I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4766 

To amend the Native American Languages Act to provide for the support 

of Native American language survival schools, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 15, 2006 

Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico (for herself and Mr. RENZI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 

Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Native American Languages Act to provide 

for the support of Native American language survival 

schools, 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; PURPOSES. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Native American Languages Preservation Act of 2006’’. 

6 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol7 lows: 

8 (1) To encourage and support, consistent with 

9 the policy of the United States as expressed in the 


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1 Native American Languages Act (25 U.S.C. 2901 et 

2 seq.), the revitalization of Native American lan3 guages through— 

4 (A) education in Native American lan5 guages; and 

6 (B) instruction in other academic subjects 

7 using Native American languages as an instruc8 tional medium. 

9 (2) To demonstrate the positive effects of Na10 tive American language survival schools on the aca11 demic success of Native American students and the 

12 students’ mastery of standard English. 

13 (3) To encourage and support the involvement 

14 of families in the educational and cultural survival 

15 efforts of Native American language survival schools. 

16 (4) To encourage communication, cooperation, 

17 and educational exchange among Native American 

18 language survival schools and the administrators of 

19 Native American language survival schools. 

20 (5) To provide support for Native American 

21 language survival school facilities and endowments. 

22 (6) To provide support for Native American 

23 language nests— 

24 (A) as part of Native American language 

25 survival schools; or 


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1 (B) as separate programs that will be de2 veloped into more comprehensive Native Amer3 ican language survival schools. 

4 (7) To support the development of local and na5 tional models that can be disseminated to the public 

6 and made available to other schools as exemplary 

7 methods of teaching Native American students. 

8 (8) To develop a support center system for Na9 tive American language survival schools at the uni10 versity level. 

11 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

12 Section 103 of the Native American Languages Act 

13 (25 U.S.C. 2902) is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS. 

15 ‘‘In this title: 

16 ‘‘(1) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘ele17 mentary school’ has the meaning given the term in 

18 section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu19 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

20 ‘‘(2) INDIAN.—The term ‘Indian’ has the mean21 ing given the term in section 7151 of the Elemen22 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

23 U.S.C. 7491). 

24 ‘‘(3) INDIAN RESERVATION.—The term ‘Indian 

25 reservation’ has the meaning given the term ‘resVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:29 Feb 21, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4766.IH H4766

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1 ervation’ in section 3 of the Indian Financing Act of 

2 1974 (25 U.S.C. 1452). 

3 ‘‘(4) INDIAN TRIBALGOVERNMENT.—The term 

4 ‘Indian tribal government’ has the meaning given 

5 the term in section 502 of the Indian Environmental 

6 General Assistance Program Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 

7 4368b). 

8 ‘‘(5) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ 

9 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

10 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

11 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

12 ‘‘(6) NATIVE AMERICAN.—The term ‘Native 

13 American’ means— 

14 ‘‘(A) an Indian; 

15 ‘‘(B) a Native American Pacific Islander; 

16 ‘‘(C) a Native Hawaiian; and 

17 ‘‘(D) an Alaska Native. 

18 ‘‘(7) NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE.—The term 

19 ‘Native American language’ means a historical, tra20 ditional language spoken by Native Americans. 

21 ‘‘(8) NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE COLLEGE.— 

22 The term ‘Native American language college’ 

23 means— 

24 ‘‘(A) a tribally controlled college or univer25 sity (as defined in section 2 of the Tribally ConVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:29 Feb 21, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4766.IH H4766

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1 trolled College or University Assistance Act of 

2 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1801)); and 

3 ‘‘(B) a college that is applying for, or has 

4 obtained, funds under section 109 for a Native 

5 American language survival school in a Native 

6 American language that— 

7 ‘‘(i) the college regularly offers as 

8 part of the curriculum of the college; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) has the support of an Indian 

10 tribal government traditionally affiliated 

11 with the Native American language. 

12 ‘‘(9) NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE EDU13 CATIONALORGANIZATION.—The term ‘Native Amer14 ican language educational organization’ means an 

15 organization that— 

16 ‘‘(A) is governed by a board consisting— 

17 ‘‘(i) primarily of Native Americans; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(ii) as many speakers of 1 or more 

20 Native American languages as practicable; 

21 ‘‘(B) is currently providing instruction 

22 through the use of a Native American language 

23 to at least 10 preschool, elementary school, or 

24 secondary school students for at least 700 

25 hours per year per student; 


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1 ‘‘(C) has provided instruction through the 

2 use of a Native American language to at least 

3 10 preschool, elementary school, or secondary 

4 school students for at least 700 hours per year 

5 per student for a period of not less than 3 years 

6 before the date of application for a grant or 

7 contract under this title; and 

8 ‘‘(D) may be a public school that meets the 

9 requirements of subparagraphs (A), (B), and 

10 (C). 

11 ‘‘(10) NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE NEST.— 

12 The term ‘Native American language nest’ means a 

13 site-based educational program that— 

14 ‘‘(A) enrolls families with children under 

15 the age of 7; 

16 ‘‘(B) is conducted through a Native Amer17 ican language for at least 700 hours per year 

18 per student; and 

19 ‘‘(C) has the specific goal of strengthening, 

20 revitalizing, or reestablishing a Native Amer21 ican language and culture as a living language 

22 and culture of daily life. 

23 ‘‘(11) NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE SURVIVAL

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1 vival school’ means a site-based educational pro2 gram— 

3 ‘‘(A) in which a Native American language 

4 is dominant; 

5 ‘‘(B) that expands from a Native American 

6 language nest, as a separate entity or inclusive 

7 of a Native American language nest, to enroll 

8 families with children eligible for elementary 

9 school or secondary school; and 

10 ‘‘(C) that provides a complete education 

11 through a Native American language with the 

12 specific goal of strengthening, revitalizing, or 

13 reestablishing a Native American language and 

14 culture as a living language and culture of daily 

15 life. 

16 ‘‘(12) NATIVE AMERICAN PACIFIC ISLANDER.— 

17 The term ‘Native American Pacific Islander’ means 

18 any descendant of the aboriginal people of any is19 land in the Pacific Ocean that is a territory or pos20 session of the United States. 

21 ‘‘(13) NATIVE HAWAIIAN.—The term ‘Native 

22 Hawaiian’ has the meaning given the term in section 

23 7207 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

24 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7517). 


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1 ‘‘(14) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘sec2 ondary school’ has the meaning given the term in 

3 section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu4 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

5 ‘‘(15) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

6 means the Secretary of Education. 

7 ‘‘(16) TRIBALORGANIZATION.—The term ‘trib8 al organization’ has the meaning given the term in 

9 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu10 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).’’. 

11 SEC. 3. NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE NESTS AND SUR12 VIVAL SCHOOLS. 

13 The Native American Languages Act (25 U.S.C. 

14 2901 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 108. NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE NESTS. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make grants 

18 to, or enter into contracts with, Native American language 

19 educational organizations, Native American language col20 leges, Indian tribal governments, organizations that dem21 onstrate the potential to become Native American lan22 guage educational organizations, or consortia of such enti23 ties for the purpose of establishing Native American lan24 guage nests for— 

25 ‘‘(1) students under the age of 7; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) families of the students. 

2 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—A Native American language 

3 nest receiving funds under this section shall— 

4 ‘‘(1) provide instruction and child care through 

5 the use of a Native American language for at least 

6 10 children under the age of 7 for at least 700 

7 hours per year per student; 

8 ‘‘(2) provide compulsory classes in a Native 

9 American language for parents of students enrolled 

10 in a Native American language nest (including Na11 tive American language-speaking parents); 

12 ‘‘(3) provide compulsory monthly meetings for 

13 parents and other family members of students en14 rolled in a Native American language nest; 

15 ‘‘(4) provide a preference in enrollment for stu16 dents and families who are fluent in a Native Amer17 ican language; 

18 ‘‘(5) receive at least 5 percent of the funding 

19 for the program from another source, which may in20 clude any federally funded program (such as a Head 

21 Start program funded under the Head Start Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.)); and 

23 ‘‘(6) ensure that a Native American language 

24 becomes the dominant medium of instruction in the 

25 Native American language nest not later than 6 


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1 years after the date on which the Native American 

2 language nest first receives funding under this title. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 109. NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE SURVIVAL 

4 SCHOOLS. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make grants 

6 to, or enter into contracts with, Native American language 

7 educational organizations, Native American language col8 leges or universities where such languages are taught, In9 dian tribal governments, or consortia of such entities, to 

10 operate, expand, and increase the number of Native Amer11 ican language survival schools throughout the United 

12 States and the territories of the United States for Native 

13 American children and Native American language-speak14 ing children. 

15 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—As a condition of receiving funds 

16 under subsection (a), a Native American language edu17 cational organization, a Native American language college 

18 or universities where such languages are taught, an Indian 

19 tribal government, or a consortium of such entities— 

20 ‘‘(1) shall have at least 3 years experience in 

21 operating and administering— 

22 ‘‘(A) a Native American language survival 

23 school; 

24 ‘‘(B) a Native American language nest; or 


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1 ‘‘(C) any other educational program in 

2 which instruction is conducted in a Native 

3 American language; 

4 ‘‘(2) shall include students who are subject to 

5 State compulsory education laws; and 

6 ‘‘(3) may include— 

7 ‘‘(A) students from infancy through grade 

8 12; and 

9 ‘‘(B) the families of the students. 

10 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—In making grants or entering into 

11 contracts under this section, the Secretary shall give pri12 ority to— 

13 ‘‘(1) the provision of direct educational services; 

14 ‘‘(2) applicants that have the support of each 

15 appropriate tribal government; 

16 ‘‘(3) applicants that have researched language 

17 revitalization and the unique characteristics and cir18 cumstances of the languages of their schools; and 

19 ‘‘(4) applicants that are geographically placed 

20 amongst a high density of potential Native American 

21 and other students. 

22 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) REQUIRED USES.—A Native American lan24 guage survival school receiving funds under this sec25 tion— 


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1 ‘‘(A) shall consist of not less than 700 

2 hours of instruction per student conducted an3 nually through 1 or more Native American lan4 guages for at least 15 students for whom a Na5 tive American language survival school is their 

6 principal place of instruction; 

7 ‘‘(B) shall provide direct educational serv8 ices and school support services to students, 

9 which may include— 

10 ‘‘(i) support services for children with 

11 special needs; 

12 ‘‘(ii) transportation; 

13 ‘‘(iii) boarding; 

14 ‘‘(iv) food service; 

15 ‘‘(v) teacher and staff housing; 

16 ‘‘(vi) purchase of basic materials; 

17 ‘‘(vii) adaptation of teaching mate18 rials; 

19 ‘‘(viii) translation and development; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(ix) other appropriate services; 

22 ‘‘(C)(i) shall provide direct or indirect edu23 cational and support services for the families of 

24 enrolled students on site, through colleges, or 

25 through other means to increase the families’ 


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1 knowledge and use of the Native American lan2 guage and culture; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) may impose a requirement of family 

4 participation as a condition of student enroll5 ment; and 

6 ‘‘(D) shall ensure that within 4 years of 

7 enrollment, all students achieve functional flu8 ency in a Native American language that is ap9 propriate to the unique circumstances and 

10 endangerment status of the Native American 

11 language, with the ultimate goal of academic or 

12 cognitive fluency. 

13 ‘‘(2) PERMISSIBLE USES.—A Native American 

14 language survival school receiving funds under this 

15 section may— 

16 ‘‘(A) include Native American language 

17 nests and other educational programs for stu18 dents who— 

19 ‘‘(i) are not Native American lan20 guage speakers; but 

21 ‘‘(ii) seek— 

22 ‘‘(I) to establish fluency through 

23 instruction in a Native American lan24 guage; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) to reestablish fluency as de2 scendants of Native American lan3 guage speakers; 

4 ‘‘(B) provide instruction through more 

5 than 1 language; 

6 ‘‘(C) provide instruction through a regional 

7 program (as opposed to 1 site) to better serve 

8 geographically dispersed students; 

9 ‘‘(D) include a program of concurrent and 

10 summer college or university education course 

11 enrollment for secondary school students en12 rolled in the Native American language survival 

13 school; 

14 ‘‘(E) provide special support for Native 

15 American languages for which there are very 

16 few or no remaining Native American language 

17 speakers; 

18 ‘‘(F) develop comprehensive curricula in 

19 Native American language instruction and in20 struction through Native American languages, 

21 including— 

22 ‘‘(i) curricula that can be used by 

23 public schools for— 

24 ‘‘(I) instruction through a Native 

25 American language; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) teaching Native American 

2 languages as subjects; 

3 ‘‘(ii) community Native American lan4 guage use in communities served by Native 

5 American language survival schools; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) knowledge of a specific Native 

7 American language gained through re8 search for the purpose of directly aiding 

9 the development of curriculum materials; 

10 ‘‘(G) provide programs in pre-service and 

11 in-service teacher training, staff training, per12 sonnel development, upgrading of teacher and 

13 staff skills, and community resource develop14 ment training, that shall include a program 

15 component that has as the objective of the pro16 gram component increased speaking proficiency 

17 in Native American languages for teachers and 

18 staff employed in Native American language 

19 survival schools and Native American language 

20 nests, which may include— 

21 ‘‘(i) visits or exchanges among Native 

22 American language survival schools and 

23 Native American language nests of teach24 ers, staff, students, or families of students; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) participation in conferences or 

2 special nondegree programs focusing on 

3 the use of 1 or more Native American lan4 guages for the education of teachers, staff, 

5 students, or families of students; 

6 ‘‘(iii) subject to paragraph (3), full or 

7 partial scholarships and fellowships to col8 leges or universities— 

9 ‘‘(I) to provide for the profes10 sional development of faculty and 

11 staff; 

12 ‘‘(II) to meet requirements for 

13 the involvement of the family or the 

14 community of Native American lan15 guage survival school students in Na16 tive American language survival 

17 schools; and 

18 ‘‘(III) to develop resource per19 sonnel for Native American language 

20 programs in public schools; 

21 ‘‘(iv) training in the language and cul22 ture associated with a Native American 

23 language survival school that is provided 

24 by a community or academic expert, in25 cluding credit courses; 


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1 ‘‘(v) structuring of personnel oper2 ations to support Native American lan3 guage and cultural fluency and program 

4 effectiveness; 

5 ‘‘(vi) Native American language plan6 ning, documentation, reference material, 

7 and archives development; and 

8 ‘‘(vii) recruitment for participation in 

9 teacher, staff, student, and community de10 velopment; or 

11 ‘‘(H) rent, lease, purchase, construct, 

12 maintain, or repair educational facilities to en13 sure the academic achievement of Native Amer14 ican language survival school students. 

15 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS FOR RECIPIENTS OF FEL16 LOWSHIPS OR SCHOLARSHIPS.—A recipient of a fel17 lowship or scholarship under paragraph (2)(G)(iii) 

18 who is enrolled in a program leading to a degree or 

19 certificate shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) be trained in the Native American 

21 language of the Native American language sur22 vival school, if such program is available 

23 through that Native American language; 

24 ‘‘(B) complete a minimum annual number 

25 of hours in Native American language study or 


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1 training during the period of the fellowship or 

2 scholarship; and 

3 ‘‘(C) enter into a contract that obligates 

4 the recipient to provide the recipient’s profes5 sional services, during the period of the fellow6 ship or scholarship or on completion of a degree 

7 or certificate, in Native American language in8 struction in the Native American language as9 sociated with the Native American language 

10 survival school in which the service obligation is 

11 to be fulfilled. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 110. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM. 

13 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall make 

14 grants, or enter into contracts, to establish 1 demonstra15 tion program that will provide assistance to Native Amer16 ican language survival schools and Native American lan17 guage nests. 

18 ‘‘(b) LOCATION.—The demonstration program shall 

19 be established at a Carnegie Research-Extensive Univer20 sity (as defined under the Carnegie Classification of Insti21 tutions of Higher Education) that— 

22 ‘‘(1) has substantial Native American enroll23 ment; 

24 ‘‘(2) has a Native American language program; 


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1 ‘‘(3) is located in a State in which at least 7 

2 Native American languages are spoken; and 

3 ‘‘(4) is located near Native American commu4 nities that have Native American language speakers. 

5 ‘‘(c) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the demonstration 

6 program shall be the following: 

7 ‘‘(1) Assisting in establishing, conducting, and 

8 administering community-based Native American 

9 language nests or Native American language survival 

10 schools by— 

11 ‘‘(A) developing community leadership for 

12 Native American language programs; 

13 ‘‘(B) training Native American language 

14 mentors; and 

15 ‘‘(C) conducting community education and 

16 outreach on Native American language issues. 

17 ‘‘(2) Assisting in developing training programs 

18 for Native American language speakers and teachers 

19 through— 

20 ‘‘(A) on-site training and university or col21 lege courses; 

22 ‘‘(B) summer training institutes; 

23 ‘‘(C) materials-development workshops; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(D) regional seminars on Native Amer2 ican language issues. 

3 ‘‘(3) Examining the affects of local, State and 

4 Federal education policies on the long-term survival 

5 of Native American languages. 

6 ‘‘(4) Examining the impact of culturally-respon7 sive curricula on Native American languages. 

8 ‘‘(d) USE OF TECHNOLOGY.—The demonstration 

9 program established under this section may employ syn10 chronic and asynchronic telecommunications and other ap11 propriate means to maintain coordination and cooperation 

12 with participating Native American language survival 

13 schools and Native American language nests. 

14 ‘‘(e) SITE VISIT EVALUATIONS.—The demonstration 

15 program established under this section shall provide direc16 tion to the Secretary in developing a site visit evaluation 

17 of Native American language survival schools and Native 

18 American language nests. 

19 ‘‘(f) FOLLOW-UP AND DATA COLLECTION.—The 

20 demonstration program established under this section may 

21 conduct follow-up data collection and analysis on students 

22 while the students are in school— 

23 ‘‘(1) to assess how Native American language 

24 survival school students are performing in compari25 son with other students; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) to identify instructional methods that are 

2 working and instructional methods that are not 

3 working. 

4 ‘‘(g) ENDOWMENTS AND FACILITIES.—The dem5 onstration program established under this section may— 

6 ‘‘(1) establish endowments to further the activi7 ties of the demonstration program relating to the 

8 study and preservation of Native American lan9 guages; and 

10 ‘‘(2) use funds to provide for the rental, lease, 

11 purchase, construction, maintenance, and repair of 

12 facilities. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 111. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

14 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

15 this title such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal 

16 years 2007 through 2012.’’. 

Æ 


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