II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2299 

To strengthen the national security by encouraging and assisting in the 

expansion and improvement of educational programs to meet critical 

needs at the elementary, secondary, and higher education levels. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 7, 2004 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. AKAKA) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To strengthen the national security by encouraging and assisting in the expansion and improvement of educational 

programs to meet critical needs at the elementary, secondary, and higher education levels. 

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 ‘‘Homeland Security 

5 Education Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find8 ings: 
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•S 2299 IS 

1 (1) American elementary and secondary schools 

2 need more qualified teachers in mathematics and 

3 science. 

4 (2) American colleges and universities must 

5 place new emphasis on improving the teaching in 

6 areas of disciplines that are critical to the interests 

7 of the United States. 

8 (3) American elementary and secondary schools 

9 need the equipment and resources to improve edu10 cation in science and mathematics. 

11 (4) Foreign language proficiency is crucial to 

12 the economic competitiveness and national security 

13 of the United States. Significant improvement in the 

14 quantity and quality of foreign language instruction 

15 offered in United States elementary and secondary 

16 schools is necessary. 

17 (5) All Americans need a global perspective. To 

18 understand the world around us, we must acquaint 

19 ourselves with the languages, cultures, and history 

20 of other nations. 

21 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to ensure 

22 national security through increasing the quantity, diver23 sity, and quality of the teaching and learning of subjects 

24 in the fields of science, mathematics, and foreign lan25 guage. 
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•S 2299 IS 

1 TITLE I—LOANS TO STUDENTS 

2 IN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER 

3 EDUCATION 

4 SEC. 101. SUBSIDIZED INTEREST LOANS TO STUDENTS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education shall 

6 establish and implement a program under the guaranteed 

7 and direct student loan program provisions of title IV of 

8 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et 

9 seq.) to cancel the obligation of loan borrowers who are 

10 United States citizens, United States nationals, perma11 nent legal residents, or citizens of the Freely Associated 

12 States (as defined in section 103(16)(b) of the Higher 

13 Education Act of 1965), to pay interest on a loan provided 

14 for under such title in order to serve as an incentive for 

15 students to obtain degrees in science, engineering, mathe16 matics, or a foreign language. 

17 (b) GUARANTEED STUDENT LOANS.—Part B of title 

18 IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 

19 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 428K the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 428L. STUDENT LOAN INTEREST FORGIVENESS. 

22 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 

23 forgive interest payments on student loans under this part 

24 for a selected borrower in repayment status who has ob25 tained an undergraduate degree in science, mathematics, 
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•S 2299 IS 

1 engineering, or a foreign language in order to provide ad2 ditional incentives for undergraduate students to pursue 

3 and obtain degrees in these subjects. 

4 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the sums appro6 priated pursuant to subsection (d), the Secretary 

7 shall carry out a program, through the holder of the 

8 loan, assuming the obligation to repay the interest 

9 on a loan amount for a loan made under this part 

10 in accordance with subsection (c), for a borrower 

11 who— 

12 ‘‘(A) is in need of the amount of the loan 

13 to pursue a course of study at an accredited in14 stitution of higher education; 

15 ‘‘(B) is in good academic standing and is 

16 capable, in the opinion of the institution of 

17 higher education involved, of maintaining good 

18 standing in such course of study; 

19 ‘‘(C) will obtain a bachelor’s degree in 

20 science, mathematics, engineering, or a foreign 

21 language; 

22 ‘‘(D) has completed at least half of the 

23 course requirements necessary to receive such 

24 degree; and 
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1 ‘‘(E) is not in default on a loan for which 

2 the borrower seeks forgiveness of interest pay3 ments. 

4 ‘‘(2) SELECTION OF RECIPIENTS.—The Sec5 retary shall, by regulation, establish a formula that 

6 ensures fairness and equality for applicants in the 

7 selection of borrowers for loan interest repayment 

8 under this section, based on the amount available 

9 pursuant to subsection (d). 

10 ‘‘(c) TERMS.—After a borrower has obtained a bach11 elor’s degree in science, mathematics, engineering, or a 

12 foreign language, the Federal Government shall assume 

13 any interest payments due for as long as the borrower is 

14 in loan repayment status, except that in failing to meet 

15 any of the obligations set forth in this section, the bor16 rower will reimburse the Federal Government for the 

17 amount of the assistance provided including interest, at 

18 a rate and schedule to be determined by the Secretary. 

19 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

20 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 

21 $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, and such sums as may 

22 be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years. 

23 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 ‘‘(1) FOREIGN LANGUAGE.—The term ‘foreign 

25 language’ includes the languages of Arabic, Chinese, 
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1 Japanese, Korean, Pashto, Persian-Farsi, Por2 tuguese, Russian, Serbian-Croatian, and any lan3 guage identified by the National Security Education 

4 Program as a critical foreign language need. 

5 ‘‘(2) SCIENCE.—The term ‘science’ means any 

6 of the natural and physical sciences including, but 

7 not limited to, chemistry, biology, physics, and com8 puter science. Such term shall not include any of the 

9 social sciences.’’. 

10 (c) DIRECT STUDENT LOANS.—Part D of title IV of 

11 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et 

12 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 460A. STUDENT LOAN INTEREST FORGIVENESS. 

14 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 

15 forgive interest payments on student loans under this part 

16 for a student in repayment status who has obtained an 

17 undergraduate degree in science, mathematics, engineer18 ing, or a foreign language in order to provide additional 

19 incentives for undergraduate students to pursue degrees 

20 in these subjects. 

21 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the sums appro23 priated pursuant to subsection (d), the Secretary 

24 shall cancel the obligation to pay interest on a loan 
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•S 2299 IS 

1 amount, in accordance with subsection (c) for a loan 

2 under this part, for a borrower who— 

3 ‘‘(A) is in need of the amount of the loan 

4 to pursue a course of study at an accredited in5 stitution of higher education; 

6 ‘‘(B) is in good standing and is capable, in 

7 the opinion of the institution of higher edu8 cation involved, of maintaining good standing in 

9 such course of study; 

10 ‘‘(C) will obtain a bachelor’s degree in ei11 ther science, mathematics, engineering, or a 

12 foreign language; 

13 ‘‘(D) has completed at least half of the 

14 course requirements toward such degree; and 

15 ‘‘(E) is not in default on a loan for which 

16 the borrower seeks forgiveness of interest pay17 ments. 

18 ‘‘(2) SELECTION OF RECIPIENTS.—The Sec19 retary shall by regulation, establish a formula that 

20 ensures fairness and equality for applicants in the 

21 selection of borrowers for loan interest repayment 

22 under this section, based on the amount available 

23 pursuant to subsection (d). 

24 ‘‘(c) TERMS.—After a borrower has obtained a bach25 elor’s degree in science, mathematics, engineering, or a 
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1 foreign language, the Federal Government shall assume 

2 any interest payments due for as long as the borrower is 

3 in loan repayment status, except that in failing to meet 

4 any of the obligations set forth in this section, the bor5 rower will reimburse the Federal Government for the 

6 amount of the assistance provided including interest, at 

7 a rate and schedule to be determined by the Secretary. 

8 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

9 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 

10 $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, and such sums as may 

11 be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years. 

12 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 ‘‘(1) FOREIGN LANGUAGE.—The term ‘foreign 

14 language’ includes the languages of Arabic, Chinese, 

15 Japanese, Korean, Pashto, Persian-Farsi, Por16 tuguese, Russian, Serbian-Croatian, and any lan17 guage identified by the National Security Education 

18 Program as a critical foreign language need. 

19 ‘‘(2) SCIENCE.—The term ‘science’ means any 

20 of the natural and physical sciences including, but 

21 not limited to, chemistry, biology, physics, and com22 puter science. Such term shall not include any of the 

23 social sciences.’’. 
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1 SEC. 102. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

2 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall propose regu4 lations to carry out this title and submit to the appropriate 

5 committees of Congress a report on how the Secretary of 

6 Education plans to implement the programs under the 

7 amendments made by section 101 and advertise such pro8 grams to institutions of higher education and potential ap9 plicants. Not later than 6 months after the date on which 

10 the comment period for the regulations proposed under the 

11 preceding sentence ends, the Secretary of Education shall 

12 promulgate final regulations to carry out this title. 

13 TITLE II—STRENGTHENING 

14 SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS 

15 INSTRUCTION AT ELEMEN16 TARY AND SECONDARY 

17 SCHOOLS 

18 SEC. 201. FEDERAL GRANTS TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 

19 Title V of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

20 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7201 et seq.) is amended by add21 ing at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘PART E—STRENGTHENING SCIENCE AND 

23 MATHEMATICS INSTRUCTION 

24 ‘‘SEC. 5701. FEDERAL GRANTS TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 

25 ‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.— 
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1 ‘‘(1) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall es2 tablish a demonstration program under which the 

3 Secretary shall award grants to eligible local edu4 cational agencies to enable such agencies to develop 

5 programs that build or expand mathematics and 

6 science curriculum, upgrade existing laboratory fa7 cilities, and purchase equipment necessary to estab8 lish such programs. 

9 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—The program 

10 described in paragraph (1) shall be designed to pro11 vide students with a rich standards-based course of 

12 study in mathematics and science. 

13 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—A 

14 local educational agency shall be eligible to receive a grant 

15 under this section if the agency— 

16 ‘‘(1) provides assurances that it has executed 

17 conditional agreements with representatives of the 

18 private sector to provide services and funds de19 scribed in subsection (c); and 

20 ‘‘(2) agrees to enter into an agreement with the 

21 Secretary to comply with the requirements of this 

22 section. 

23 ‘‘(c) PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION.—The condi24 tional agreements referred to in subsection (b)(1) shall de-
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1 scribe participation by the private sector in programs car2 ried out under this section, including— 

3 ‘‘(1) the donation of technology tools; 

4 ‘‘(2) the establishment of internship and men5 toring opportunities for students who participate in 

6 a mathematics or science program, paying particular 

7 attention to those students who are members of tra8 ditionally under-represented groups in these fields; 

9 or 

10 ‘‘(3) the donation of scholarship funds for stu11 dents to pursue or continue a study of mathematics 

12 or science at accredited institutions of higher edu13 cation. 

14 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 

16 grant under this section, an eligible local educational 

17 agency (as described in subsection (b)) shall submit 

18 an application to the Secretary in accordance with 

19 guidelines established by the Secretary pursuant to 

20 paragraph (2). 

21 ‘‘(2) GUIDELINES.— 

22 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENTS.—The guidelines re23 ferred to in paragraph (1) shall require, at a 

24 minimum, that the application include— 
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1 ‘‘(i) a description of proposed activi2 ties consistent with the uses of funds and 

3 program requirements under subsection 

4 (a); 

5 ‘‘(ii) a description of programs involv6 ing innovative experience learning such as 

7 laboratory experience; 

8 ‘‘(iii) a description of any applicable 

9 higher education scholarship program, in10 cluding criteria for selection, duration of 

11 scholarships, number of scholarships to be 

12 awarded each year, and funding levels for 

13 scholarships; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) evidence of private sector partici15 pation and support in cash or in kind as 

16 specified under subsection (c). 

17 ‘‘(B) GUIDELINE PUBLICATION.—Not later 

18 than 6 months after the date of enactment of 

19 this section, the Secretary shall issue and pub20 lish proposed guidelines under subparagraph 

21 (A). Not later than 6 months after the date on 

22 which the period for comment concerning the 

23 proposed guidelines ends, the Secretary shall 

24 issue final guidelines under such subparagraph. 
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1 ‘‘(3) SELECTION.—The Secretary shall select a 

2 local educational agency to receive a grant under 

3 this section on the basis of merit, as determined 

4 after the Secretary has conducted a comprehensive 

5 review, and in accordance with subsection (e). 

6 ‘‘(e) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give special pri7 ority in awarding grants under this section to eligible high 

8 need local educational agencies (as such term is defined 

9 in section 201(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965). 

10 ‘‘(f) CONDITIONAL AGREEMENT.—In this section, the 

11 term ‘conditional agreement’ means an arrangement be12 tween representatives of the private sector and local edu13 cational agencies to provide certain services and funds, 

14 such as the donation of computer hardware and software, 

15 the donation of science laboratory equipment suitable for 

16 students in kindergarten through grade 12, the establish17 ment of internship and mentoring opportunities for stu18 dents who participate in mathematics, science, and infor19 mation technology programs, and the donation of scholar20 ship funds for use at institutions of higher education by 

21 eligible students who have participated in the mathe22 matics, science, and information technology programs. 

23 ‘‘(g) APPROPRIATIONS AUTHORIZED.—There are au24 thorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 
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•S 2299 IS 

1 $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, and such sums as may 

2 be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 5702. SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION 

4 STUDY. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in cooperation 

6 with the Director of the National Science Foundation, 

7 shall conduct a study of how mathematics and science ef8 forts at the National Science Foundation and the Depart9 ment of Education relating to students in kindergarten 

10 through grade 12 are coordinated, and if such coordina11 tion does not exist, how such entities plan to coordinate 

12 such efforts. 

13 ‘‘(b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

14 of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall prepare 

15 and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a 

16 report concerning the findings made with respect to the 

17 study conducted under subsection (a). 

18 ‘‘SEC. 5703. DEFINITION. 

19 ‘‘In this part, the term ‘science’ means any of the 

20 natural and physical sciences including chemistry, biology, 

21 physics, and computer science. Such term does not include 

22 any of the social sciences.’’. 
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1 SEC. 202. NATIONAL MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE NEEDS 

2 ASSESSMENT. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education, 

4 jointly with the Director of the National Science Founda5 tion, shall conduct an assessment of the long-term mathe6 matics and science needs of the national security work7 force and of the larger Federal workforce of which the na8 tional security workforce is a part. 

9 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

10 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary of Edu11 cation shall prepare and submit to the appropriate com12 mittees of Congress a report concerning the findings made 

13 with respect to the assessment conducted under subsection 

14 (a). 

15 TITLE III—PROMOTING FOREIGN 

16 LANGUAGE EDUCATION 

17 SEC. 301. FINDINGS. 

18 Congress makes the following findings: 

19 (1) Foreign language skills and area expertise 

20 are integral to, or directly support, every foreign in21 telligence discipline and are essential factors in na22 tional security readiness, information superiority, 

23 and coalition peacekeeping or warfighting missions. 

24 (2) Federal intelligence and defense agencies 

25 have been reporting shortfalls in language capability. 
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•S 2299 IS 

1 (3) Communicating in languages other than 

2 English and understanding and accepting cultural 

3 and societal differences are vital to the success of 

4 peacetime and wartime military operations. 

5 (4) The optimum time to begin learning a sec6 ond language is in elementary school, when children 

7 have the ability to learn and excel in several foreign 

8 language acquisition skills, including pronunciation. 

9 (5) Foreign language study can increase chil10 dren’s capacity for critical and creative thinking 

11 skills, and children who study a second language 

12 show greater cognitive development in areas such as 

13 mental flexibility, creativity, tolerance, and higher 

14 order thinking skills. 

15 (6) Children who have studied a foreign lan16 guage in elementary school achieve expected gains 

17 and score higher on standardized tests in reading, 

18 language arts, and mathematics than children who 

19 have not studied a foreign language. 

20 (7) Proficiency levels required to perform na21 tional security functions have been raised, and what 

22 was once considered proficiency is no longer the 

23 case. The ability to comprehend and articulate tech24 nical and complex information has become critical. 
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1 (8) Languages taught in universities are often 

2 not the languages that address national security 

3 needs. The top languages the United States Defense 

4 Language Institute requires are Arabic, Chinese, 

5 Japanese, Korean, Pashto, Persian-Farsi, Por6 tuguese, Russian, and Serbian-Croatian. Existing 

7 foreign language proficiency in nontargeted lan8 guages also provides a foundation for subsequent 

9 foreign languages, even if unrelated. 

10 (9) Immersion through work or schooling 

11 abroad is very beneficial for developing needed lan12 guage proficiencies. 

13 (10) Federal agencies have identified the need 

14 for employees proficient in foreign languages who 

15 have diverse skills including cryptography, trans16 lation (particularly with technical documents), de17 briefing, and interrogation. 

18 SEC. 302. ENCOURAGING EARLY FOREIGN LANGUAGE 

19 STUDIES. 

20 Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

21 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et seq.) is amended by add22 ing at the end the following: 
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•S 2299 IS 

1 ‘‘PART E—ENCOURAGING EARLY FOREIGN 

2 LANGUAGE STUDIES 

3 ‘‘SEC. 2501. ENCOURAGING EARLY FOREIGN LANGUAGE 

4 STUDIES. 

5 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘eligi7 ble partnership’ means a partnership that— 

8 ‘‘(A) shall include— 

9 ‘‘(i) a foreign language department of 

10 an institution of higher education; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) a local educational agency; and 

12 ‘‘(B) may include— 

13 ‘‘(i) another foreign language or 

14 teacher training department of an institu15 tion of higher education; 

16 ‘‘(ii) another local educational agency, 

17 or an elementary or secondary school; 

18 ‘‘(iii) a business; 

19 ‘‘(iv) a nonprofit organization of dem20 onstrated effectiveness, including a mu21 seum; 

22 ‘‘(v) heritage or community centers 

23 for language study; 

24 ‘‘(vi) language resource centers au25 thorized under part A of title VI of the 

26 Higher Education Act of 1965; or 
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•S 2299 IS 

1 ‘‘(vii) the State foreign language coor2 dinator or State educational agency. 

3 ‘‘(2) HIGH NEED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN4 CY.—The term ‘high need local educational agency’ 

5 has the meaning given the term in section 201(b) of 

6 the Higher Education Act of 1965. 

7 ‘‘(3) LESS-COMMONLY TAUGHT FOREIGN LAN8 GUAGES.—The term ‘less-commonly taught foreign 

9 languages’ includes the languages of Arabic, Chi10 nese, Japanese, Korean, Pashto, Persian-Farsi, Por11 tuguese, Russian, Serbian-Croatian, and any other 

12 language identified by the National Security Edu13 cation Program as a critical foreign language need. 

14 ‘‘(4) SUMMER WORKSHOP OR INSTITUTE.—The 

15 term ‘summer workshop or institute’ means a work16 shop or institute, conducted during the summer, 

17 that— 

18 ‘‘(A) is conducted for a period of not less 

19 than 2 weeks; 

20 ‘‘(B) provides for a program that provides 

21 direct interaction between students and faculty; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(C) provides for followup training during 

24 the academic year that— 
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1 ‘‘(i) except as provided in clause (ii) 

2 or (iii), shall be conducted in the classroom 

3 for a period of not less than 3 days, which 

4 may or may not be consecutive; 

5 ‘‘(ii) if the program described in sub6 paragraph (B) is for a period of not more 

7 than 2 weeks, shall be conducted for a pe8 riod of more than 3 days; or 

9 ‘‘(iii) if the program is for teachers in 

10 rural school districts, may be conducted 

11 through distance education. 

12 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 

13 improve the performance of students in the study of for14 eign languages by encouraging States, institutions of high15 er education, elementary schools, and secondary schools 

16 to participate in programs that— 

17 ‘‘(1) upgrade the status and stature of foreign 

18 language teaching by encouraging institutions of 

19 higher education to assume greater responsibility for 

20 improving foreign language teacher education 

21 through the establishment of a comprehensive, inte22 grated system of recruiting and advising such teach23 ers; 

24 ‘‘(2) focus on education of foreign language 

25 teachers as a career-long process that should con-
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•S 2299 IS 

1 tinuously stimulate teachers’ intellectual growth and 

2 upgrade teachers’ knowledge and skills; 

3 ‘‘(3) bring foreign language teachers in elemen4 tary schools and secondary schools together with lin5 guists or higher education foreign language profes6 sionals to increase the subject matter knowledge and 

7 improve the teaching skills of teachers through the 

8 use of more sophisticated resources that institutions 

9 of higher education are better able to provide than 

10 the schools; and 

11 ‘‘(4) develop more rigorous foreign language 

12 curricula that are aligned with— 

13 ‘‘(A) professional accepted standards for 

14 elementary and secondary education instruction; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(B) the standards expected for post-sec17 ondary study in foreign language. 

18 ‘‘(c) GRANTS TO PARTNERSHIPS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized 

20 to award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible 

21 partnerships to enable the eligible partnerships to 

22 pay the Federal share of the costs of carrying out 

23 the authorized activities described in this section. 

24 ‘‘(2) DURATION.—The Secretary shall award 

25 grants under this section for a period of 5 years. 
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1 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

2 the costs of the activities assisted under this section 

3 shall be— 

4 ‘‘(A) 75 percent of the costs for the first 

5 year that an eligible partnership receives a 

6 grant payment under this section; 

7 ‘‘(B) 65 percent of such costs for the sec8 ond such year; and 

9 ‘‘(C) 50 percent of such costs for each of 

10 the third, fourth, and fifth such years. 

11 ‘‘(4) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal 

12 share of the costs of carrying out the authorized ac13 tivities described in this section may be provided in 

14 cash or in kind, fairly evaluated. 

15 ‘‘(5) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

16 section, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible 

17 partnerships— 

18 ‘‘(A) that include high need local edu19 cational agencies; or 

20 ‘‘(B) that emphasize the teaching of the 

21 less-commonly taught foreign languages. 

22 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.— 

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

24 desiring a grant under this section shall submit an 

25 application to the Secretary at such time, in such 
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•S 2299 IS 

1 manner, and accompanied by such information as 

2 the Secretary may require. 

3 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—An application under para4 graph (1) shall include— 

5 ‘‘(A) an assessment of the teacher quality 

6 and professional development needs of all the 

7 schools and agencies participating in the eligible 

8 partnership with respect to the teaching and 

9 learning of foreign languages; 

10 ‘‘(B) a description of how the activities to 

11 be carried out by the eligible partnership will be 

12 based on a review of relevant research, and an 

13 explanation of why the activities are expected to 

14 improve student performance and to strengthen 

15 the quality of foreign language instruction; and 

16 ‘‘(C) a description of— 

17 ‘‘(i) how the eligible partnership will 

18 carry out the authorized activities de19 scribed in subsection (e); and 

20 ‘‘(ii) the eligible partnership’s evalua21 tion and accountability plan as described 

22 in subsection (f). 

23 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Eligible activities to 

24 be conducted by an eligible partnership shall be related 
24 

•S 2299 IS 

1 to elementary schools or secondary schools and shall in2 clude— 

3 ‘‘(1) creating opportunities for enhanced and 

4 ongoing professional development that improves the 

5 subject matter knowledge of foreign language teach6 ers; 

7 ‘‘(2) recruiting university students with foreign 

8 language majors for teaching; 

9 ‘‘(3) promoting strong teaching skills for for10 eign language teachers and teacher educators; 

11 ‘‘(4) establishing foreign language summer 

12 workshops or institutes (including followup training) 

13 for teachers; 

14 ‘‘(5) establishing distance learning programs for 

15 foreign language teachers; 

16 ‘‘(6) designing programs to prepare a teacher 

17 at a school to provide professional development to 

18 other teachers at the school and to assist novice 

19 teachers at such school, including (if applicable) a 

20 mechanism to integrate experiences from a summer 

21 workshop or institute; and 

22 ‘‘(7) developing instruction materials. 

23 ‘‘(f) EVALUATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY PLAN.— 

24 Each eligible partnership receiving a grant under this sec25 tion shall develop an evaluation and accountability plan 
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1 for activities assisted under this section that includes 

2 strong performance objectives. The plan shall include ob3 jectives and measures for— 

4 ‘‘(1) increased participation by students in ad5 vanced courses in foreign language; 

6 ‘‘(2) increased percentages of secondary school 

7 classes in foreign language taught by teachers with 

8 academic majors in foreign language; and 

9 ‘‘(3) increased numbers of foreign language 

10 teachers who participate in content-based profes11 sional development activities. 

12 ‘‘(g) REPORT.—Each eligible partnership receiving a 

13 grant under this section shall annually report to the Sec14 retary regarding the eligible partnership’s progress in 

15 meeting the performance objectives described in sub16 section (f). 

17 ‘‘(h) TERMINATION.—If the Secretary determines 

18 that an eligible partnership is not making substantial 

19 progress in meeting the performance objectives described 

20 in subsection (f) by the end of the third year of a grant 

21 under this section, the grant payments shall not be made 

22 for the fourth and fifth year of the grant. 

23 ‘‘(i) APPROPRIATIONS AUTHORIZED.—There are au24 thorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 
26 

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1 $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, and such sums as may 

2 be necessary for each subsequent fiscal year.’’. 

3 SEC. 303. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ADVANCED FOREIGN 

4 LANGUAGE EDUCATION GRANT PROGRAM. 

5 (a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 

6 support programs in colleges and universities that encour7 age students— 

8 (1) to develop an understanding of science and 

9 technology; 

10 (2) to develop foreign language proficiency; and 

11 (3) to foster future international scientific col12 laboration. 

13 (b) DEVELOPMENT.—The Secretary of Education 

14 shall develop a program for the awarding of grants to in15 stitutions of higher education that develop innovative pro16 grams for the teaching of foreign languages. 

17 (c) REGULATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec18 retary of Education shall promulgate regulations for the 

19 awarding of grants under subsection (b). Such regulations 

20 shall require institutions of higher education to use grant 

21 funds for, among other things— 

22 (1) the development of an on-campus cultural 

23 awareness program by which students attend classes 

24 taught in the foreign language and study the science 
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1 and technology developments and practices in a non2 English speaking country; 

3 (2) immersion programs where students take 

4 science or technology related coursework in a non5 English speaking country; and 

6 (3) other programs, such as summer work7 shops, that emphasize the intense study of a foreign 

8 language and science or technology. 

9 (d) GRANT DISTRIBUTION.—In distributing grants to 

10 institutions of higher education under this section, the 

11 Secretary of Education shall give priority to— 

12 (1) institutions that have programs focusing on 

13 curriculum that combines the study of foreign lan14 guages and the study of science and technology and 

15 produces graduates who have both skills; and 

16 (2) institutions teaching the less-commonly 

17 taught languages of Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Ko18 rean, Pashto, Persian-Farsi, Portuguese, Russian, 

19 Serbian-Croatian, and any language identified by the 

20 National Security Education Program as a critical 

21 foreign language need. 

22 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 (1) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—In 

24 this section, the term ‘‘institution of higher edu25 cation’’ has the meaning given to such term in sec-
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1 tion 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

2 U.S.C. 1001). 

3 (2) SCIENCE.—The term ‘‘science’’ means any 

4 of the natural and physical sciences including chem5 istry, biology, physics, and computer science. Such 

6 term does not include any of the social sciences. 

7 (f) APPROPRIATIONS AUTHORIZED.—There are au8 thorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 

9 $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, and such sums as may 

10 be necessary for each subsequent fiscal year. 

11 SEC. 304. NATIONAL FLAGSHIP LANGUAGE INITIATIVE. 

12 The David L. Boren National Security Education Act 

13 of 1991 (50 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.) is amended— 

14 (1) in section 802(i)(1), by inserting ‘‘, includ15 ing those establishing, operating, or improving for16 eign language immersion programs and activities at 

17 sites overseas,’’ after ‘‘activities’’; and 

18 (2) in section 811, by striking ‘‘$10,000,000’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘$20,000,000’’. 

20 SEC. 305. STUDY ON THE FEASIBILITY OF A NATIONAL LAN21 GUAGE FOUNDATION. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education shall 

23 enter into an agreement with the National Research Coun24 cil to conduct a study on the feasibility of establishing a 
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1 National Language Foundation whose mission would in2 clude— 

3 (1) research and development of teaching and 

4 learning curriculum and software; 

5 (2) the establishment or advancement of stand6 ards to be used in the performance of language in7 struction and testing; 

8 (3) service as a national resource center and 

9 provider for both public and private sectors in lan10 guage education and training; 

11 (4) the development of, and advocacy for, na12 tional policy and programs to improve the skills and 

13 certify the qualification of language teachers; 

14 (5) the development of, and advocacy for, na15 tional policy and programs related to the develop16 ment of foreign language capabilities and expansion 

17 of country and regional studies; 

18 (6) the development of, and advocacy for, na19 tional professional criteria for qualification, employ20 ment, and adequate compensation for language serv21 ices; and 

22 (7) the development of a better understanding 

23 of the changing level of language proficiency and 

24 language needs of the Federal Government. 
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1 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

2 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education 

3 shall transmit to the Committee on Governmental Affairs 

4 of the Senate, the Committee on Health, Education, 

5 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, the Committee on 

6 Government Reform of the House of Representatives, and 

7 the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the 

8 House of Representatives a report setting forth the find9 ings, conclusions, and public policy recommendations of 

10 the National Research Council relating to the creation of 

11 a National Language Foundation. 

Æ