S. 989 

One Hundred Seventeenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and twenty two 

An Act 

To establish a Native American language resource center in furtherance of the 

policy set forth in the Native American Languages Act. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Native American Language 

Resource Center Act of 2022’’. 

SEC. 2. NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE RESOURCE CENTERS. 

(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to further align the 

resources provided by the Department of Education with the policies 

set forth in the Native American Languages Act (25 U.S.C. 2901 

et seq.) through establishment of a program within the Department 

of Education to support 1 or more Native American language 

resource centers. 

(b) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education is authorized 

to make a grant to, or enter into a contract with, an eligible 

entity for the purpose of— 

(1) establishing, strengthening, and operating a Native 

American language resource center; and 

(2) staffing the center with individuals with relevant expertise and experience, including staff who speak American Indian 

and Alaska Native languages and the Native Hawaiian language and have worked in language education in the American 

Indian and Alaska Native languages and the Native Hawaiian 

language in a preschool, elementary school, secondary school, 

adult education, or higher education program. 

(c) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—The Native American language 

resource center established under subsection (b) shall carry out 

activities to— 

(1) improve the capacity to teach and learn Native American languages; 

(2) further Native American language use and acquisition; 

(3) preserve, protect, and promote the rights and freedom 

of Native Americans to use, practice, and develop Native American languages in furtherance of— 

(A) the policies set forth in the Native American Languages Act (25 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.); and 

(B) the United States trust responsibility to Native 

American communities; 

(4) address the effects of past discrimination and ongoing 

inequities experienced by Native American language speakers; 
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(5) support the revitalization and reclamation of Native 

American languages; and 

(6) support the use of Native American languages as a 

medium of instruction for a wide variety of age levels, academic 

content areas, and types of schools, including Native American 

language medium education. 

(d) ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—The Native American 

language resource center established under subsection (b) may also 

carry out activities— 

(1) to encourage and support the use of Native American 

languages within educational systems in the same manner 

as other world languages, including by encouraging State educational agencies, local educational agencies, and institutions 

of higher education to offer Native American language courses 

the same full academic credit as courses in other world languages; 

(2) to support the development, adoption, and use of educational outcome metrics aligned with the Native American 

language of instruction, including assessments, qualifications, 

and processes based on promising practices in Native American 

language medium education; 

(3) to provide assistance to Native American language programs seeking Federal resources; 

(4) to encourage and support teacher preparation programs 

that prepare teachers to teach Native American languages and 

to use Native American languages as a medium of instruction, 

including by disseminating promising practices and developing 

pedagogical programming and through appropriate alternative 

pathways to teacher certification; 

(5) to provide information and resources— 

(A) on promising practices in the use and revitalization 

of Native American languages in Native American communities, including use in educational institutions; and 

(B) for the use of technology in school and communitybased Native American language programs to support the 

retention, use, and teaching of Native American languages; 

(6) to support the use of distance learning technologies 

and training for parents, students, teachers, and learning support staff associated with Native American language programs, 

including— 

(A) the compilation and curation of digital libraries 

and other online resources for Native American languages, 

except that any materials collected by the center shall 

only be materials provided by a Native American language 

program or Native American community; 

(B) the development of optional distance learning curricula appropriate for preschool, elementary school, secondary school, adult education, and postsecondary education; 

(C) pedagogical training for Native American language 

teachers; and 

(D) other efforts necessary to continue Native American 

language acquisition through distance learning; 

(7) to provide technical assistance for Native American 

communities and school systems to develop Native American 

language medium education programs in preschool, elementary 
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school, secondary school, or adult education programs conducted 

through the medium of Native American languages; 

(8) to support Native American language programs and 

Native American communities in— 

(A) accessing international best practices, resources, 

and research in indigenous language revitalization; and 

(B) gathering and sharing technical assistance, promising practices, and experiences; 

(9) for the operation of intensive programs, including 

summer institutes, to train Native American language 

speakers, to provide professional development, and to improve 

Native American language instruction through preservice and 

in-service language training for teachers; and 

(10) that otherwise support the Native American language 

resource center established under subsection (b) to carry out 

the activities required in subsection (c). 

(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

(1) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘elementary school’’, 

‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘secondary school’’, and ‘‘State educational agency’’ have the meanings given the terms in section 

8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

(20 U.S.C. 7801). 

(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means— 

(A) an institution of higher education; 

(B) an entity within an institution of higher education 

with dedicated expertise in Native American language and 

culture education; or 

(C) a consortium that includes 1 or more institutions 

of higher education or 1 or more entities described in 

subparagraph (B). 

(3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the meaning given the term 

in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

1001). 

(4) NATIVE AMERICAN; NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE.—The 

terms ‘‘Native American’’ and ‘‘Native American language’’ have 

the meanings given those terms in section 103 of the Native 

American Languages Act (25 U.S.C. 2902). 
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(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized 

to be appropriated to carry out this section, $3,000,000 for each 

fiscal year. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.