I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4065 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish 

a partnership program in foreign languages. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 7, 2009 

Mr. HOLT (for himself, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. WU, Mr. 

MCGOVERN, Mr. MOORE of Kansas, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. CHANDLER, Mr. 

LOEBSACK, Mrs. MCMORRIS RODGERS, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. PRICE of 

North Carolina, and Mr. BLUMENAUER) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

of 1965 to establish a partnership program in foreign 

languages. 

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 ‘‘Foreign Language 

5 Education Partnership Program Act’’. 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 4065 IH

1 SEC. 2. PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart 9 of part D of title V 

3 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

4 is amended— 

5 (1) by striking section 5494 (20 U.S.C. 7259c); 

6 and 

7 (2) by inserting after section 5493 the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 5494. PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM IN FOREIGN LAN10 GUAGES. 

11 ‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are— 

12 ‘‘(1) to provide incentives for developing and 

13 maintaining model programs of articulated foreign 

14 language learning from kindergarten through grade 

15 12 that increase the number of students graduating 

16 from high school with an advanced level of pro17 ficiency in at least one foreign language; and 

18 ‘‘(2) to widely disseminate information on the 

19 model programs that demonstrate success. 

20 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts made 

22 available to carry out this section, the Secretary may 

23 make incentive payments for a fiscal year to eligible 

24 partnerships to develop and maintain, or to improve 

25 and expand, model programs that support articuVerDate Nov 24 2008 20:45 Nov 09, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4065.IH H4065

hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 4065 IH

1 lated foreign language learning in kindergarten 

2 through grade 12. 

3 ‘‘(2) PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT.—For the 

4 first two 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 those funds for planning and 

9 development activities, including— 

10 ‘‘(A) development of an articulated instruc11 tional curriculum for the less-commonly-taught 

12 foreign language to which the model program 

13 relates; 

14 ‘‘(B) in-service and pre-service develop15 ment of teachers, and development of cur16 riculum and language assessments in the less17 commonly-taught foreign language to which the 

18 model program relates; and 

19 ‘‘(C) development of contextual programs 

20 and curriculum materials related to the less21 commonly-taught foreign language to which the 

22 model program relates, as described in sub23 section (e). 

24 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.— 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 4065 IH

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible partnership 

2 desiring a grant under this section shall submit an 

3 application to the Secretary at such time, in such 

4 manner, and containing such information as the Sec5 retary may require. 

6 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each application shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) identify each member of the partner8 ship, provide contact information and letters of 

9 commitment for each such member, and de10 scribe the responsibilities of each such member, 

11 including— 

12 ‘‘(i) identifying the member that will 

13 receive and manage the grant; 

14 ‘‘(ii) specifying how each member will 

15 be involved in the planning, development, 

16 and implementation of the activities pro17 posed under the grant; 

18 ‘‘(iii) describing the resources to be 

19 provided by each member; and 

20 ‘‘(iv) describing how each member will 

21 contribute to ensuring the continuity of 

22 student progress in foreign language pro23 ficiency from kindergarten through grade 

24 12; 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 4065 IH

1 ‘‘(B) describe how an articulated cur2 riculum for students to achieve an advanced 

3 level of proficiency by grade 12 will be devel4 oped and implemented; 

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 

10 support and continue the program after the 

11 grant has expired, including how the partner12 ship will seek support from other sources, such 

13 as State and local governments, foundations, 

14 and the private sector; and 

15 ‘‘(E) describe what assessments will be 

16 used or, if assessments are not available, how 

17 assessments will be developed. 

18 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—Incentive payments under this 

19 section— 

20 ‘‘(1) shall be used— 

21 ‘‘(A) to design programs and teaching 

22 strategies informed by the best practices recog23 nized by the field and by available research; 

24 ‘‘(B) to develop curriculum materials based 

25 on an articulated framework or approach deVerDate Nov 24 2008 20:45 Nov 09, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4065.IH H4065

hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 4065 IH

1 signed to bring students to an advanced level of 

2 proficiency by grade 12; 

3 ‘‘(C) to recruit students and teachers, such 

4 as from heritage populations; and 

5 ‘‘(D) to carry out teacher in-service and 

6 pre-service professional development programs, 

7 including summer institutes, that support the 

8 model programs; and 

9 ‘‘(2) may be used— 

10 ‘‘(A) to develop nationally recognized as11 sessments for kindergarten through grade 12 

12 for the foreign language to which the model 

13 program relates, if such assessments do not 

14 exist for that language; 

15 ‘‘(B) to enhance nationally recognized as16 sessments for kindergarten through grade 12 

17 for the foreign language to which the model 

18 program relates, if such assessments already 

19 exist for that language; 

20 ‘‘(C) to provide scholarships and incentives 

21 to recruit new teachers and encourage prac22 ticing teachers to take advantage of the profes23 sional development opportunities; 

24 ‘‘(D) to provide opportunities for max25 imum foreign language exposure for students 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 4065 IH

1 domestically, such as the creation of immersion 

2 environments in the classroom and school and 

3 on weekend or summer experiences, and special 

4 tutoring and academic support; 

5 ‘‘(E) to provide the possibility for multiple 

6 entry points for studying the foreign language; 

7 ‘‘(F) to provide scholarships for study8 abroad opportunities related to the foreign lan9 guage to which the model program relates, for 

10 students in grades 9 through 12 and teachers 

11 and prospective teachers of such students, ex12 cept that a recipient of incentive payments may 

13 not use more than 20 percent of those pay14 ments for this purpose; 

15 ‘‘(G) to carry out activities to integrate 

16 foreign languages into the school curriculum 

17 and generate whole-school collaboration, includ18 ing activities and support for teachers of other 

19 subjects and administrators; 

20 ‘‘(H) to carry out activities to encourage 

21 community involvement, especially with respect 

22 to heritage communities; 

23 ‘‘(I) to incorporate effective and innovative 

24 uses of technology to enhance student learning 

25 and teaching; 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 4065 IH

1 ‘‘(J) to develop certification and alternative 

2 certification programs at the State level, espe3 cially for the less commonly taught foreign lan4 guages; 

5 ‘‘(K) to obtain technical assistance in the 

6 development and implementation of the model 

7 program funded under this section; and 

8 ‘‘(L) to recruit or appoint a language su9 pervisor to oversee and coordinate the progress 

10 of the articulated foreign language program 

11 across grade levels in the local education agency 

12 funded under this section. 

13 ‘‘(e) CONTEXTUAL DIMENSION.—A model program 

14 may not receive an incentive payment under this section 

15 unless it includes a dimension, carried out in conjunction 

16 with foreign language instruction, under which each for17 eign language learner also participates in programs to ex18 pand the understanding and knowledge of historic, geo19 graphic, cultural, economic, and other contextual factors 

20 of countries with populations who speak the foreign lan21 guage to which the model program relates. 

22 ‘‘(f) RESEARCH AND EVALUATION.— 

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

24 receive an incentive payment under this section unVerDate Nov 24 2008 20:45 Nov 09, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4065.IH H4065

hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 4065 IH

1 less it includes a research and evaluation component, 

2 under which— 

3 ‘‘(A) information is collected and analyzed 

4 regarding the effectiveness of activities carried 

5 out under the program, including but not lim6 ited to— 

7 ‘‘(i) program design; 

8 ‘‘(ii) student and teacher recruitment 

9 strategies; 

10 ‘‘(iii) curricular approaches; 

11 ‘‘(iv) teacher development; and 

12 ‘‘(v) foreign language assessment in13 struments; 

14 ‘‘(B) information is collected and analyzed 

15 regarding the impact of each activity in sub16 paragraph (A) on the foreign language pro17 ficiency of the students; 

18 ‘‘(C) information is collected and analyzed 

19 regarding program participation, including data 

20 on student enrollments and numbers of foreign 

21 language teachers; and 

22 ‘‘(D) the information collected, and the 

23 analyses of that information, are made widely 

24 available to the public. 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 4065 IH

1 ‘‘(2) STANDARDIZATION.—The Secretary shall 

2 provide guidelines to standardize the categories of 

3 information collected and analyzed under paragraph 

4 (1) and the manner in which that information is col5 lected, analyzed, and made available to the public. 

6 ‘‘(g) DURATION OF PAYMENTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) The initial incentive grant awarded to a 

8 partnership shall be for a period of four years. 

9 ‘‘(2) A partnership completing a four-year in10 centive grant award may be eligible for two addi11 tional five-year awards, but only if the partnership 

12 demonstrates, based on nationally recognized stand13 ardized foreign language assessments, that the 

14 model program is effective. 

15 ‘‘(h) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible partnership that 

17 receives a grant under this section shall provide, to18 ward the cost of carrying out the activities sup19 ported by the grant, from non-Federal sources an 

20 amount equal to–– 

21 ‘‘(A) 20 percent of the amount of the 

22 grant payment for the first fiscal year for which 

23 a grant payment is made; 

24 ‘‘(B) 30 percent of the amount of the 

25 grant payment for the second such fiscal year; 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 4065 IH

1 ‘‘(C) 40 percent of the amount of the 

2 grant payment for the third such fiscal year; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(D) 50 percent of the amount of the 

5 grant payments for the duration of the first 

6 grant, and any additional grants made under 

7 this section. 

8 ‘‘(2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal 

9 share required under paragraph (1) may be provided 

10 in cash or in kind. 

11 ‘‘(3) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive, in 

12 whole or in part, the matching requirement in para13 graph (1) for any fiscal year if–– 

14 ‘‘(A) the eligible partnership demonstrates 

15 hardship and the waiver will best serve the pur16 poses of this section; or 

17 ‘‘(B) the foreign language to which the 

18 model program relates is a less-commonly19 taught foreign language as determined by the 

20 Secretary. 

21 ‘‘(i) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant funds 

22 provided under this section shall be used to supplement, 

23 not supplant, other Federal and non-Federal funds avail24 able to carry out the activities described in this section. 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 4065 IH

1 ‘‘(j) DATA COLLECTION, ANALYSIS, AND DISSEMINA2 TION.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may reserve 

4 not more than 3 percent of the total amount appro5 priated for this section for any fiscal year to— 

6 ‘‘(A) annually collect and analyze data on 

7 the programs under this section; and 

8 ‘‘(B) disseminate nationally, including 

9 through a Web-based clearinghouse— 

10 ‘‘(i) aggregated data collected under 

11 subparagraph (A); and 

12 ‘‘(ii) promising K–12 foreign language 

13 learning and teaching practices and suc14 cessful program models developed under 

15 this section. 

16 ‘‘(2) The activities described in paragraph (1) 

17 may be carried out by the Secretary directly or 

18 through grants and contracts to institutions of high19 er education and public and private nonprofit agen20 cies and organizations. 

21 ‘‘(k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘eligi23 ble partnership’ means a partnership that— 

24 ‘‘(A) shall include— 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 4065 IH

1 ‘‘(i) one or more local educational 

2 agencies or State educational agencies, or 

3 both; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) one or more institutions of high5 er education, which shall include— 

6 ‘‘(I) a school, department, or pro7 gram within the institution or institu8 tions of higher education that provides 

9 a teacher preparation program; 

10 ‘‘(II) a school, department, pro11 gram, or center within the institution 

12 or institutions of higher education 

13 that provides a program of study or 

14 research in foreign languages; and 

15 ‘‘(III) a school, department, pro16 gram, or center within the institution 

17 or institutions of higher education 

18 that provides programs of study about 

19 the historic, geographic, cultural, eco20 nomic, and other contextual factors of 

21 the world area or country with popu22 lations who speak the foreign lan23 guage to which the model program re24 lates; and 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 4065 IH

1 ‘‘(B) may also include one or more busi2 nesses or nonprofit organizations, or both. 

3 ‘‘(2) ADVANCED LEVEL OF PROFICIENCY.—The 

4 term ‘advanced level of proficiency’ means the ad5 vanced level as measured by the American Council 

6 for Teachers of Foreign Languages, or level 2 as 

7 measured by the Federal Interagency Language 

8 Roundtable (ILR) or by other nationally recognized 

9 measures of advanced standards of proficiency. 

10 ‘‘(3) ARTICULATED.—The term ‘articulated’ 

11 means that each grade level of the foreign language 

12 program is designed to sequentially expand on the 

13 student achievement of the previous level with a goal 

14 toward achieving an established level of language 

15 proficiency. 

16 ‘‘(l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

17 are authorized to be appropriated for incentive payments 

18 under this section $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2010.’’. 

19 (b) FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.—Subpart 9 of part D 

20 of title V of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

21 of 1965 is further amended by inserting after section 5491 

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 5491A. FINDINGS; PURPOSES. 

24 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 4065 IH

1 ‘‘(1) According to the National Research Coun2 cil in 2007, a pervasive lack of knowledge about for3 eign cultures and foreign languages in this country 

4 threatens the security of the United States as well 

5 as its ability to compete in the global marketplace 

6 and produce an informed citizenry. 

7 ‘‘(2) According to the National Research Coun8 cil in 2007, early language learning in elementary 

9 and secondary school is key to establishing a pipeline 

10 of students who can eventually reach a high enough 

11 level of proficiency in foreign language and culture 

12 to meet national needs. 

13 ‘‘(3) According to the Committee for Economic 

14 Development in 2006, current efforts to develop lan15 guage skills and knowledge of world regions at an 

16 early age are clearly inadequate to prepare high 

17 school graduates with the skills necessary for pro18 ductivity and citizenship in an integrated global 

19 economy. 

20 ‘‘(4) The American Council on the Teaching of 

21 Foreign Languages found that only 34 percent of 

22 United States K–12 students were enrolled in for23 eign language classes in 2000. Furthermore, the 

24 length of time students spent studying languages at 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 4065 IH

1 school has stagnated, so that many students reach 

2 only introductory levels of proficiency. 

3 ‘‘(5) Research demonstrates that success lies 

4 not only in the number of years of learning but also 

5 in having carefully sequenced, articulated, programs 

6 of language learning across a child’s school experi7 ence, requiring bridging the gaps between levels in 

8 foreign language education. 

9 ‘‘(6) A survey of secondary school principals 

10 and foreign language teachers by the Center for Ap11 plied Linguistics in 1999 identified a shortage of 

12 foreign language teachers as a major impediment to 

13 greater foreign language learning, along with fund14 ing, lack of training, and poor academic counseling. 

15 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this subpart are 

16 to provide incentives for model programs that address the 

17 needs for developing, strengthening and expanding the 

18 teaching and learning of foreign languages and foreign 

19 cultures in the United States elementary and secondary 

20 schools, and to widely disseminate information on success21 ful programs and practices.’’. 

22 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of con23 tents in section 2 of such Act is amended— 

24 (1) by inserting after the item relating to sec25 tion 5491 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 5491A. Findings; purposes.’’; 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 4065 IH

1 and 

2 (2) by striking the item relating to section 5494 

3 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 5494. Partnership program in foreign languages.’’. 

Æ 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS