I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1109 
To raise achievement in international education in elementary schools and 
secondary schools through grants to improve teacher competency and 
to support programs in international education that supplement core 
curricula in such schools, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 16, 2011 
Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To raise achievement in international education in elementary 
schools and secondary schools through grants to improve 
teacher competency and to support programs in inter-
national education that supplement core curricula in such 
schools, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Global Education 
Nexus in U.S. Act’’ or the ‘‘GENIUS Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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(1) A host of growing challenges—international 
security, global markets, immigration, world health, 
the environment, and the emerging educational and 
material aspirations of the world’s poorest people— 
are fundamentally altering the international land-
scape. 
(2) Rapid technological advances and the infor-
mation age are shrinking the world, exponentially 
enlarging access of all peoples to essential knowl-
edge, concepts, and ideas, and connecting Americans 
to their counterparts across the globe. 
(3) The diversity of American workplaces, 
schools, and communities increasingly parallels the 
world’s diversity. 
(4) Americans, in the performance of their citi-
zenship roles, are required to make informed judg-
ments about the role of the United States in the 
world, as well as the impact of other nations and 
world regions on the United States. 
(5) The place of the United States in the world 
will depend on whether teachers, citizens, and policy-
makers of the United States understand how inter-
national events shape the lives, politics, economics, 
and security of the Nation. 
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(6) American-based multinational corporations, 
as well as small businesses, increasingly need em-
ployees with knowledge of foreign languages and cul-
tures to market products to customers domestically 
and around the globe, and to work effectively with 
foreign employees and partners in other countries. 
(7) It is the primary function of the Nation’s 
schools to prepare America’s students to meet the 
requirements of the workplace and to perform citi-
zenship roles in dynamic and rapidly changing do-
mestic and global communities. 
(8) Recent surveys consistently demonstrate the 
illiteracy of young Americans in geography, econom-
ics, and world history, as well as the low priority 
university students give to learning about other 
countries and cultures. 
(9) Only rarely do American high school or uni-
versity students elect to study geography, world his-
tory, international relations, or global issues, or to 
obtain fluency in a foreign language. 
(10) School curricula and university programs 
of study are not adequately aligned to new inter-
national and global realities. 
(11) State educational agencies and local edu-
cational agencies must be encouraged to include 
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international education competency as part of teach-
er credentialing and licensing. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 
(1) to raise student achievement in world his-
tory and cultures, international and global studies, 
and foreign languages by increasing the inter-
national education competence and literacy of ele-
mentary school and secondary school teachers; and 
(2) to support programs that supplement stu-
dent educational achievement in world history, inter-
national and global studies, and foreign languages. 
SEC. 3. DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR INTER-
NATIONAL AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDU-
CATION. 
Section 205 of the Department of Education Organi-
zation Act (20 U.S.C. 3415) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 
by inserting ‘‘elementary, secondary,’’ after ‘‘af-
fecting’’; 
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(C) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘, national non-
profit educational organizations or consortiums 
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of nonprofit educational organizations, State 
educational agencies, local educational agencies, 
and other nonprofit organizations;’’; and 
(D) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) assist the Secretary in administering the 
grant program under section 4 of the Global Edu-
cation Nexus in U.S. Act; and 
‘‘(5) develop an international education re-
search repository and make available the information 
contained in such repository to any State edu-
cational agency and local educational agency.’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘institution of higher education’ 
has the meaning given such term in section 101 of 
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1001); 
‘‘(2) the term ‘international education’ means 
educational subject matter related to world history, 
regions, cultures, and geography, as well as foreign 
languages, contemporary world issues, international 
relations, international economics, humanitarian law, 
international and non-governmental organizations, 
and the technology and communication mediums re-
lated to such subject matter. 
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‘‘(3) the term ‘international education research 
repository’ means a research repository containing 
scientifically valid education research, promising and 
exemplary practices related to international edu-
cation, including foreign language education, as well 
as any other information related to international 
education that the Secretary determines would be 
beneficial for State educational agencies and local 
educational agencies in— 
‘‘(A) the professional development of 
teachers of international education, including 
foreign language education; 
‘‘(B) the implementation of international 
education programs, including foreign language 
programs; and 
‘‘(C) improving the international education 
competency, including foreign language com-
petency, of elementary school and secondary 
school students; 
‘‘(4) the term ‘national nonprofit educational 
organizations or consortiums of nonprofit edu-
cational organizations’ means national nonprofit 
educational organizations or consortiums of non-
profit educational organizations that have as their 
primary purpose the improvement of student com-
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petency in international education, including foreign 
language competency, through effective international 
education instruction, including foreign language in-
struction, in elementary schools, secondary schools, 
and institutions of higher education; and 
‘‘(5) the terms ‘local educational agency’, ‘ele-
mentary school’, ‘secondary school’, and ‘State edu-
cational agency’ have the meanings given such terms 
in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).’’. 
SEC. 4. INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION GRANTS. 
(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—From the funds appro-
priated under section 6, the Secretary, acting through the 
Deputy Assistant Secretary, shall award grants on a com-
petitive basis to eligible entities to promote international 
education instruction in elementary schools and secondary 
schools in accordance with subsection (c) by— 
(1) increasing teacher competency with respect 
to international education subject matter; and 
(2) implementing supplemental international 
education services. 
(b) GRANT ELIGIBILITY.— 
(1) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a 
grant under this section, an eligible entity shall sub-
mit an application to the Secretary at such time, in 
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such manner, and containing such information as 
the Secretary may require. 
(2) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give pri-
ority to eligible entities that— 
(A) are eligible for assistance under part A 
of title I of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et 
seq.); 
(B) offer professional development in inter-
national education to all teachers and encour-
age the inclusion of international education in 
core elementary school and secondary school 
curricula; and 
(C) the Secretary determines are most in 
need of receiving assistance in the area of inter-
national education. 
(c) USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity awarded a 
grant under this section shall use— 
(1) 50 percent of such grant funds to develop, 
implement, and strengthen programs to teach inter-
national education within core elementary school and 
secondary school curricula, which shall include pro-
grams with respect to international education sub-
ject matter that— 
(A) improve the quality of instruction; and 
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(B) provide professional development and 
teacher education activities; and 
(2) 50 percent of such grant funds to supple-
ment core academic subjects through supplemental 
international education services outside of normal in-
struction hours, such as— 
(A) Model United Nations; 
(B) geography bees; and 
(C) any other service or program deemed 
beneficial to the development of student inter-
national education competency by the Sec-
retary. 
SEC. 5. EVALUATION AND REPORT. 
(a) EVALUATION.—From the funds appropriated 
under section 6, the Secretary shall conduct, through 
grant or by contract, a biennial independent evaluation of 
the international education programs administered by eli-
gible entities under section 4 that— 
(1) quantifies student academic achievement in 
international education; and 
(2) describes promising and exemplary practices 
of preparing teachers to teach international edu-
cation topics and providing international education 
to students. 
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(b) REPORT.—From the funds appropriated under 
section 6, the Secretary shall prepare, through grant or 
by contract, and submit to each House of Congress, an 
annual independent report that includes— 
(1) the total amount of grant funds awarded 
under section 4, and the geographic distribution of 
such awards; 
(2) the results of the evaluation conducted 
under subsection (a); and 
(3) any other information deemed appropriate 
by the Deputy Assistant Secretary or the Secretary. 
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There 
are 
authorized 
to 
be 
appropriated 
$200,000,000 to carry out this Act for fiscal year 2012 
and such sums as may be necessary for each fiscal year 
thereafter. 
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term 
‘‘Deputy Assistant Secretary’’ means the Deputy As-
sistant Secretary for International and Foreign Lan-
guage Education in the Office of Postsecondary 
Education of the Department of Education. 
(2) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘elemen-
tary school’’ has the meaning given such term in 
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section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
ty’’ means— 
(A) a local educational agency; or 
(B) a partnership consisting of— 
(i) a local educational agency; and 
(ii) a private organization or institu-
tion of higher education that provides such 
local educational agency with funding to 
carry out the activities described in section 
4(c). 
(4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 101 of the High-
er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 
(5) INTERNATIONAL
EDUCATION.—The term 
‘‘international education’’ means educational subject 
matter related to world history, regions, cultures, 
and geography, as well as foreign languages, con-
temporary world issues, international relations, 
international economics, humanitarian law, inter-
national and non-governmental organizations, and 
the technology and communication mediums related 
to such subject matter. 
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(6) INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION RESEARCH RE-
POSITORY.—The term ‘‘international education re-
search repository’’ means a research repository con-
taining scientifically valid education research, prom-
ising and exemplary practices related to inter-
national education, including foreign language edu-
cation, as well as any other information related to 
international education that the Secretary deter-
mines would be beneficial for State educational 
agencies and local educational agencies in— 
(A) the professional development of teach-
ers of international education, including foreign 
language education; 
(B) the implementation of international 
education programs, including foreign language 
programs; and 
(C) improving the international education 
competency, including foreign language com-
petency, of elementary school and secondary 
school students. 
(7) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 
‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 
such term in section 9101 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
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(8) NATIONAL NONPROFIT EDUCATIONAL ORGA-
NIZATIONS OR CONSORTIUMS OF NONPROFIT EDU-
CATIONAL
ORGANIZATIONS.—The term ‘‘national 
nonprofit educational organizations or consortiums 
of nonprofit educational organizations’’ means na-
tional nonprofit educational organizations or consor-
tiums of nonprofit educational organizations that 
have as their primary purpose the improvement of 
student competency in international education, in-
cluding foreign language competency, through effec-
tive international education instruction, including 
foreign language instruction, in elementary schools, 
secondary schools, and institutions of higher edu-
cation. 
(9) SECONDARY
SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec-
ondary school’’ has the meaning given such term in 
section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
(10) 
SECRETARY.—The 
term 
‘‘Secretary’’ 
means the Secretary of Education. 
Æ 
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