Education Against Hate Crimes Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2539 To direct the Secretary of Education to make grants for hate crime prevention and prejudice reduction education, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 14, 2021 Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ (for herself, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. NORTON, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. EVANS, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, and Mr. CARSON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To direct the Secretary of Education to make grants for hate crime prevention and prejudice reduction education, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Education Against 4 Hate Crimes Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR HATE CRIME PREVENTION AND PREJ- 6 UDICE REDUCTION EDUCATION. 7 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Beginning not later than 8 one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:58 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2539.IH H2539 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2539 IH retary of Education shall award grants, on a competitive 1 basis, to eligible entities to assist such entities in con- 2 ducting hate crime prevention and prejudice reduction 3 education for secondary school students and students in 4 middle grades. 5 (b) CURRICULUM REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 6 180 days after the date of enactment of the Act, the Sec- 7 retary of Education, in consultation with Secretary of 8 Homeland Security and the Attorney General, shall de- 9 velop requirements for the curriculum of the hate crime 10 prevention and prejudice reduction education conducted 11 with a grant under this section. 12 (c) GRANT AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant award- 13 ed under this section shall not exceed $1,500,000 for any 14 fiscal year. 15 (d) APPLICATIONS.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 17 grant under this section, an eligible entity shall sub- 18 mit an application to the Secretary at such time, in 19 such manner, and containing such information as 20 the Secretary may require. 21 (2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 22 section, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible 23 entities that will provide hate crime prevention and 24 prejudice reduction education in geographic areas 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:58 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2539.IH H2539 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2539 IH where there is disproportionate hate crime activity 1 relative to the total population of the area. The Sec- 2 retary may consult with the Attorney General to 3 identify eligible entities that meet the requirements 4 for priority consideration under this paragraph. 5 (e) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—On an annual 6 basis in each year for which an eligible entity receives a 7 grant under this section, the entity shall submit to the 8 Secretary a report that includes— 9 (1) a description of how the grant was used; 10 (2) the number of secondary school students 11 who enrolled in and completed a program of hate 12 crime prevention and prejudice reduction education; 13 (3) the number of teachers who provided in- 14 struction to students in hate crime prevention and 15 prejudice reduction education; and 16 (4) a description of the strategies and best 17 practices employed to achieve the objectives under 18 the grant. 19 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 20 (1) HATE CRIME AND PREJUDICE REDUCTION 21 EDUCATION.—The term ‘‘hate crime and prejudice 22 reduction education’’ means culturally relevant edu- 23 cation (available in multiple languages, consistent 24 with census data and demographics of the area 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:58 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2539.IH H2539 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2539 IH which the education will be provided) to prevent, ad- 1 dress, deter, and dissuade crimes against persons or 2 an individual’s property due to the actual or per- 3 ceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, 4 gender, gender identity, disability, age, or sexual ori- 5 entation of any person. 6 (2) ELIGIBILE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible en- 7 tity’’ means a State, a local educational agency, or 8 a nonprofit organization. 9 (3) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘local edu- 10 cational agency’’, ‘‘middle grades’’, ‘‘secondary 11 school’’, and ‘‘Secretary’’ have the meanings given 12 those terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and 13 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 14 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 15 the several States, the District of Columbia, the 16 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, 17 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is- 18 lands, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands. 19 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 20 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 21 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2022 22 through 2032. 23 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:58 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2539.IH H2539 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS