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.

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:
            (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 landscape.
            (2) Rapid technological advances and the information age 
        are shrinking the world, exponentially enlarging access of all 
        peoples to essential knowledge, 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 citizenship 
        roles, are required to make informed judgments 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 policymakers of the United 
        States understand how international events shape the lives, 
        politics, economics, and security of the Nation.
            (6) American-based multinational corporations, as well as 
        small businesses, increasingly need employees with knowledge of 
        foreign languages and cultures 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 citizenship roles in dynamic and 
        rapidly changing domestic and global communities.
            (8) Recent surveys consistently demonstrate the illiteracy 
        of young Americans in geography, economics, 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 university 
        students elect to study geography, world history, 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 international and global 
        realities.
            (11) State educational agencies and local educational 
        agencies must be encouraged to include international education 
        competency as part of teacher credentialing and licensing.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to raise student achievement in world history and 
        cultures, international and global studies, and foreign 
        languages by increasing the international education competence 
        and literacy of elementary school and secondary school 
        teachers; and
            (2) to support programs that supplement student educational 
        achievement in world history, international and global studies, 
        and foreign languages.

SEC. 3. DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR INTERNATIONAL AND FOREIGN 
              LANGUAGE EDUCATION.

    Section 205 of the Department of Education Organization Act (20 
U.S.C. 3415) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
                inserting ``elementary, secondary,'' after 
                ``affecting'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (C) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting ``, national nonprofit educational 
                organizations or consortiums 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 Education Nexus in U.S. 
        Act; and
            ``(5) develop an international education research 
        repository and make available the information contained in such 
        repository to any State educational 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 
        related to such subject matter.
            ``(3) the term `international education research 
        repository' means a research repository containing 
        scientifically valid education research, promising and 
        exemplary practices related to international education, 
        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 competency, of 
                elementary school and secondary school students;
            ``(4) the term `national nonprofit educational 
        organizations or consortiums of nonprofit educational 
        organizations' means national nonprofit educational 
        organizations or consortiums of nonprofit educational 
        organizations that have as their primary purpose the 
        improvement of student competency in international education, 
        including foreign language competency, through effective 
        international education instruction, including foreign language 
        instruction, in elementary schools, secondary schools, and 
        institutions of higher education; and
            ``(5) the terms `local educational agency', `elementary 
        school', `secondary school', and `State educational 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 appropriated under section 
6, the Secretary, acting through the Deputy Assistant Secretary, shall 
award grants on a competitive 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 submit an application to 
        the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
        information as the Secretary may require.
            (2) Priority.--The Secretary shall give priority 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 international 
                education to all teachers and encourage 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 international 
                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 international education within 
        core elementary school and secondary school curricula, which 
        shall include programs with respect to international education 
        subject matter that--
                    (A) improve the quality of instruction; and
                    (B) provide professional development and teacher 
                education activities; and
            (2) 50 percent of such grant funds to supplement core 
        academic subjects through supplemental international education 
        services outside of normal instruction hours, such as--
                    (A) Model United Nations;
                    (B) geography bees; and
                    (C) any other service or program deemed beneficial 
                to the development of student international education 
                competency by the Secretary.

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 eligible 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 education topics and 
        providing international education to students.
    (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 Assistant Secretary for 
        International and Foreign Language Education in the Office of 
        Postsecondary Education of the Department of Education.
            (2) Elementary school.--The term ``elementary school'' has 
        the meaning given such term in section 9101 of the Elementary 
        and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
            (3) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
                    (A) a local educational agency; or
                    (B) a partnership consisting of--
                            (i) a local educational agency; and
                            (ii) a private organization or institution 
                        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 Higher 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, contemporary world issues, international relations, 
        international economics, humanitarian law, international and 
        non-governmental organizations, and the technology and 
        communication mediums related to such subject matter.
            (6) International education research repository.--The term 
        ``international education research repository'' means a 
        research repository containing scientifically valid education 
        research, promising and exemplary practices related to 
        international education, 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 competency, 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).
            (8) National nonprofit educational organizations or 
        consortiums of nonprofit educational organizations.--The term 
        ``national nonprofit educational organizations or consortiums 
        of nonprofit educational organizations'' means national 
        nonprofit educational organizations or consortiums of nonprofit 
        educational organizations that have as their primary purpose 
        the improvement of student competency in international 
        education, including foreign language competency, through 
        effective international education instruction, including 
        foreign language instruction, in elementary schools, secondary 
        schools, and institutions of higher education.
            (9) Secondary school.--The term ``secondary school'' has 
        the meaning given such term in section 9101 of the Elementary 
        and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
            (10) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Education.

Summary: Global Education Nexus in U.S. Act or GENIUS Act - Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to require the Deputy Assistant Secretary for International and Foreign Language Education to: (1) assist the Secretary of Education in administering this Act's grant program, and (2) develop an international education research repository and make it available to states and local educational agencies (LEAs).

Directs the Secretary, acting through the Deputy Assistant Secretary, to award competitive grants to LEAs, or partnerships between LEAs and private organizations or institutions of higher education that provide their LEA partners with funding, to promote international education in elementary and secondary schools.

Requires each grantee to use: (1) one-half of its grant on enhancing international education within core curricula, such as by increasing teacher competency; and (2) the other half on providing supplemental international education services outside of normal instruction hours.

Directs the Secretary to conduct a biennial independent evaluation of such international education programs.