II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4256 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of 

Education to award institutions of higher education grants for teaching 

English learners. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 2, 2024 

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself and Mr. CORNYN) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the 

Secretary of Education to award institutions of higher 

education grants for teaching English learners. 

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 ‘‘Reaching English 

5 Learners Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TEACHING ENGLISH LEARNERS GRANT. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part B of title II of the Higher 

8 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1031 et seq.) is amend9 ed by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘Subpart 6—Teaching English Learners Grant 

2 ‘‘SEC. 259. TEACHING ENGLISH LEARNERS GRANT. 

3 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary 

4 shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible part5 nerships to improve the preparation of teacher candidates 

6 to ensure that such teacher candidates possess the knowl7 edge and skills necessary to effectively instruct English 

8 learners. 

9 ‘‘(b) DURATION OF GRANTS.—A grant under this 

10 section shall be awarded for a period of not more than 

11 5 years. 

12 ‘‘(c) PREFERENCE.—In awarding grants under this 

13 section, the Secretary shall give preference to eligible part14 nerships that recruit and enroll teacher candidates who 

15 are from underrepresented populations or former English 

16 learners. 

17 ‘‘(d) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—An eligible partnership 

18 that receives a grant under this section shall provide not 

19 less than 50 percent of the cost of the activities carried 

20 out with such grant from non-Federal sources, which may 

21 be provided in cash or in kind. 

22 ‘‘(e) USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible partnership that 

23 receives a grant under this section shall use the grant to— 

24 ‘‘(1) develop, or strengthen, an undergraduate, 

25 postbaccalaureate, or master’s teacher preparation 

26 program that enables the graduate to meet the 


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1 State’s licensure or certification requirements to 

2 teach English learners and incorporates evidence3 based strategies for teaching English learners (in4 cluding bilingual, immersion, and dual-language edu5 cation) into the education curriculum and academic 

6 content; 

7 ‘‘(2) provide teacher candidates participating in 

8 a program under paragraph (1) with skills related 

9 to— 

10 ‘‘(A) helping English learners— 

11 ‘‘(i) achieve at high levels in early 

12 childhood education programs, and elemen13 tary schools and secondary schools so such 

14 English learners can meet the challenging 

15 State academic standards that— 

16 ‘‘(I) have been adopted under 

17 section 1111(b)(1) of the Elementary 

18 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

19 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(1)) by the State 

20 of the school attended or to be at21 tended by the English learners; and 

22 ‘‘(II) apply to all public school 

23 students in the State; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) attain English proficiency; 


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1 ‘‘(B) appropriately identifying and meeting 

2 the specific learning needs of children with dis3 abilities who are English learners; 

4 ‘‘(C) recognizing and addressing the social 

5 and emotional needs of English learners; and 

6 ‘‘(D) promoting parental, family, and com7 munity engagement in educational programs 

8 that serve English learners; and 

9 ‘‘(3) provide teacher candidates participating in 

10 the program with high-quality preservice clinical ex11 perience that includes, to the extent practicable— 

12 ‘‘(A) clinical learning in classrooms that 

13 service English learners; and 

14 ‘‘(B) mentoring by a teacher certified to 

15 teach English learners. 

16 ‘‘(f) APPLICATION.—An eligible partnership seeking 

17 a grant under this section shall submit an application to 

18 the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con19 taining such information as the Secretary may require. 

20 Such application shall include— 

21 ‘‘(1) a self-assessment by the eligible partner22 ship of the existing teacher preparation program at 

23 the institution of higher education and the needs re24 lated to preparing teacher candidates to instruct 


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1 English learners in the manner described in sub2 section (e)(2); 

3 ‘‘(2) a self-assessment by the eligible partner4 ship of the personnel needs for teachers who instruct 

5 English learners at local, early childhood education 

6 programs, and elementary schools and secondary 

7 schools; 

8 ‘‘(3) a description of the intended uses of such 

9 grant; and 

10 ‘‘(4) a description of the plan to carry out the 

11 evaluation under subsection (g)(1). 

12 ‘‘(g) EVALUATIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) REPORT FROM ELIGIBLE PARTNER14 SHIPS.—An eligible partnership receiving a grant 

15 under this section shall submit to the Secretary the 

16 results of an evaluation conducted by the partner17 ship at the end of the grant period to determine— 

18 ‘‘(A) the effectiveness of teachers who com19 pleted a program under subsection (e)(1) with 

20 respect to instruction of English learners; 

21 ‘‘(B) the systemic impact of the activities 

22 carried out by such grant on how such partner23 ship prepares teachers to provide instruction in 

24 early childhood education programs, and ele25 mentary schools and secondary schools; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) the percentage of teacher candidates 

2 that meet the State certification and licensure 

3 requirements for teaching English learners. 

4 ‘‘(2) REPORT FROM THE SECRETARY.—Not 

5 later than 180 days after the last day of the grant 

6 period under this section, the Secretary shall make 

7 available to the authorizing committees and the pub8 lic— 

9 ‘‘(A) the findings of the evaluations sub10 mitted under paragraph (1); and 

11 ‘‘(B) information on best practices related 

12 to effective instruction of English learners. 

13 ‘‘(h) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—An eligible 

14 partnership receiving a grant under this section may use 

15 the grant only to supplement funds made available from 

16 non-Federal sources to carry out the activities supported 

17 by such grant, and in no case to supplant such funds from 

18 non-Federal sources. 

19 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 ‘‘(1) CHILD WITH A DISABILITY.—The term 

21 ‘child with a disability’ has the meaning given the 

22 term in section 602 of the Individuals with Disabil23 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401). 

24 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU25 CATION.—The term ‘eligible institution of higher 


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1 education’ means an institution of higher education 

2 that has a program of study that leads to an under3 graduate degree, a master’s degree, or completion of 

4 a postbaccalaureate program required for teacher 

5 certification or licensure, including any requirements 

6 for certification obtained through alternative routes 

7 to certification. 

8 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘eligi9 ble partnership’ means an eligible institution of 

10 higher education in partnership with a high-need 

11 local educational agency or a high-need early child12 hood education program. 

13 ‘‘(4) ENGLISH LEARNER.—The term ‘English 

14 learner’ has the meaning given the term in section 

15 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

16 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).’’. 

17 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 200(6) of the 

18 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021(6)) is 

19 amended by inserting ‘‘and section 259’’ after ‘‘section 

20 251’’. 

Æ 


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