revitalizing, or reestablishing a Native Amer6 ican language and culture as a living language 

7 and culture of daily life. 

8 ‘‘(11) NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE SURVIVAL

9 SCHOOL.—The term ‘Native American language sur10 vival school’ means a site-based educational pro11 gram—

12 ‘‘(A) in which a Native American language 

13 is dominant; 

14 ‘‘(B) that expands from a Native American 

15 language nest, as a separate entity or inclusive 

16 of a Native American language nest, to enroll 

17 families with children eligible for elementary 

18 school or secondary school; and 

19 ‘‘(C) that provides a complete education 

20 through a Native American language with the 

21 specific goal of strengthening, revitalizing, or 

22 reestablishing a Native American language and 

23 culture as a living language and culture of daily 

24 life. 
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1 ‘‘(12) NATIVE AMERICAN PACIFIC ISLANDER.—

2 The term ‘Native American Pacific Islander’ means 

3 any descendant of the aboriginal people of any is4 land in the Pacific Ocean that is a territory or pos5 session of the United States. 

6 ‘‘(13) NATIVE HAWAIIAN.—The term ‘Native 

7 Hawaiian’ has the meaning given the term in section 

8 7207 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

9 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7517). 

10 ‘‘(14) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘sec11 ondary school’ has the meaning given the term in 

12 section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu13 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

14 ‘‘(15) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

15 means the Secretary of Education. 

16 ‘‘(16) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘trib17 al organization’ has the meaning given the term in 

18 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu19 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).’’. 

20 SEC. 3. NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE NESTS AND SUR21 VIVAL SCHOOLS. 

22 The Native American Languages Act (25 U.S.C. 

23 2901 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 108. NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE NESTS. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make grants 

3 to, or enter into contracts with, Native American language 

4 educational organizations, Native American language col5 leges, Indian tribal governments, organizations that dem6 onstrate the potential to become Native American lan7 guage educational organizations, or consortia of such enti8 ties for the purpose of establishing Native American lan9 guage nests for—

10 ‘‘(1) students under the age of 7; and 

11 ‘‘(2) families of the students. 

12 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—A Native American language 

13 nest receiving funds under this section shall—

14 ‘‘(1) provide instruction and child care through 

15 the use of a Native American language for at least 

16 10 children under the age of 7 for at least 700 

17 hours per year per student; 

18 ‘‘(2) provide compulsory classes in a Native 

19 American language for parents of students enrolled 

20 in a Native American language nest (including Na21 tive American language-speaking parents); 

22 ‘‘(3) provide compulsory monthly meetings for 

23 parents and other family members of students en24 rolled in a Native American language nest; 
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1 ‘‘(4) provide a preference in enrollment for stu2 dents and families who are fluent in a Native Amer3 ican language; 

4 ‘‘(5) receive at least 5 percent of the funding 

5 for the program from another source, which may in6 clude any federally funded program (such as a Head 

7 Start program funded under the Head Start Act (42 

8 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.)); and 

9 ‘‘(6) ensure that a Native American language 

10 becomes the dominant medium of instruction in the 

11 Native American language nest not later than 6 

12 years after the date on which the Native American 

13 language nest first receives funding under this title. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 109. NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE SURVIVAL 

15 SCHOOLS. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make grants 

17 to, or enter into contracts with, Native American language 

18 educational organizations, Native American language col19 leges or universities where such languages are taught, In20 dian tribal governments, or consortia of such entities, to 

21 operate, expand, and increase the number of Native Amer22 ican language survival schools throughout the United 

23 States and the territories of the United States for Native 

24 American children and Native American language-speak25 ing children. 
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1 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—As a condition of receiving funds 

2 under subsection (a), a Native American language edu3 cational organization, a Native American language college 

4 or universities where such languages are taught, an Indian 

5 tribal government, or a consortium of such entities—

6 ‘‘(1) shall have at least 3 years experience in 

7 operating and administering—

8 ‘‘(A) a Native American language survival 

9 school; 

10 ‘‘(B) a Native American language nest; or 

11 ‘‘(C) any other educational program in 

12 which instruction is conducted in a Native 

13 American language; 

14 ‘‘(2) shall include students who are subject to 

15 State compulsory education laws; and 

16 ‘‘(3) may include—

17 ‘‘(A) students from infancy through grade 

18 12; and 

19 ‘‘(B) the families of the students. 

20 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—In making grants or entering into 

21 contracts under this section, the Secretary shall give pri22 ority to—

23 ‘‘(1) the provision of direct educational services; 

24 ‘‘(2) applicants that have the support of each 

25 appropriate tribal government; 
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1 ‘‘(3) applicants that have researched language 

2 revitalization and the unique characteristics and cir3 cumstances of the languages of their schools; and 

4 ‘‘(4) applicants that are geographically placed 

5 amongst a high density of potential Native American 

6 and other students. 

7 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—

8 ‘‘(1) REQUIRED USES.—A Native American lan9 guage survival school receiving funds under this sec10 tion—

11 ‘‘(A) shall consist of not less than 700 

12 hours of instruction per student conducted an13 nually through 1 or more Native American lan14 guages for at least 15 students for whom a Na15 tive American language survival school is their 

16 principal place of instruction; 

17 ‘‘(B) shall provide direct educational serv18 ices and school support services to students, 

19 which may include—

20 ‘‘(i) support services for children with 

21 special needs; 

22 ‘‘(ii) transportation; 

23 ‘‘(iii) boarding; 

24 ‘‘(iv) food service; 

25 ‘‘(v) teacher and staff housing; 
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1 ‘‘(vi) purchase of basic materials; 

2 ‘‘(vii) adaptation of teaching mate3 rials; 

4 ‘‘(viii) translation and development; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(ix) other appropriate services; 

7 ‘‘(C)(i) shall provide direct or indirect edu8 cational and support services for the families of 

9 enrolled students on site, through colleges, or 

10 through other means to increase the families’ 

11 knowledge and use of the Native American lan12 guage and culture; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) may impose a requirement of family 

14 participation as a condition of student enroll15 ment; and 

16 ‘‘(D) shall ensure that within 3 years of 

17 enrollment, all students achieve functional flu18 ency in a Native American language that is ap19 propriate to the unique circumstances and 

20 endangerment status of the Native American 

21 language, with the ultimate goal of academic or 

22 cognitive fluency. 

23 ‘‘(2) PERMISSIBLE USES.—A Native American 

24 language survival school receiving funds under this 

25 section may—
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1 ‘‘(A) include Native American language 

2 nests and other educational programs for stu3 dents who—

4 ‘‘(i) are not Native American lan5 guage speakers; but 

6 ‘‘(ii) seek—

7 ‘‘(I) to establish fluency through 

8 instruction in a Native American lan9 guage; or 

10 ‘‘(II) to reestablish fluency as de11 scendants of Native American lan12 guage speakers; 

13 ‘‘(B) provide instruction through more 

14 than 1 language; 

15 ‘‘(C) provide instruction through a regional 

16 program (as opposed to 1 site) to better serve 

17 geographically dispersed students; 

18 ‘‘(D) include a program of concurrent and 

19 summer college or university education course 

20 enrollment for secondary school students en21 rolled in the Native American language survival 

22 school; 

23 ‘‘(E) provide special support for Native 

24 American languages for which there are very 
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1 few or no remaining Native American language 

2 speakers; 

3 ‘‘(F) develop comprehensive curricula in 

4 Native American language instruction and in5 struction through Native American languages, 

6 including—

7 ‘‘(i) curricula that can be used by 

8 public schools for—

9 ‘‘(I) instruction through a Native 

10 American language; or 

11 ‘‘(II) teaching Native American 

12 languages as subjects; 

13 ‘‘(ii) community Native American lan14 guage use in communities served by Native 

15 American language survival schools; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) knowledge of a specific Native 

17 American language gained through re18 search for the purpose of directly aiding 

19 the development of curriculum materials; 

20 ‘‘(G) provide programs in pre-service and 

21 in-service teacher training, staff training, per22 sonnel development, upgrading of teacher and 

23 staff skills, and community resource develop24 ment training, that shall include a program 

25 component that has as the objective of the pro-
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1 gram component increased speaking proficiency 

2 in Native American languages for teachers and 

3 staff employed in Native American language 

4 survival schools and Native American language 

5 nests, which may include—

6 ‘‘(i) visits or exchanges among Native 

7 American language survival schools and 

8 Native American language nests of teach9 ers, staff, students, or families of students; 

10 ‘‘(ii) participation in conferences or 

11 special nondegree programs focusing on 

12 the use of 1 or more Native American lan13 guages for the education of teachers, staff, 

14 students, or families of students; 

15 ‘‘(iii) subject to paragraph (3), full or 

16 partial scholarships and fellowships to col17 leges or universities—

18 ‘‘(I) to provide for the profes19 sional development of faculty and 

20 staff; 

21 ‘‘(II) to meet requirements for 

22 the involvement of the family or the 

23 community of Native American lan24 guage survival school students in Na-
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1 tive American language survival 

2 schools; and 

3 ‘‘(III) to develop resource per4 sonnel for Native American language 

5 programs in public schools; 

6 ‘‘(iv) training in the language and cul7 ture associated with a Native American 

8 language survival school that is provided 

9 by a community or academic expert, in10 cluding credit courses; 

11 ‘‘(v) structuring of personnel oper12 ations to support Native American lan13 guage and cultural fluency and program 

14 effectiveness; 

15 ‘‘(vi) Native American language plan16 ning, documentation, reference material, 

17 and archives development; and 

18 ‘‘(vii) recruitment for participation in 

19 teacher, staff, student, and community de20 velopment; or 

21 ‘‘(H) rent, lease, purchase, construct, 

22 maintain, or repair educational facilities to en23 sure the academic achievement of Native Amer24 ican language survival school students. 
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1 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS FOR RECIPIENTS OF FEL2 LOWSHIPS OR SCHOLARSHIPS.—A recipient of a fel3 lowship or scholarship under paragraph (2)(G)(iii) 

4 who is enrolled in a program leading to a degree or 

5 certificate shall—

6 ‘‘(A) be trained in the Native American 

7 language of the Native American language sur8 vival school, if such program is available 

9 through that Native American language; 

10 ‘‘(B) complete a minimum annual number 

11 of hours in Native American language study or 

12 training during the period of the fellowship or 

13 scholarship; and 

14 ‘‘(C) enter into a contract that obligates 

15 the recipient to provide the recipient’s profes16 sional services, during the period of the fellow17 ship or scholarship or on completion of a degree 

18 or certificate, in Native American language in19 struction in the Native American language as20 sociated with the Native American language 

21 survival school in which the service obligation is 

22 to be fulfilled. 

23 ‘‘SEC. 110. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS. 

24 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall make 

25 grants, or enter into contracts, to establish 4 demonstra-
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1 tion programs that will provide assistance to Native Amer2 ican language survival schools and Native American lan3 guage nests. 

4 ‘‘(b) LOCATIONS AND PURPOSES.—The demonstra5 tion programs shall be established at—

6 ‘‘(1) Ka Haka ‘Ula O Ke‘elikolani College of 

7 the University of Hawaii at Hilo, in consortium with 

8 the ‘Aha Punana Leo, Inc., and with other entities 

9 if determined to be appropriate by the College—

10 ‘‘(A) for the conduct of a demonstration 

11 program in the development and operation of 

12 the various components of a regional Native 

13 American language survival school program and 

14 college level Native American language teaching 

15 and use that is supportive of Native American 

16 language survival schools; and 

17 ‘‘(B) for the provision of assistance in the 

18 establishment, operation, and administration of 

19 Native American language nests and Native 

20 American language survival schools by such 

21 means as—

22 ‘‘(i) training; 

23 ‘‘(ii) hosting informational visits to 

24 demonstration sites; and 
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1 ‘‘(iii) providing a national clearing2 house for data and information relevant 

3 to—

4 ‘‘(I) teaching Native American 

5 languages; 

6 ‘‘(II) conducting outreach; 

7 ‘‘(III) offering courses; 

8 ‘‘(IV) providing conferences; and 

9 ‘‘(V) carrying out other activities; 

10 ‘‘(2) Piegan Institute of Browning, Montana, 

11 for demonstration of the operation of a Native 

12 American language nest and Native American lan13 guage survival school; and 

14 ‘‘(3) the Alaska Native Language Center of the 

15 University of Alaska at Fairbanks, in consortium 

16 with other entities as the Center determines to be 

17 appropriate, for the conduct of a demonstration pro18 gram, training, outreach, conferences, and visitation 

19 programs, and for provision of other assistance, in 

20 developing—

21 ‘‘(A) orthographies; 

22 ‘‘(B) resource materials; 

23 ‘‘(C) language documentation; 

24 ‘‘(D) language preservation; 

25 ‘‘(E) material archiving; and 
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1 ‘‘(F) community support development. 

2 ‘‘(4) the Native American Studies Department 

3 of the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque in 

4 consortium with the Linguistic Institute for Native 

5 Americans and other entities as determined to be 

6 appropriate by the consortium, for the following: 

7 ‘‘(A) Assisting in establishing, conducting, 

8 and administering community-based Native 

9 American language nests or Native American 

10 language survival schools by—

11 ‘‘(i) developing community leadership 

12 for Native American language programs; 

13 ‘‘(ii) training Native American lan14 guage mentors; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) conducting community education 

16 and outreach on Native American language 

17 issues. 

18 ‘‘(B) Assisting in developing training pro19 grams for Native American language speakers 

20 and teachers through—

21 ‘‘(i) on-site training and university or 

22 college courses; 

23 ‘‘(ii) summer training institutes; 

24 ‘‘(iii) materials-development work25 shops; and 
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1 ‘‘(iv) regional seminars on Native 

2 American language issues. 

3 ‘‘(C) Examining the affects of local, State 

4 and Federal education policies on the long-term 

5 survival of Native American languages. 

6 ‘‘(D) Examining the impact of culturally7 responsive curricula on Native American lan8 guages. 

9 ‘‘(c) USE OF TECHNOLOGY.—The demonstration pro10 grams established under this section may employ syn11 chronic and asynchronic telecommunications and other ap12 propriate means to maintain coordination and cooperation 

13 among the programs and with participating Native Amer14 ican language survival schools and Native American lan15 guage nests. 

16 ‘‘(d) SITE VISIT EVALUATIONS.—The demonstration 

17 programs established under this section shall provide di18 rection to the Secretary in developing a site visit evalua19 tion of Native American language survival schools and Na20 tive American language nests. 

21 ‘‘(e) FOLLOW-UP AND DATA COLLECTION.—A dem22 onstration program established under this section may 

23 conduct follow-up data collection and analysis on students 

24 while the students are in school—
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1 ‘‘(1) to assess how Native American language 

2 survival school students are performing in compari3 son with other students; and 

4 ‘‘(2) to identify instructional methods that are 

5 working and instructional methods that are not 

6 working. 

7 ‘‘(f) ENDOWMENTS AND FACILITIES.—A demonstra8 tion program established under this section may—

9 ‘‘(1) establish endowments to further the activi10 ties of the demonstration program relating to the 

11 study and preservation of Native American lan12 guages; and 

13 ‘‘(2) use funds to provide for the rental, lease, 

14 purchase, construction, maintenance, and repair of 

15 facilities. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 111. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

18 this title such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal 

19 years 2004 through 2009.’’.

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