I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1572 
To direct the Secretary of Education to award grants to local educational 
agencies to establish or improve world language or dual language pro-
grams, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 25, 2025 
Mrs. KIGGANS of Virginia (for herself and Mr. PANETTA) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Work-
force 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Education to award grants to 
local educational agencies to establish or improve world 
language or dual language programs, and for other pur-
poses. 
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 ‘‘World Language Edu-
cation Assistance Program Act’’ or the ‘‘World LEAP 
Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to establish and make as-
sistance available to the World Language Education As-
sistance Program in order to— 
(1) establish or improve and carry out World 
Language Education Assistance Program grant pro-
grams; 
(2) support and uplift dual language and world 
language programs; and 
(3) provide students with the language skills 
necessary for an interconnected and global world. 
SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Recent academic studies demonstrate that 
America’s language capacity has reached a crisis 
point, with only one fifth of United States residents 
speaking a language other than English at home, 90 
percent of United States-based employers reporting 
a reliance on employees with language skills other 
than English, and one third of foreign language-de-
pendent employers reporting a language skills gap. 
This language crisis has real world implications for 
business, government, the military, and diplomatic 
and intelligence services. 
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(2) The Department of Education does not 
have an innovative world languages program for ele-
mentary and secondary students. 
(3) The Nation’s education system is suffering 
from severe shortages of world language, English 
learner, and bilingual and dual language immersion 
educators. 
(4) The lack of a Federal elementary and sec-
ondary school world language and dual language 
program, coupled with the continuing shortage of 
world language and bilingual teachers, creates sig-
nificant obstacles to providing equitable opportuni-
ties for all students to develop multilingualism. 
English learners, a population which has grown by 
2,100,000 between 2000 and 2019, have been dis-
proportionately impacted. 
(5) The Federal Government has a strong in-
terest in better preparing American students to com-
pete in the global economy. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) COMMUNITY-BASED
HERITAGE
LANGUAGE 
SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘community-based heritage lan-
guage school’’ means a nonprofit, community-based 
school that offers classes for students in pre-kinder-
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garten through grade 12, for the purpose of main-
taining and teaching the language and culture of 
non-English speaking communities. 
(2) DUAL
LANGUAGE
PROGRAM.—The term 
‘‘dual language program’’ means— 
(A) with respect to pre-kindergarten and 
elementary school, a bilingual education pro-
gram in which students receive instruction in 
English and a language other than English for 
at least half of the instructional school day for 
each year of pre-kindergarten and elementary 
school, with the goal of achieving proficiency in 
both languages; and 
(B) with respect to grades 6 through 8, a 
bilingual education program in which students 
who participated in a program described in sub-
paragraph (A) continue to receive instruction in 
English and a language other than English for 
at least half of the instructional school day for 
each year of such grades 6 through 8. 
(3) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘English 
learner’’, ‘‘secondary school’’, ‘‘local educational 
agency’’, ‘‘professional development’’, ‘‘Secretary’’, 
and ‘‘State’’ have the meanings given those terms in 
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section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
(4) HERITAGE LEARNER.—The term ‘‘heritage 
learner’’ means an individual— 
(A) with proficiency in, or a cultural con-
nection to (through family, community, or coun-
try of origin), a language other than English; 
and 
(B) who is studying such language in pre- 
kindergarten, elementary school, or secondary 
school. 
(5) WORLD
LANGUAGE
PROGRAM.—The term 
‘‘world language program’’ means a program that 
educates and prepares pre-kindergarten, elementary, 
or secondary school students to communicate, in a 
proficient and culturally competent manner, with in-
dividuals who speak a language other than English. 
SEC. 5. WORLD LANGUAGE EDUCATION ASSISTANCE PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award, 
on a competitive basis, grants to local educational 
agencies to establish and carry out new, or improve 
existing world language or dual language programs. 
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(2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 
section, the Secretary shall give priority to applica-
tions describing programs that— 
(A) include intensive summer professional 
development for world language program and 
dual language program teachers; 
(B) enter into partnerships with commu-
nity-based heritage language schools and com-
munities; 
(C) provide world language and dual lan-
guage immersion programs, including with re-
spect to English learners and heritage learners; 
(D) are carried out through a consortium 
that shall include the agency receiving the grant 
and an elementary school or secondary school 
served by such agency, with a preference for 
consortia that include an institution of higher 
education; 
(E) collaborate with the appropriate State 
licensure office to broaden pathways for lan-
guage or dual language teacher certification; or 
(F) conduct outreach and recruit sec-
ondary and post-secondary students, including 
former English learners and heritage learners, 
into programs that prepare such students to be-
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come dual language or world language program 
teachers. 
(d) USE OF FUNDS.—A local educational agency that 
receives a grant under this section shall— 
(1) reserve not less than 20 percent of such 
grant funds to provide— 
(A) accessible pathways for paraprofes-
sionals to gain certification and licensure as 
world language or dual language teachers; and 
(B) professional development for certified 
and licensed world language or dual language 
teachers; 
(2) reserve not more than 5 percent of such 
grant funds to evaluate the efficacy of programs car-
ried out with funds awarded under this section; and 
(3) after making the reservations required 
under paragraphs (1) and (2), use the remainder of 
such grant funds to establish and carry out new, 
and improve existing, world language or dual lan-
guage programs (including any associated adminis-
trative expenses). 
(e) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 
after receiving a grant under this section, each local 
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educational agency shall submit to the Secretary a 
report that— 
(A) describes the implementation of the 
program for which the local educational agency 
received the grant; and 
(B) includes data that identifies— 
(i) the number of students enrolled in 
language education at the elementary and 
secondary schools served by the local edu-
cational agency prior to receiving a grant 
under this section; 
(ii) the number of students enrolled in 
such language instruction as of the date of 
submission of the report; 
(iii) the number of certified bilingual 
educators working for the local educational 
agency prior to receiving a grant under 
this section; 
(iv) the number of certified bilingual 
educators working for the local educational 
agency as of the date of submission of the 
report; and 
(v) levels of community support for 
language education— 
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(I) prior to receiving a grant 
under this section; and 
(II) as of the date of submission 
of the report. 
(2) STUDENT
PRIVACY.—A local educational 
agency shall prepare the report required under para-
graph (1) in a manner that protects the privacy 
rights of each student in accordance with section 
444 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 
U.S.C. 1232g; commonly known as the ‘‘Family 
Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974’’). 
(f) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$15,000,000 for fiscal year 2026 and for each subsequent 
fiscal year. 
Æ 
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