I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2539 

To direct the Secretary of Education to make grants for hate crime prevention 

and prejudice reduction education, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 14, 2021 

Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ (for herself, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. 

NORTON, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. EVANS, Ms. 

WILLIAMS of Georgia, and Mr. CARSON) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Education to make grants for 

hate crime prevention and prejudice reduction education, 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Education Against 

5 Hate Crimes Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR HATE CRIME PREVENTION AND PREJ7 UDICE REDUCTION EDUCATION. 

8 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Beginning not later than 

9 one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 08:58 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2539.IH H2539

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1 retary of Education shall award grants, on a competitive 

2 basis, to eligible entities to assist such entities in con3 ducting hate crime prevention and prejudice reduction 

4 education for secondary school students and students in 

5 middle grades. 

6 (b) CURRICULUM REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 

7 180 days after the date of enactment of the Act, the Sec8 retary of Education, in consultation with Secretary of 

9 Homeland Security and the Attorney General, shall de10 velop requirements for the curriculum of the hate crime 

11 prevention and prejudice reduction education conducted 

12 with a grant under this section. 

13 (c) GRANT AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant award14 ed under this section shall not exceed $1,500,000 for any 

15 fiscal year. 

16 (d) APPLICATIONS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 

18 grant under this section, an eligible entity shall sub19 mit an application to the Secretary at such time, in 

20 such manner, and containing such information as 

21 the Secretary may require. 

22 (2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

23 section, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible 

24 entities that will provide hate crime prevention and 

25 prejudice reduction education in geographic areas 


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1 where there is disproportionate hate crime activity 

2 relative to the total population of the area. The Sec3 retary may consult with the Attorney General to 

4 identify eligible entities that meet the requirements 

5 for priority consideration under this paragraph. 

6 (e) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—On an annual 

7 basis in each year for which an eligible entity receives a 

8 grant under this section, the entity shall submit to the 

9 Secretary a report that includes— 

10 (1) a description of how the grant was used; 

11 (2) the number of secondary school students 

12 who enrolled in and completed a program of hate 

13 crime prevention and prejudice reduction education; 

14 (3) the number of teachers who provided in15 struction to students in hate crime prevention and 

16 prejudice reduction education; and 

17 (4) a description of the strategies and best 

18 practices employed to achieve the objectives under 

19 the grant. 

20 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 (1) HATE CRIME AND PREJUDICE REDUCTION

22 EDUCATION.—The term ‘‘hate crime and prejudice 

23 reduction education’’ means culturally relevant edu24 cation (available in multiple languages, consistent 

25 with census data and demographics of the area 


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1 which the education will be provided) to prevent, ad2 dress, deter, and dissuade crimes against persons or 

3 an individual’s property due to the actual or per4 ceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, 

5 gender, gender identity, disability, age, or sexual ori6 entation of any person. 

7 (2) ELIGIBILE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible en8 tity’’ means a State, a local educational agency, or 

9 a nonprofit organization. 

10 (3) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘local edu11 cational agency’’, ‘‘middle grades’’, ‘‘secondary 

12 school’’, and ‘‘Secretary’’ have the meanings given 

13 those terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and 

14 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

15 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

16 the several States, the District of Columbia, the 

17 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, 

18 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is19 lands, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands. 

20 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

21 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

22 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2022 

23 through 2032. 

Æ 


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