I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3754

To amend the Adult Education Act to allow for the education of eligible

adults.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 1, 1994

Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Education and Labor

A BILL

To amend the Adult Education Act to allow for the education

of eligible adults.

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

3 SECTION 1. EDUCATION FOR ELIGIBLE ADULTS.

4 The Adult Education Act is amended by adding at

5 the end the following:

6 ‘‘PART E—EDUCATION FOR ELIGIBLE ADULTS

7 ‘‘SEC. 391. SHORT TITLE.

8 ‘‘This part may be cited as the ‘American Citizenship

9 and Comprehensive Educational Support Services Act of

10 1994’.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 392. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

2 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

3 ‘‘(1) there has been and will continue to be im4 migration into the United States;

5 ‘‘(2) there is an increasing fiscal burden on

6 States and localities to implement Federal immigra7 tion policies that provide for education and natu8 ralization classes for eligible adults;

9 ‘‘(3) previously there was a Federal funding

10 commitment to educate and naturalize eligible adults

11 under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of

12 1986 through the State Legalization Impact Assist13 ance Grant program;

14 ‘‘(4) the State Legalization Impact Assistance

15 Grant program has demonstrated that there is a

16 keen interest on the part of eligible adults in obtain17 ing additional basic and vocational education, as well

18 as language and civics instruction to qualify for nat19 uralization; and

20 ‘‘(5) it is in the best interest of the United

21 States to have an educated population who can con22 tribute to the work force.

23 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this part is to pro24 vide financial assistance to States and localities to aid in

25 the educational and naturalization transition of eligible

26 adults to the United States.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 393. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

2 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM.—The Secretary is authorized, in ac3 cordance with this part, to make grants to or enter into

4 contracts with eligible service providers for the establish5 ment, operation, and improvement of programs that pro6 vide eligible services for eligible adults.

7 ‘‘(b) USES OF FUNDS.—(1) Activities assisted under

8 this part shall include—

9 ‘‘(A) public education;

10 ‘‘(B) public outreach;

11 ‘‘(C) assistance with initiating or completing

12 naturalization procedures;

13 ‘‘(D) educational, instructional, or testing serv14 ices to eligible adults to assist such adults in obtain15 ing citizenship; and

16 ‘‘(E) an annual evaluation component to assess

17 program quality and effectiveness.

18 ‘‘(2) Of the funds allocated under this part for a fis19 cal year, not less than 15 percent shall be used to train

20 personnel engaged or preparing to engage in providing di21 rect services to eligible adults under this part.

22 ‘‘(3) Of the funds allocated under this part for a fis23 cal year, not more than 5 percent shall be used for admin24 istrative costs.

25 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants or making con26 tracts under this part, the Secretary shall—
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1 ‘‘(1) give first preference to eligible service pro2 viders in States with not less than 100,000 eligible

3 adults; and

4 ‘‘(2) give further preference to eligible service

5 providers that demonstrate the following:

6 ‘‘(A) A commitment to locate and operate

7 programs in localities with high concentrations

8 of eligible adults.

9 ‘‘(B) Experience serving eligible adults

10 under section 204 of the Immigration Reform

11 and Control Act of 1986 and limited English

12 proficient adults under section 372 of this Act.

13 ‘‘(C) A plan to locate and operate pro14 grams in neighborhoods where there is a high

15 incidence of poverty.

16 ‘‘SEC. 394. APPLICATIONS.

17 ‘‘(a) SUBMISSION.—To be eligible to receive a grant

18 or contract under this part, an eligible service provider

19 shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time

20 and in such manner as the Secretary may reasonably re21 quire.

22 ‘‘(b) CONTENT OF APPLICATION.—Applications for

23 grants or contracts under this part shall include—

24 ‘‘(1) a description of the past experience of the

25 applicant in operating a comparable program or in
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1 conducting a grant program in support of other

2 comparable service programs;

3 ‘‘(2) a public education plan to the community;

4 ‘‘(3) an outreach plan to the targeted popu5 lation;

6 ‘‘(4) a description of the range of services to be

7 provided and the anticipated outcomes;

8 ‘‘(5) a plan to train personnel;

9 ‘‘(6) assurances that the program will use

10 qualified personnel;

11 ‘‘(7) assurances that the applicant has the ad12 ministrative capacity to operate a program;

13 ‘‘(8) an estimation of the number of eligible

14 adults to be served annually;

15 ‘‘(9) a plan to coordinate services available to

16 eligible adults with other Federal, State, and local

17 agencies;

18 ‘‘(10) a description of the evaluation indicators

19 to assess program quality and effectiveness; and

20 ‘‘(11) such other information as the Secretary

21 considers appropriate.

22 ‘‘SEC. 395. REPORT.

23 ‘‘The Secretary shall report to Congress every 2

24 years, beginning with the 2d year after the date of the
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1 enactment of this part regarding the effectiveness of pro2 grams for eligible adults served under this part.

3 ‘‘SEC. 396. PROGRAM STANDARDS.

4 ‘‘Not later than 1 year after the date of the enact5 ment of this part the Secretary, in consultation with ap6 propriate experts, educators, and administrators, shall de7 velop indicators of program quality to be used by eligible

8 service providers that receive assistance under this part

9 as models by which to judge the quality and effectiveness

10 of such programs, including the effectiveness of recruiting

11 students, retention of material by students, and improve12 ment of education, language, and literacy skills of students

13 served by such programs. Such indicators shall take into

14 account different operating conditions and shall be modi15 fied as necessary.

16 ‘‘SEC. 397. DEFINITIONS.

17 ‘‘For purposes of this part—

18 ‘‘(1) the term ‘eligible adult’ means an adult

19 who—

20 ‘‘(A) is an alien lawfully admitted to the

21 United States for permanent residence;

22 ‘‘(B) is an alien lawfully admitted to the

23 United States as a refugee; or

24 ‘‘(C) is otherwise permanently residing in

25 the United States under color of law;
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1 ‘‘(2) the term ‘eligible services’ means—

2 ‘‘(A) English language instruction;

3 ‘‘(B) citizenship or civics instruction;

4 ‘‘(C) adult education and vocational edu5 cation;

6 ‘‘(D) literacy services; and

7 ‘‘(E) college preparatory classes; and

8 ‘‘(3) the term ‘eligible service providers’

9 means—

10 ‘‘(A) State educational agencies;

11 ‘‘(B) local educational agencies;

12 ‘‘(C) public and private institutions of

13 higher learning (excluding for-profit trade

14 schools); and

15 ‘‘(D) public and private nonprofit organi16 zations, including community-based organiza17 tions.

18 ‘‘SEC. 398. AUTHORIZATION AND APPROPRIATION.

19 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated

20 $100,000,000 for fiscal year 1995 and such sums as may

21 be necessary for each of the fiscal years 1996 through

22 1999 to carry out this part.’’.

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