I
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3892
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish
a program to help children and youth learn English, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 19, 1998
Mr. RIGGS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965 to establish a program to help children and
youth learn English, 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. ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION.
Part A of title VII of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) is amend-
ed to read as follows:
‘‘PART A—ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION
‘‘SEC. 7101. SHORT TITLE.
‘‘This part may be cited as the ‘English Language
Fluency Act’.
‘‘SEC. 7102. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows:
‘‘(1) English is the common language of the
United States and it is imperative that every citizen
and other person residing in the United States have
a command of the English language in order to de-
velop to their full potential.
‘‘(2) States and local school districts need as-
sistance in developing the capacity to provide pro-
grams of instruction that offer and provide an equal
educational opportunity to immigrant children and
youth and children and youth who need special as-
sistance because English is not their dominant lan-
guage.
‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this part are—
‘‘(1) to help ensure that children and youth who
are English language learners master English and
develop high levels of academic attainment in
English; and
‘‘(2) to assist eligible local educational agencies
that experience unexpectedly large increases in their
student population due to immigration to help immi-
grant children and youth with their transition into
society, including mastery of the English language.
‘‘SEC. 7103. PARENTAL NOTIFICATION AND CONSENT TO
PARTICIPATE.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A parent or the parents of a
child participating in an English language instruction pro-
gram for English language learners assisted under this
Act shall be informed of—
‘‘(1) the reasons for the identification of the
child as being in need of English language instruc-
tion;
‘‘(2) the child’s level of English proficiency, how
such level was assessed, and the status of the child’s
academic achievement; and
‘‘(3) how the English language instruction pro-
gram will specifically help the child acquire English
and meet age-appropriate standards for grade-pro-
motion and graduation.
‘‘(b) PARENTAL CONSENT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A parent or the parents of
a child who is an English language learner and is
identified for participation in an English language
instruction program assisted under this Act—
‘‘(A) shall sign a form consenting to their
child’s placement in such a program prior to
such time as their child is enrolled in the pro-
gram;
‘‘(B) shall select among methods of in-
struction, if more than one method is offered in
the program; and
‘‘(C) shall have their child removed from
the program upon their request.
‘‘(2) EFFECT OF LAU DECISION.—A local edu-
cational agency shall not be relieved of any of its ob-
ligations under the holding in the Supreme Court
case of Lau v. Nichols (414 U.S. 563) because any
parent chooses not to enroll their child in an English
language instruction program using their native lan-
guage in instruction.
‘‘(c) RECEIPT OF INFORMATION.—A parent or the
parents of a child identified for participation in an English
language instruction program for English language learn-
ers assisted under this Act shall receive, in a manner and
form understandable to the parent or parents, the infor-
mation required by this section. At a minimum, the parent
or parents shall receive—
‘‘(1) timely information about English language
instruction programs for English language learners
assisted under this Act; and
‘‘(2) if a parent of a participating child so de-
sires, notice of opportunities for regular meetings for
the purpose of formulating and responding to rec-
ommendations from such parents.
‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULE.—An individual may not be ad-
mitted to, or excluded from, any federally assisted edu-
cation program solely on the basis of a surname, language-
minority status, or national origin.
‘‘Subpart 1—Grants for English Language
Acquisition
‘‘CHAPTER 1—GENERAL PROVISIONS
‘‘SEC. 7111. FUNDING.
‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the
purpose of carrying out this subpart, there are authorized
to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fis-
cal year 1999 and each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.
‘‘(b) RESERVATION FOR ENTITIES SERVING NATIVE
AMERICANS AND ALASKA NATIVES.—From the sums ap-
propriated under subsection (a) for any fiscal year, the
Secretary shall reserve not less than .5 percent to provide
Federal financial assistance under this subpart to entities
that are considered to be a local educational agency under
section 7112(a).
‘‘SEC. 7112. NATIVE AMERICAN AND ALASKA NATIVE CHIL-
DREN IN SCHOOL.
‘‘(a) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—For the purpose of carry-
ing out programs under this subpart for individuals served
by elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools oper-
ated predominately for Native American or Alaska Native
children and youth, the following shall be considered to
be a local educational agency:
‘‘(1) An Indian tribe.
‘‘(2) A tribally sanctioned educational author-
ity.
‘‘(3) A Native Hawaiian or Native American
Pacific Islander native language educational organi-
zation.
‘‘(4) An elementary or secondary school that is
operated or funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs,
or a consortium of such schools.
‘‘(5) An elementary or secondary school oper-
ated under a contract or grant with the Bureau of
Indian Affairs, in consortium with another such
school or a tribal or community organization.
‘‘(6) An elementary or secondary school oper-
ated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and an institu-
tion of higher education, in consortium with an ele-
mentary or secondary school operated under a con-
tract or grant with the Bureau of Indian Affairs or
a tribal or community organization.
‘‘(b) SUBMISSION
OF APPLICATIONS
FOR ASSIST-
ANCE.—Notwithstanding any other provision of this sub-
part, an entity that is considered to be a local educational
agency under subsection (a), and that desires to submit
an application for Federal financial assistance under this
subpart, shall submit the application to the Secretary. In
all other respects, such an entity shall be eligible for a
grant under this subpart on the same basis as any other
local educational agency.
‘‘CHAPTER 2—GRANTS FOR ENGLISH
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
‘‘SEC. 7121. FORMULA GRANTS TO STATES.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of each State that
in accordance with section 7122 submits to the Secretary
an application for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall make
a grant for the year to the State for the purposes specified
in subsection (b). The grant shall consist of the allotment
determined for the State under section 7124.
‘‘(b) PURPOSES OF GRANTS.—
‘‘(1) REQUIRED
EXPENDITURES.—The Sec-
retary may make a grant under subsection (a) only
if the State involved agrees that the State will ex-
pend at least 90 percent of the amount of the funds
provided under the grant for the purpose of making
subgrants to eligible entities to provide assistance to
children and youth who are English language learn-
ers and immigrant children and youth in accordance
with section 7123.
‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED EXPENDITURES.—Subject to
paragraph (3), a State that receives a grant under
subsection (a) may expend not more than 10 percent
of the amount of the funds provided under the grant
for one or more of the following purposes:
‘‘(A) Professional development and activi-
ties that assist personnel in meeting State and
local certification requirements for English lan-
guage instruction.
‘‘(B) Planning, administration, and inter-
agency coordination related to the subgrants re-
ferred to in paragraph (1).
‘‘(C) Providing technical assistance and
other forms of assistance to local educational
agencies that—
‘‘(i) educate children and youth who
are English language learners and immi-
grant children and youth; and
‘‘(ii) are not receiving a subgrant
from a State under this chapter.
‘‘(D) Providing bonuses to subgrantees
whose performance has been exceptional in
terms of the speed with which children and
youth enrolled in the subgrantee’s programs
and activities attain English language pro-
ficiency.
‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—
In carrying out paragraph (2), a State that receives
a grant under subsection (a) may expend not more
than 2 percent of the amount of the funds provided
under the grant for the purposes described in para-
graph (2)(B).
‘‘SEC. 7122. APPLICATIONS BY STATES.
‘‘For purposes of section 7121, an application sub-
mitted by a State for a grant under such section for a
fiscal year is in accordance with this section if the applica-
tion—
‘‘(1) describes the process that the State will
use in making subgrants to eligible entities under
this chapter;
‘‘(2) contains an agreement that the State an-
nually will submit to the Secretary a summary re-
port, describing the State’s use of the funds pro-
vided under the grant;
‘‘(3) contains an agreement that the State will
give special consideration to applications for a
subgrant under section 7123 from eligible entities
that describe a program that—
‘‘(A)(i) enrolls a large percentage or large
number of children and youth who are English
language learners and immigrant children and
youth; and
‘‘(ii) addresses a need brought about
through a significant increase, as compared to
the previous 2 years, in the percentage or num-
ber of children and youth who are English lan-
guage learners in a school or school district, in-
cluding schools and school districts in areas
with low concentrations of such children and
youth; or
‘‘(B) on the day preceding the date of the
enactment of this section, was receiving funding
under a grant—
‘‘(i) awarded by the Secretary under
subpart 1 or 3 of part A of the Bilingual
Education Act (as such Act was in effect
on such day); and
‘‘(ii) that was not due to expire before
a period of one year or more had elapsed;
‘‘(4) contains an agreement that, in carrying
out this chapter, the State will address the needs of
school systems of all sizes and geographic areas, in-
cluding rural and urban schools;
‘‘(5) contains an agreement that the State will
coordinate its programs and activities under this
chapter with its other programs and activities under
this Act and other Acts, as appropriate; and
‘‘(6) contains an agreement that the State will
monitor the progress of students enrolled in pro-
grams and activities receiving assistance under this
chapter in attaining English proficiency and with-
draw funding from such programs and activities in
cases where—
‘‘(A) students enrolling when they are in
kindergarten are not mastering the English lan-
guage by the end of the first grade; and
‘‘(B) other students are not mastering the
English language after 2 academic years of en-
rollment.
‘‘SEC. 7123. SUBGRANTS TO ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.
‘‘(a) PURPOSES OF SUBGRANTS.—A State may make
a subgrant to an eligible entity of funds received by the
State under this chapter only if the entity agrees to ex-
pend the funds for one of the following purposes:
‘‘(1) Developing and implementing new English
language instructional programs for children and
youth who are English language learners, including
programs of early childhood education and kinder-
garten through 12th grade education.
‘‘(2) Carrying out locally designed projects to
expand or enhance existing English language in-
struction programs for children and youth who are
English language learners.
‘‘(3) Assisting a local educational agency in
providing enhanced instructional opportunities for
immigrant children and youth.
‘‘(b) AUTHORIZED SUBGRANTEE ACTIVITIES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), a
State may make a subgrant to an eligible entity
from funds received by the State under this chapter
in order that the eligible entity may achieve one of
the purposes described in subsection (a) by under-
taking one or more of the following activities to im-
prove the understanding, and use, of the English
language, based on a child’s learning skills:
‘‘(A) Developing and implementing com-
prehensive preschool or elementary or secondary
school English language instructional programs
that are coordinated with other relevant pro-
grams and services.
‘‘(B) Providing training to classroom
teachers, administrators, and other school or
community-based organizational personnel to
improve the instruction and assessment of chil-
dren and youth who are English language
learners, immigrant children and youth, or
both.
‘‘(C) Improving the program for children
and youth who are English language learners,
immigrant children and youth, or both.
‘‘(D) Providing for the acquisition or devel-
opment of education technology or instructional
materials, access to and participation in elec-
tronic networks for materials, providing train-
ing and communications, and incorporation of
such resources in curricula and programs, such
as those funded under this subpart.
‘‘(E) Such other activities, related to the
purpose of the subgrant, as the State may ap-
prove.
‘‘(2) MOVING CHILDREN OUT OF SPECIALIZED
CLASSROOMS.—Any program or activity undertaken
by an eligible entity using a subgrant from a State
under this chapter shall be designed to assist stu-
dents enrolled in the program or activity to move
into a classroom where instruction is not tailored for
English language learners or immigrant children and
youth—
‘‘(A) by the end of the first grade, in the
case of students enrolling when they are in kin-
dergarten; or
‘‘(B) by the end of their second academic
year of enrollment, in the case of other stu-
dents.
‘‘(3) MAXIMUM ENROLLMENT PERIOD.—An eli-
gible entity may not use funds received from a State
under this chapter to provide instruction or assist-
ance to any individual who has been enrolled for a
period exceeding 3 years in a program or activity
undertaken by the eligible entity under this section.
‘‘(c) SELECTION OF METHOD OF INSTRUCTION.—To
receive a subgrant from a State under this chapter, an
eligible entity shall select one or more methods or forms
of English language instruction to be used in the programs
and activities undertaken by the entity to assist English
language learners and immigrant children and youth to
achieve English fluency. Such selection shall be consistent
with the State’s law, including State constitutional law.
‘‘(d) DURATION OF SUBGRANTS.—The duration of a
subgrant made by a State under this section shall be de-
termined by the State in its discretion.
‘‘(e) APPLICATIONS BY ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To receive a subgrant from
a State under this chapter, an eligible entity shall
submit an application to the State at such time, in
such form, and containing such information as the
State may require.
‘‘(2) REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION.—The appli-
cation shall describe the programs and activities pro-
posed to be developed, implemented, and adminis-
tered under the subgrant and shall provide an assur-
ance that the applicant will only employ teachers
and other personnel for the proposed programs and
activities who are proficient in English, including
written and oral communication skills.
‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS FOR APPROVAL.—A State
may approve an application submitted by an eligible
entity for a subgrant under this chapter only if the
State determines that—
‘‘(A) the eligible entity will use qualified
personnel who have appropriate training and
professional credentials in teaching English to
children and youth who are English language
learners and immigrant children and youth;
‘‘(B) in designing the programs and activi-
ties proposed in the application, the needs of
children enrolled in any private elementary and
secondary schools have been taken into account
through consultation with appropriate private
school officials;
‘‘(C) the eligible entity has provided for the
participation of children enrolled in any private
elementary and secondary schools in the pro-
grams and activities proposed in the application
on a basis comparable to that provided for chil-
dren enrolled in public school;
‘‘(D) the eligible entity has based its pro-
posal on sound research and theory; and
‘‘(E) the eligible entity has described in the
application how students enrolled in the pro-
grams and activities proposed in the application
will be taught English—
‘‘(i) by the end of the first grade, in
the case of students enrolling when they
are in kindergarten; or
‘‘(ii) by the end of their second aca-
demic year of enrollment, in the case of
other students.
‘‘(4) QUALITY.—In determining which applica-
tions to select for approval, a State shall consider
the quality of each application.
‘‘(f) EVALUATION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity that re-
ceives a subgrant from a State under this chapter
shall provide the State, at the conclusion of every
second fiscal year during which the grant is received,
with an evaluation, in a form prescribed by the
State, of—
‘‘(A) the programs and activities conducted
by the entity with funds received under this
chapter during the two immediately preceding
fiscal years; and
‘‘(B) the progress made by students in
learning the English language.
‘‘(2) USE OF EVALUATION.—An evaluation pro-
vided by an eligible entity under paragraph (1) shall
be used by the entity and the State—
‘‘(A) for improvement of programs and ac-
tivities;
‘‘(B) to determine the effectiveness of pro-
grams and activities in assisting children and
youth who are English language learners to
master the English language; and
‘‘(C) in determining whether or not to con-
tinue funding for specific programs or projects.