I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 385
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide
for parental notification and consent prior to enrollment of a child
in a bilingual education program or a special alternative instructional
program for limited English proficient students.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 31, 2001
Mr. TANCREDO (for himself, Mr. STUMP, Mr. SHAYS, Ms. RIVERS, and Mr.
RYUN of Kansas) 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 provide for parental notification and consent
prior to enrollment of a child in a bilingual education
program or a special alternative instructional program
for limited English proficient students.
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 ‘‘Parents Know Best
Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. PARENTAL NOTIFICATION AND CONSENT TO PAR-
TICIPATE.
Section 7502(b) of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7602(b)) is amended
to read as follows:
‘‘(b) PARENTAL NOTIFICATION AND CONSENT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A parent or the parents of
a limited English proficient student participating in
a bilingual education program, or a special alter-
native instructional program, assisted under this Act
shall be informed of—
‘‘(A) the reasons for the identification of
the student as being in need of participation;
‘‘(B) the child’s level of English pro-
ficiency, how such level was assessed, and the
status of the child’s academic achievement;
‘‘(C) how such program will specifically
help the child acquire English and meet age-ap-
propriate standards for grade promotion and
graduation;
‘‘(D) what the specific exit requirements
for the program are;
‘‘(E) the expected rate of graduation from
the program into mainstream classes; and
‘‘(F) the expected rate of graduation from
high school for the program.
‘‘(2) PARENTAL CONSENT.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A parent or the par-
ents of a limited English proficient student who
is identified for participation in a bilingual edu-
cation program, or a special alternative instruc-
tional program, assisted under this Act shall—
‘‘(i) sign a form consenting to the stu-
dent’s placement in such a program prior
to such time as the student is enrolled in
the program;
‘‘(ii) select among methods of instruc-
tion, if more than one method is offered in
the program; and
‘‘(iii) have the right to have the stu-
dent immediately removed from the pro-
gram upon the parent’s request.
‘‘(B) EFFECT OF LAU DECISION.—A local
educational agency shall not be relieved of any
of its obligations under the holding in the Su-
preme Court case of Lau v. Nichols, 414 U.S.
563 (1974), because any parent chooses not to
enroll their child in a bilingual education pro-
gram.
‘‘(3) RECEIPT OF INFORMATION.—A parent or
the parents of a limited English proficient student
who is identified for participation in a bilingual edu-
cation program, or a special alternative instructional
program, assisted under this Act shall receive, in a
manner and form understandable to the parent or
parents, the information required by this subsection.
At a minimum, the parent or parents shall receive—
‘‘(A) timely information about such pro-
grams; and
‘‘(B) if a parent of a participating child so
desires, notice of opportunities for regular
meetings for the purpose of formulating and re-
sponding to recommendations from such par-
ents.’’.
Æ