I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4838 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 18, 2018 

Mr. LANGEVIN (for himself, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. ESPAILLAT, and Mr. GRIJALVA) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Education and the Workforce 

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 Part B of title II of the Higher Education Act of 

8 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1031 et seq.) is amended by adding at 

9 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) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—An eligible partnership 

13 that receives a grant under this section shall provide not 

14 less than 25 percent of the cost of the activities carried 

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

16 be provided in cash or in kind. 

17 ‘‘(d) USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible partnership that 

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

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

20 postbaccalaureate, or master’s teacher preparation 

21 program by integrating strategies for teaching 

22 English learners into the education curriculum and 

23 academic content; 

24 ‘‘(2) provide teacher candidates participating in 

25 a program under paragraph (1) with skills related 

26 to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) helping English learners— 

2 ‘‘(i) achieve at high levels in pre3 kindergarten programs, and elementary 

4 schools and secondary schools so such 

5 English learners can meet the challenging 

6 State academic standards adopted under 

7 section 1111(b)(1) of the Elementary and 

8 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

9 U.S.C. 6311(b)(1)) by the State of the 

10 school attended by the English learners, 

11 which all children in the State are expected 

12 to meet; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) attain English proficiency; 

14 ‘‘(B) appropriately identifying and meeting 

15 the specific learning needs of children with dis16 abilities who are English learners; 

17 ‘‘(C) recognizing and addressing the social 

18 and emotional needs of English learners; and 

19 ‘‘(D) promoting parental, family, and com20 munity engagement in educational programs 

21 that serve English learners; 

22 ‘‘(3) provide work-based learning opportunities 

23 for teacher candidates participating in the program; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(4) provide teacher candidates with the re2 quired coursework to qualify for an English-as-a-sec3 ond-language endorsement or initial teaching creden4 tial, as recognized by the State of the eligible part5 nership. 

6 ‘‘(e) APPLICATION.—An eligible partnership seeking 

7 a grant under this section shall submit an application to 

8 the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con9 taining such information as the Secretary may require. 

10 Such application shall include— 

11 ‘‘(1) a self-assessment by the eligible partner12 ship of the existing teacher preparation program at 

13 the institution of higher education and the needs re14 lated to preparing teacher candidates to instruct 

15 English learners in the manner described in sub16 section (d)(2); and 

17 ‘‘(2) a self-assessment by the eligible partner18 ship of the personnel needs for teachers who instruct 

19 English learners at local, public prekindergarten 

20 programs, and elementary schools and secondary 

21 schools. 

22 ‘‘(f) EVALUATIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) REPORT FROM ELIGIBLE PARTNER24 SHIPS.—An eligible partnership receiving a grant 

25 under this section shall submit to the Secretary the 


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1 results of an evaluation conducted by the partner2 ship at the end of the grant period to determine— 

3 ‘‘(A) the effectiveness of teachers who com4 pleted a program under subsection (d)(1) with 

5 respect to instruction of English learners; and 

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

7 carried out by such grant on how such partner8 ship prepares teachers to provide instruction in 

9 prekindergarten programs, and elementary 

10 schools and secondary schools. 

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

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

13 period under this section, the Secretary shall make 

14 available to the authorizing committees and the pub15 lic— 

16 ‘‘(A) the findings of the evaluations sub17 mitted under paragraph (1); and 

18 ‘‘(B) information on best practices related 

19 to effective instruction of English learners. 

20 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

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

23 term in section 602 of the Individuals with Disabil24 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401). 


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1 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU2 CATION.—The term ‘eligible institution of higher 

3 education’ means an institution of higher education 

4 that has a program of study— 

5 ‘‘(A) that leads to an undergraduate de6 gree, a master’s degree, or completion of a 

7 postbaccalaureate program required for teacher 

8 certification; and 

9 ‘‘(B) the graduates of which meet the ap10 plicable State certification and licensure re11 quirements, including any requirements for cer12 tification obtained through alternative routes to 

13 certification. 

14 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘eligi15 ble partnership’ means an eligible institution of 

16 higher education in partnership with a high-need 

17 local educational agency. 

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

19 learner’ has the meaning given the term in section 

20 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

21 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

22 ‘‘(5) WORK-BASED LEARNING.—The term 

23 ‘work-based learning’ means learning involving sus24 tained interactions with teachers and English learn25 ers at public prekindergarten programs, or elemenVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:14 Jan 20, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4838.IH H4838

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1 tary schools or secondary schools, to the extent prac2 ticable, or simulated environments at the eligible in3 stitution of higher education involved, that foster in4 depth, first-hand engagement with tasks required of 

5 a teacher providing instruction to English learners.’’. 

Æ 


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