FLUENT Act
Bill: H.R.3398 | Sponsor: Rep. Grijalva, Raúl M. (D-AZ)
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Families Learning and Understanding English Together Act of 2021 or the FLUENT Act
This bill authorizes the Department of Education (ED) to establish a grant program to improve the literacy and English skills of English language learners.
Specifically, ED may award grants to providers of family literacy services to provide these services to families with English language learners. These services may only be provided to a family in which each caregiver is 16 years of age or older and at least one child is under the age of 8.
Further, ED must make grants to or enter into contracts with at least two national organizations with expertise in providing family literacy services to English language learners. These national organizations must provide grantees with technical assistance and training.

To improve the English language and literacy skills of English language 
          learners and their families, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Families Learning and Understanding 
English Together Act of 2021'' or the ``FLUENT Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Census Bureau's American Community Survey of 2018 
        estimated 21.9 percent of United States households speak a 
        language other than English at home.
            (2) In many recently immigrated families, caregivers speak 
        little to no English, can possess low literacy skills in their 
        primary language due to limited or interrupted education, and 
        frequently struggle to assist their children's English and 
        primary language and literacy development.
            (3) The United States is a Nation of immigrants, and even 
        today, according to the Census Bureau's American Community 
        Survey of 2018, more than 44,000,000 individuals who live in 
        the United States were born outside the country.

SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to improve the educational, social, and 
economic advancement of families with English language learners who 
have unmet literacy needs by expanding and enhancing family literacy 
activities and services for such families.

SEC. 4. COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Program Authorized.--From funds made available pursuant to 
section 9, and after reserving funds under section 9(b), the Secretary 
may award grants to family literacy providers to provide, directly or 
through a contract with another provider, family literacy services 
designed for English language learners and their families. Each grant 
under this Act shall be for a period of 1 year and may be renewed for a 
total of 5 additional years.
    (b) Application.--Family literacy providers who desire to receive a 
grant under this Act shall submit an application at such time, 
containing such information, and in such manner as the Secretary may 
require. Such application shall include the following:
            (1) An assurance that services provided with funds under 
        this Act shall be provided to the hardest-to-reach populations, 
        prioritizing English language learner populations with the 
        greatest economic, educational, and social need.
            (2) A description of the services that will be provided 
        with funds under this Act, including the manner in which the 
        services will be research-based literacy instruction for 
        children who are English learners and caregivers who are 
        English language learners.
            (3) A description of the outcome measures, consistent with 
        section 6, that are based on research and will be employed by 
        the family literacy provider to measure the effectiveness of 
        services provided with funds under this Act.
            (4) An assurance that, in providing family literacy 
        services through the grant, the family literacy provider will 
        collaborate with one or more of the following:
                    (A) A State or Tribal local educational agency.
                    (B) A public elementary school.
                    (C) A public secondary school.
                    (D) A nonprofit entity (such as a community-based 
                organization, library, community college, or early 
                childhood provider).
            (5) A requirement that any preservice educators or 
        paraprofessionals who facilitate family or adult literacy 
        activities be trained and under the direct supervision of a 
        highly qualified family literacy provider trained in research-
        based methods of early language and literacy promotion.
    (c) Grant Amount.--The amount of a grant under this Act for a 
fiscal year shall not be less than $150,000 or more than $1,000,000.
    (d) Services Requirements.--Family literacy services under this Act 
shall be provided in sufficient intensity in terms of hours, and shall 
be of sufficient duration, to make sustainable changes in a family and 
shall integrate all of the following activities:
            (1) Interactive literacy activities between caregivers and 
        their children that includes online and digital learning 
        resources.
            (2) Education that helps caregivers learn how to advocate 
        for their children and support their children's primary and 
        English language and literacy development and educational 
        success.
            (3) Adult literacy education which includes digital and 
        systems literacy that improves conceptual knowledge and 
        reasoning skills.
            (4) An age-appropriate education plan, developed in 
        partnership with caregivers, to prepare children for success in 
        school, career, and civic life.
    (e) Special Rule.--Family literacy services under this Act may be 
provided to a family only if--
            (1) each caregiver in the family has attained 16 years of 
        age; and
            (2) the family has at least one child who has not yet 
        attained 8 years of age.

SEC. 5. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING.

    (a) Activities by Secretary.--The Secretary, acting through the 
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education, shall, 
through grants or contracts as described in subsection (b), provide 
technical assistance and training to family literacy providers 
receiving a grant under section 4 for the purposes described in 
subsection (c).
    (b) Activities by National Organizations.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall make grants to, or 
        enter into contracts with, at least 2 eligible national 
        organizations to provide technical assistance and training to 
        family literacy providers receiving a grant under section 4 for 
        the purposes described in subsection (c).
            (2) Definition.--In this section, the term ``eligible 
        national organization'' means a national organization with 
        expertise in providing family literacy services to English 
        language learner populations.
    (c) Purposes.--The purposes of technical assistance and training 
provided under this section are the following:
            (1) Assisting family literacy providers receiving a grant 
        under section 4 to improve the quality of their family literacy 
        services.
            (2) Enabling such family literacy providers that 
        demonstrate the effective provision of family literacy 
        services, based on improved outcomes for children and their 
        caregivers, to provide technical assistance and training to 
        government agencies and to family literacy providers that work 
        in collaboration with such agencies to improve the quality of 
        their family literacy services.
            (3) Assisting such providers in the implementation of 
        literacy curriculum and training activities, including 
        curriculum and training activities that support building on a 
        child's primary language.
    (d) Reports to Congress.--Not later than 90 days after the end of 
each fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 
Education and Labor of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a report on the 
technical assistance and training provided pursuant to subsections (a) 
and (b). Each such report shall describe the actions taken by the 
Secretary to ensure that such technical assistance and training is of 
high quality and is responsive to the needs of grantees under this Act.

SEC. 6. OUTCOME MEASURES.

    The Secretary shall require each family literacy provider receiving 
a grant under this Act to meet culturally appropriate and competent 
outcome measures described in the provider's application under section 
4, including outcome measures with respect to--
            (1) acquisition of the English language, including 
        improvement in academic achievement and academic language 
        fluency and comprehension;
            (2) literacy skills and building of the primary language;
            (3) improved caregiving and life skills, such as 
        communication and problem-solving skills;
            (4) the improved ability of caregivers who are English 
        language learners to effectively communicate and partner with 
        school personnel at the preschool, elementary, or secondary 
        school their children attend;
            (5) improvement in the developmental skills and ability of 
        the children to direct, regulate, and assess their own 
        learning;
            (6) increased caregiver participation in their children's 
        education, interactive literacy activities, and home 
        environments to support children's learning and growth; and
            (7) improved general, cross-cutting abilities such as 
        applied academic skills, critical thinking skills, 
        interpersonal skills, communication skills, personal qualities, 
        and skills in resource management, information use, systems 
        thinking, and technology use.

SEC. 7. EVALUATION.

    The Secretary shall conduct an annual evaluation of the grant 
program under this Act. Such evaluation shall be used by the 
Secretary--
            (1) for program improvement;
            (2) to further define the program's goals and objectives; 
        and
            (3) to determine program effectiveness.

SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act:
            (1) Adult education provider.--The term ``adult education 
        provider'' has the meaning given the term ``eligible provider'' 
        in section 203 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 
        (29 U.S.C. 3272).
            (2) Application of esea terms.--The terms ``elementary 
        school'', ``English learner'', ``local educational agency'', 
        and ``secondary school'' have the meanings given such terms in 
        section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
        1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
            (3) English language learner; family literacy activities.--
        The terms ``English language learner'' and ``family literacy 
        activities'' have the meanings given the terms in section 203 
        of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 
        3272).
            (4) Family literacy provider.--The term ``family literacy 
        provider'' means an entity that--
                    (A) except in a case in which the Secretary waives 
                the requirement of this subparagraph with respect to an 
                entity, is located in a geographic area containing at 
                least one public elementary school or secondary school 
                with either a majority enrollment or recent increase in 
                enrollment of children who have been identified as 
                English learners; and
                    (B) is one of the following:
                            (i) A grantee under the Head Start Act (42 
                        U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), or any other Federal or 
                        State early childhood program.
                            (ii) An adult education provider.
                            (iii) A local educational agency.
                            (iv) A public or private nonprofit agency.
                            (v) Another entity that has the 
                        demonstrated ability to provide family literacy 
                        services to English language learning adults 
                        and families.
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Education.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to carry 
out this Act $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026.
    (b) Reservations.--From funds made available pursuant to subsection 
(a) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve--
            (1) not more than 2 percent of such funds for conducting 
        the annual evaluation required by section 7; and
            (2) $5,000,000 for technical assistance and training under 
        section 5.
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