I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1994 

To improve foreign language instruction. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 25, 2011 

Mr. HOLT (for himself, Mr. WU, and Mr. TONKO) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To improve foreign language instruction. 

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 ‘‘Excellence and Innova5 tion in Language Learning Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) According to a 2007 report by the National 

9 Research Council, a pervasive lack of knowledge 

10 about foreign cultures and foreign languages in this 

11 country threatens the security of the United States, 


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1 as well as its ability to compete in the global mar2 ketplace and produce an informed citizenry. 

3 (2) According to a 2007 report by the National 

4 Research Council, early language learning in elemen5 tary school and secondary school is key to estab6 lishing a pipeline of students who can eventually 

7 reach a high enough level of proficiency in foreign 

8 languages and cultures to meet national needs. 

9 (3) According to a 2006 report by the Com10 mittee for Economic Development, current efforts to 

11 develop language skills and knowledge of world re12 gions at an early age are clearly inadequate to pre13 pare high school graduates with the skills necessary 

14 for productivity and citizenship in an integrated 

15 global economy. 

16 (4) The American Council on the Teaching of 

17 Foreign Languages found that only 18.5 percent of 

18 students in kindergarten through grade 12 were en19 rolled in foreign language classes in the 2007–2008 

20 school year. Furthermore, the length of time stu21 dents spent studying languages at school has stag22 nated, so that many students reach only introduc23 tory levels of proficiency. 

24 (5) According to a 2009 report by the Center 

25 for Applied Linguistics, language instruction in 


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1 schools has declined dramatically over the past dec2 ade. The percentage of elementary schools and mid3 dle schools offering foreign language instruction de4 creased significantly from 1997 to 2008, declining 

5 from 31 percent to 25 percent for elementary 

6 schools and 75 percent to 58 percent for middle 

7 schools. 

8 (6) Research demonstrates that success lies not 

9 only in the number of years of learning but also in 

10 having carefully sequenced, articulated programs of 

11 language learning across a student’s school experi12 ence, requiring bridging the gaps between levels in 

13 foreign language education. 

14 (7) According to research collected by the 

15 American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Lan16 guages, children derive cognitive, academic, and so17 cial benefits from the opportunity to learn another 

18 language at an early age. 

19 (8) According to the Center for Applied Lin20 guistics, in 2008 significant disparities existed in 

21 language learning opportunities, with students at 

22 suburban schools having more opportunities than 

23 students in rural schools, and students in private 

24 schools having more opportunities than those in pub25 lic schools. For example, 15 percent of public eleVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:42 Jun 01, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1994.IH H1994

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1 mentary schools teach second languages in their 

2 classrooms as opposed to 51 percent of private ele3 mentary schools. 

4 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol5 lows: 

6 (1) Protecting our national security interests by 

7 increasing the number of American students who 

8 have access to quality kindergarten through grade 

9 12 foreign language instruction in order to achieve 

10 a high level of proficiency in such languages. 

11 (2) Preparing American students to graduate 

12 high school able to communicate in a second lan13 guage and operate within another cultural frame14 work in order to foster the competitiveness of the 

15 United States in the global economy. 

16 (3) Closing achievement gaps domestically and 

17 internationally by providing American students equal 

18 access to quality kindergarten through grade 12 for19 eign language instruction. 

20 (4) Providing every student access to quality 

21 language instruction as part of articulated kinder22 garten through grade 12 language sequences in 

23 order to give every student the opportunity to be24 come proficient in other languages in addition to 

25 English by high school graduation. 


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1 (5) Strengthening innovative preparation and 

2 recruitment initiatives for future foreign language 

3 teachers and enhance professional development op4 portunities for current teachers. 

5 (6) Exposing elementary schoolchildren to for6 eign languages early in their educational career. 

7 (7) Widely disseminating information on pro8 grams that demonstrate success. 

9 SEC. 3. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts made available 

11 to carry out this section, the Secretary of Education shall 

12 carry out the following national activities: 

13 (1) Coordinating with the Secretary of State, 

14 Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Commerce, and 

15 the heads of other relevant Federal agencies to share 

16 best practices in teaching and learning foreign lan17 guages. 

18 (2) Providing incentives for States to adopt and 

19 implement nationally recognized standards that are 

20 developed and widely accepted by the language edu21 cation professionals community for foreign language 

22 instruction in elementary and secondary education 

23 and to disseminate information on effective language 

24 assessments aligned to those standards. 


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1 (3) Supporting and disseminating research in 

2 the areas of best practices in teaching and learning 

3 foreign languages at elementary and secondary edu4 cation levels, including best practices with respect to 

5 the instructional time and intensity of programs that 

6 achieve high levels of student proficiency. 

7 (4) Supporting the development and expansion 

8 of existing nationally recognized proficiency-based 

9 valid and reliable assessments for foreign languages. 

10 (5) Providing scholarships for study-abroad op11 portunities for students in grades 6 through 12 and 

12 for the teachers and prospective teachers of such 

13 students. 

14 (6) Providing scholarships for study-abroad op15 portunities linked to language learning for foreign 

16 language teachers who teach at the elementary or 

17 secondary education levels. 

18 (7) Requiring the National Center for Edu19 cation Statistics to annually collect, analyze, and 

20 internationally benchmark data on— 

21 (A) the number of students reaching pro22 ficiency benchmarks at the elementary and sec23 ondary education level; 

24 (B) the number of public elementary and 

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1 ondary schools, and private heritage schools 

2 that offer foreign language instruction; 

3 (C) the languages taught and the levels of 

4 instruction offered at public elementary and 

5 secondary schools, private elementary and sec6 ondary schools, and private heritage schools; 

7 (D) the number of teachers providing for8 eign language instruction at public elementary 

9 and secondary schools, private elementary and 

10 secondary schools, and private heritage schools, 

11 including the languages and the levels of in12 struction taught at such schools; and 

13 (E) the number of public elementary and 

14 secondary schools that provide academic credits 

15 for proficiency in language abilities acquired 

16 outside of the public school system. 

17 (8) Working with State educational agencies to 

18 develop a standardized data collection method de19 scribed in section 4 to collect the data described in 

20 paragraph (7). 

21 (9) Disseminating nationally, including through 

22 a Web-based clearinghouse, promising foreign lan23 guage learning and teaching practices and successful 

24 program models for students in kindergarten 

25 through grade 12, as developed under this section 


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1 and through other Department of Education pro2 grams. 

3 (10) Supporting partnerships of local and State 

4 educational agencies with institutions of higher edu5 cation and other nonprofit educational organizations 

6 to identify innovative, state-of-the-art technologies 

7 and platforms that have been proven to be successful 

8 for effective language instruction. 

9 (b) COLLABORATION.—The activities described in 

10 subsection (a) may be carried out by the Secretary directly 

11 or through grants to, or contracts with, institutions of 

12 higher education or public and private nonprofit agencies 

13 and organizations. 

14 (c) REPORTING.—Not later than 5 years after the 

15 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, after con16 sultation with State educational agencies, shall submit a 

17 report to the Committee on Education and Labor of the 

18 House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, 

19 Education, Labor and Pensions of the Senate on— 

20 (1) the use of funds authorized under this Act; 

21 and 

22 (2) how the programs and activities carried out 

23 with such funds impacted— 

24 (A) student language proficiency; 


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1 (B) the availability of foreign language 

2 education programs in kindergarten through 

3 grade 12; 

4 (C) the number of early foreign language 

5 programs; and 

6 (D) the number of elementary school and 

7 secondary school foreign language teachers. 

8 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

9 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

10 necessary to carry out this section for fiscal year 2012 

11 and each succeeding fiscal year. 

12 SEC. 4. STATE ACTIVITIES. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts made available 

14 to carry out this section, the Secretary shall award grants, 

15 on a competitive basis, to States to improve elementary 

16 school and secondary school foreign language learning pro17 grams in the State. 

18 (b) APPLICATION.—In order to receive a grant under 

19 this section, a State educational agency shall submit an 

20 application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 

21 and containing such information as the Secretary may re22 quire. 

23 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—A State educational agency re24 ceiving a grant under this section shall use such grant 

25 funds to carry out the following: 


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1 (1) DEVELOPING POLICY.—Develop foreign lan2 guage and international education policy and pro3 grams in the State to— 

4 (A) provide for articulated pathways to5 ward language proficiency beginning in kinder6 garten through high school graduation; and 

7 (B) build capacity for delivering foreign 

8 language and international education to stu9 dents statewide. 

10 (2) STATE FOREIGN LANGUAGE AND INTER11 NATIONAL EDUCATION ADVISORY COUNCIL.— 

12 (A) APPOINTMENT.—Appoint a State for13 eign language and international education advi14 sory council (in this section referred to as the 

15 ‘‘Council’’) that includes representatives from— 

16 (i) the State’s business community; 

17 (ii) State economic development and 

18 trade agencies; 

19 (iii) small business bureaus; 

20 (iv) military facilities; 

21 (v) individuals with international and 

22 area studies expertise; and 

23 (vi) teachers and individuals with pro24 fessional expertise in language acquisition 


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1 from each of the following educational lev2 els: 

3 (I) Kindergarten through grade 

4 8. 

5 (II) Grade 8 through grade 12. 

6 (III) Higher education. 

7 (B) DUTIES.—The Council shall be coordi8 nated by the Chief State School Officer or his 

9 or her designee and— 

10 (i) shall— 

11 (I) advise the State educational 

12 agency on the development of a State 

13 needs assessment of— 

14 (aa) the demand for people 

15 with foreign language skills in 

16 various professions and employ17 ment sectors throughout the 

18 State; 

19 (bb) the number and per20 centage of elementary and sec21 ondary schools in the State that 

22 offer language programs; 

23 (cc) the foreign languages 

24 taught in the State’s elementary 

25 and secondary schools; 


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1 (dd) the number of foreign 

2 language teachers in the State’s 

3 elementary and secondary 

4 schools; and 

5 (ee) the number of com6 prehensive statewide sequences of 

7 foreign languages from kinder8 garten through high school grad9 uation; 

10 (II) recommend approaches to 

11 improve the teaching of foreign lan12 guages for students statewide based 

13 on research-based best practices; 

14 (III) recommend ways to expand 

15 foreign language and international 

16 education opportunities for students 

17 statewide through innovative ap18 proaches, such as immersion, online, 

19 and other hybrid language and inter20 national educational learning experi21 ences that use pedagogically sound 

22 approaches; 

23 (IV) work with professional 

24 standards boards and State licensing 

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1 quirements and, as needed, rec2 ommend changes to State certification 

3 requirements to ensure high-quality 

4 foreign language teachers; 

5 (V) recommend strategies to ad6 dress any shortages of elementary and 

7 secondary education teachers in com8 mon and less commonly taught lan9 guages within the State; 

10 (VI) develop pathways for stu11 dents to achieve the advanced level of 

12 proficiency on the American Council 

13 on the Teaching of Foreign Lan14 guages proficiency scale or by other 

15 nationally recognized measures of ad16 vanced standards of proficiency; and 

17 (VII) develop and assist in imple18 mentation of a statewide outreach and 

19 communications campaign to the pub20 lic on the importance of foreign lan21 guage and international education as 

22 one of the prerequisites to success in 

23 the 21st Century; and 

24 (ii) may recommend alternative routes 

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1 orous standards for highly skilled teachers 

2 of less commonly taught languages. 

3 (3) STATE LANGUAGE AND INTERNATIONAL

4 EDUCATION COORDINATOR.—Designate a State lan5 guage and international education coordinator, or, 

6 as appropriate, coordinators to oversee and coordi7 nate foreign language programs within the State to 

8 oversee the planning, development, and implementa9 tion of the State foreign language policies described 

10 in paragraph (1). 

11 (4) FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY STAND12 ARDS.—Adopt nationally recognized foreign lan13 guage learning proficiency standards as well as stu14 dent foreign language assessments aligned to the 

15 proficiency standards. 

16 (5) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PRO17 GRAMS.—Carry out teacher in-service and pre-serv18 ice professional development programs, including 

19 summer institutes, that address the shortage of for20 eign language teachers in the State. Such activities 

21 may be in partnership with local educational agen22 cies, institutions of higher education, and nonprofit 

23 organizations, and may be consistent with model 

24 program established under section 5. 


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1 (6) SCHOLARSHIPS AND INCENTIVES.—Provide 

2 scholarships and incentives to recruit new teachers 

3 and encourage practicing teachers to take advantage 

4 of professional development opportunities. 

5 (7) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Provide tech6 nical assistance to local programs for foreign lan7 guage education carried out in elementary schools or 

8 secondary schools in the State. 

9 (8) CARRY OUT RECOMMENDATIONS.—Carry 

10 out recommendations of the State foreign language 

11 and international education advisory council, as ap12 propriate. 

13 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

14 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

15 necessary to carry out this section for fiscal year 2012 

16 and each succeeding fiscal year. 

17 SEC. 5. FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP 

18 PROGRAMS. 

19 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts made 

21 available to carry out this section, the Secretary 

22 shall make incentive grants to eligible partnerships 

23 to develop and maintain, or to improve and expand, 

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1 guage learning in elementary schools and secondary 

2 schools. 

3 (2) PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT.—For the 

4 first 2 fiscal years an eligible partnership receives 

5 funds under paragraph (1) for a model program on 

6 a less-commonly-taught foreign language, the Sec7 retary may allow that partnership, based on dem8 onstrated need, to use funds for planning and devel9 opment activities based on nationally recognized 

10 standards in foreign language education, including— 

11 (A) development of an articulated instruc12 tional curriculum for the less-commonly-taught 

13 foreign language to which the model program 

14 relates; 

15 (B) in-service and pre-service development 

16 of teachers, and development of curriculum and 

17 language assessments in the less commonly 

18 taught foreign language to which the model 

19 program relates; and 

20 (C) development of contextual programs 

21 and curriculum materials related to the less 

22 commonly taught foreign language to which the 

23 model program relates, as described in sub24 section (d). 

25 (b) APPLICATIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible partnership de2 siring a grant under this section shall submit an ap3 plication to the Secretary such time, in such man4 ner, and containing such information as the Sec5 retary may require, including the information de6 scribed in paragraph (2). 

7 (2) CONTENTS.—Each application shall— 

8 (A) identify each member of the partner9 ship, provide contact information and letters of 

10 commitment for each such member, and de11 scribe the responsibilities of each such member, 

12 including— 

13 (i) identifying the member that will 

14 receive and manage the grant; 

15 (ii) specifying how each member will 

16 be involved in the planning, development, 

17 and implementation of the activities pro18 posed under the grant; 

19 (iii) describing the resources to be 

20 provided by each member; and 

21 (iv) describing how each member will 

22 contribute to ensuring the continuity of 

23 student progress in foreign language pro24 ficiency from kindergarten through grade 

25 12; 


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1 (B) describe how an articulated curriculum 

2 for students to achieve an advanced level of pro3 ficiency by grade 12 will be developed and im4 plemented; 

5 (C) identify target proficiency levels for 

6 students at critical benchmarks, and describe 

7 how progress toward those proficiency levels will 

8 be assessed at the benchmarks; 

9 (D) describe how the partnership will sup10 port and continue the program after the grant 

11 has expired, including how the partnership will 

12 seek support from other sources, such as State 

13 and local governments, foundations, and the 

14 private sector; 

15 (E) describe which assessments will be 

16 used or, if assessments are not available, how 

17 assessments will be developed; and 

18 (F) describe how the proposed program 

19 will meet nationally recognized standards in for20 eign language education. 

21 (c) CONTEXTUAL DIMENSION.—A model program 

22 may not receive an incentive grant under this section un23 less it includes a dimension, carried out in conjunction 

24 with foreign language instruction, under which each for25 eign language learner also participates in programs to exVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:14 May 31, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1994.IH H1994

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1 pand the understanding and knowledge of historic, geo2 graphic, cultural, economic, and other contextual factors 

3 of countries with populations who speak the foreign lan4 guage to which the model program relates. 

5 (d) USE OF FUNDS.— 

6 (1) REQUIRED USES.—An eligible partnership 

7 shall use an incentive grant under this section— 

8 (A) to design programs and teaching strat9 egies informed by the best practices recognized 

10 by the foreign language education field and by 

11 the best available research; 

12 (B) to develop curriculum materials based 

13 on an articulated framework or approach de14 signed to bring students to an advanced level of 

15 foreign language proficiency by grade 12; 

16 (C) to recruit students and teachers for 

17 model programs that support articulated for18 eign language learning in elementary schools 

19 and secondary schools; and 

20 (D) to carry out teacher in-service and pre21 service professional development programs, in22 cluding summer institutes, that support the 

23 model programs. 

24 (2) AUTHORIZED USES.—An eligible partner25 ship may use an incentive grant under this section— 


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1 (A) to develop nationally recognized assess2 ments for the foreign language to which the 

3 model program relates, if such assessments do 

4 not exist for that language; 

5 (B) to enhance nationally recognized as6 sessments for the foreign language to which the 

7 model program relates, if such assessments al8 ready exist for that language; 

9 (C) to provide scholarships and incentives 

10 to recruit new teachers and encourage prac11 ticing teachers to take advantage of the profes12 sional development opportunities; 

13 (D) to provide opportunities for maximum 

14 foreign language exposure for students domesti15 cally, such as the creation of immersion envi16 ronments in the classroom and school, on week17 end or summer experiences, and special tutor18 ing and academic support; 

19 (E) to provide for the possibility for mul20 tiple entry points for studying the foreign lan21 guage; 

22 (F) in an amount equal to not more than 

23 20 percent of such grant received in a fiscal 

24 year, to provide scholarships for study-abroad 

25 opportunities related to the foreign language to 


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1 which the model program relates for students in 

2 grades 9 through 12 and teachers and prospec3 tive teachers of such students; 

4 (G) to create partnerships with elementary 

5 and secondary schools in other countries to fa6 cilitate language and cultural learning and ex7 change; 

8 (H) to carry out activities to integrate for9 eign languages into the school curriculum and 

10 generate whole-school collaboration, including 

11 activities and support for teachers of other sub12 jects and administrators; 

13 (I) to carry out activities to encourage 

14 community involvement; 

15 (J) to obtain technical assistance in the de16 velopment and implementation of the model 

17 program funded under this section; 

18 (K) to incorporate effective and innovative 

19 uses of technology to enhance student learning 

20 and teaching; 

21 (L) to recruit or appoint a language super22 visor to oversee and coordinate the progress of 

23 the articulated foreign language program across 

24 grade levels in the local educational agency 

25 funded with the incentive grant; 


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1 (M) to work with professional standards 

2 boards and State licensing bodies, review teach3 er certification requirements and, as needed, 

4 recommend changes to State certification re5 quirements to ensure high-quality foreign lan6 guage teachers; and 

7 (N) recommend alternative routes to cer8 tification that employ equally rigorous stand9 ards for highly skilled teachers of less com10 monly taught languages. 

11 (e) RESEARCH AND EVALUATION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—A model program may not 

13 receive an incentive grant under this section unless 

14 it includes a research and evaluation component, 

15 under which— 

16 (A) information is collected and analyzed 

17 regarding the effectiveness of activities carried 

18 out under the program, including— 

19 (i) program design; 

20 (ii) student and teacher recruitment 

21 strategies; 

22 (iii) curricular approaches; 

23 (iv) teacher development and pro24 ficiency levels; and 


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1 (v) foreign language assessment in2 struments; 

3 (B) information is collected and analyzed 

4 regarding the impact of each activity in sub5 paragraph (A) on the foreign language pro6 ficiency of the students; 

7 (C) information is collected and analyzed 

8 regarding program participation, including data 

9 on student enrollments and numbers of foreign 

10 language teachers; and 

11 (D) the information collected, and the 

12 analyses of that information, are made widely 

13 available to the public. 

14 (2) STANDARDIZATION.—The Secretary shall 

15 provide guidelines to standardize the categories of 

16 information collected and analyzed under paragraph 

17 (1) and the manner in which that information is col18 lected, analyzed, and made available to the public. 

19 (f) DURATION OF PAYMENTS.— 

20 (1) INITIAL INCENTIVE GRANT.—An initial in21 centive grant under this section shall be awarded to 

22 an eligible partnership awarded for a period of 4 

23 years. 

24 (2) RENEWAL INCENTIVE GRANTS.—An eligible 

25 partnership that received an initial incentive grant 


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1 under this section may be eligible for 2 additional 5- 

2 year awards under this section, but only if the part3 nership demonstrates, based on nationally recognized 

4 standardized foreign language assessments, that the 

5 model program carried out with funds received 

6 under this section is effective. 

7 (g) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible partnership that 

9 receives a grant under this section shall provide, to10 ward the cost of carrying out the activities sup11 ported by the grant, from non-Federal sources an 

12 amount equal to not less than the applicable per13 centage of the amount of the grant. 

14 (2) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—For purposes 

15 of paragraph (1), the term ‘‘applicable percentage’’ 

16 means— 

17 (A) for the first fiscal year of the first 

18 grant received under this section, 20 percent; 

19 (B) for the second fiscal year of the first 

20 grant received under this section, 30 percent; 

21 (C) for the third fiscal year of the first 

22 grant received under this section, 40 percent; 

23 and 

24 (D) for the fourth fiscal year of the first 

25 grant received under this section and for each 


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1 fiscal year of each succeeding grant received 

2 under this section, 50 percent. 

3 (3) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal 

4 share required under paragraph (1) may be provided 

5 in cash or in kind. 

6 (4) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive, in 

7 whole or in part, the matching requirement in para8 graph (1) for any fiscal year if— 

9 (A) the eligible partnership demonstrates 

10 hardship and the waiver will best serve the pur11 poses of this section; or 

12 (B) the foreign language to which the 

13 model program relates is a less commonly 

14 taught foreign language as determined by the 

15 Secretary. 

16 (h) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant funds 

17 provided under this section shall be used to supplement, 

18 not supplant, other Federal and non-Federal funds avail19 able to carry out the activities described in this section. 

20 (i) DATA COLLECTION, ANALYSIS, DISSEMINATION, 

21 AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may reserve 

23 not more than 3 percent of the total amount appro24 priated for this section for any fiscal year to— 


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1 (A) annually collect and analyze data on 

2 the programs under this section; and 

3 (B) disseminate nationally, including 

4 through a Web-based clearinghouse— 

5 (i) aggregated data collected under 

6 subparagraph (A); 

7 (ii) promising kindergarten through 

8 grade 12 foreign language learning and 

9 teaching practices and successful program 

10 models developed under this section; 

11 (iii) provide grant application tech12 nical assistance to prospective grantees 

13 through the website established under this 

14 subsection, including foreign language edu15 cation resource information and contacts 

16 available at State and local educational 

17 agencies, institutions of higher education, 

18 and nonprofit educational organizations. 

19 (2) COLLABORATION.—The activities described 

20 in paragraph (1) may be carried out by the Sec21 retary directly or through grants and contracts to 

22 institutions of higher education and public and pri23 vate nonprofit agencies and organizations. 

24 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

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1 essary to carry out this section for fiscal year 2012 and 

2 each succeeding fiscal year. 

3 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) EARLY FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAM.— 

6 The term ‘‘early foreign language program’’ means 

7 a foreign language program offered as part of a pre8 kindergarten program. 

9 (2) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible 

11 partnership’’ means a partnership that— 

12 (i) shall include— 

13 (I) one or more local educational 

14 agencies or State educational agen15 cies, or both; and 

16 (II) subject to subparagraph (B), 

17 1 or more institutions of higher edu18 cation, where the institution has and 

19 may include in the partnership— 

20 (aa) a school, department, 

21 or program within the institution 

22 or institutions of higher edu23 cation that provides a teacher 

24 preparation program; 


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1 (bb) a school, department, 

2 program, or center within the in3 stitution or institutions of higher 

4 education that provides a pro5 gram of study or research in for6 eign languages; and 

7 (cc) a school, department, 

8 program, or center within the in9 stitution or institutions of higher 

10 education that provides programs 

11 of study about the historic, geo12 graphic, cultural, economic, and 

13 other contextual factors of the 

14 world area or country with popu15 lations who speak the foreign lan16 guage to which the model pro17 gram relates; and 

18 (ii) may also include 1 or more busi19 nesses, or nonprofit organizations with ex20 pertise in kindergarten through grade 12 

21 language learning. 

22 (B) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive 

23 the requirement in subparagraph (A)(i)(II), if 

24 the prospective grantee demonstrates the inabil25 ity to secure an institution of higher education 


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1 as a partner for the purposes of receiving a 

2 grant under section 5, including as a remote, 

3 digitally connected partner, after making a good 

4 faith effort to secure such institution. 

5 (3) ADVANCED LEVEL OF PROFICIENCY.—The 

6 term ‘‘advanced level of proficiency’’ means the ad7 vanced level as measured by the American Council 

8 on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, or level 2 as 

9 measured by the Federal Interagency Language 

10 Roundtable or by other nationally recognized meas11 ures of advanced standards of proficiency. 

12 (4) ARTICULATED.—The term ‘‘articulated’’ 

13 means that each grade level of the foreign language 

14 program is designed to sequentially expand on the 

15 student achievement of the previous level with a goal 

16 toward achieving an established level of language 

17 proficiency. 

18 (5) HERITAGE SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘heritage 

19 school’’ means a school that— 

20 (A) offers foreign language instruction or 

21 tutoring, and cultural education related to a 

22 foreign country; and 

23 (B) serves students who are enrolled, on a 

24 full-time basis, in a public or private elementary 


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1 school or secondary school that is not a heritage 

2 school. 

3 (6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

4 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

5 meaning given in section 101 of the Higher Edu6 cation Act of 1965. 

7 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

8 the Secretary of Education. 

Æ 


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