FLUENT Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3398 To improve the English language and literacy skills of English language learners and their families, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 20, 2021 Mr. GRIJALVA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL 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 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 ‘‘Families Learning and 4 Understanding English Together Act of 2021’’ or the 5 ‘‘FLUENT Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 The Congress finds the following: 8 (1) The Census Bureau’s American Community 9 Survey of 2018 estimated 21.9 percent of United 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3398.IH H3398 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3398 IH States households speak a language other than 1 English at home. 2 (2) In many recently immigrated families, care- 3 givers speak little to no English, can possess low lit- 4 eracy skills in their primary language due to limited 5 or interrupted education, and frequently struggle to 6 assist their children’s English and primary language 7 and literacy development. 8 (3) The United States is a Nation of immi- 9 grants, and even today, according to the Census Bu- 10 reau’s American Community Survey of 2018, more 11 than 44,000,000 individuals who live in the United 12 States were born outside the country. 13 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 14 The purpose of this Act is to improve the educational, 15 social, and economic advancement of families with English 16 language learners who have unmet literacy needs by ex- 17 panding and enhancing family literacy activities and serv- 18 ices for such families. 19 SEC. 4. COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM. 20 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From funds made 21 available pursuant to section 9, and after reserving funds 22 under section 9(b), the Secretary may award grants to 23 family literacy providers to provide, directly or through a 24 contract with another provider, family literacy services de- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3398.IH H3398 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3398 IH signed for English language learners and their families. 1 Each grant under this Act shall be for a period of 1 year 2 and may be renewed for a total of 5 additional years. 3 (b) APPLICATION.—Family literacy providers who de- 4 sire to receive a grant under this Act shall submit an ap- 5 plication at such time, containing such information, and 6 in such manner as the Secretary may require. Such appli- 7 cation shall include the following: 8 (1) An assurance that services provided with 9 funds under this Act shall be provided to the hard- 10 est-to-reach populations, prioritizing English lan- 11 guage learner populations with the greatest eco- 12 nomic, educational, and social need. 13 (2) A description of the services that will be 14 provided with funds under this Act, including the 15 manner in which the services will be research-based 16 literacy instruction for children who are English 17 learners and caregivers who are English language 18 learners. 19 (3) A description of the outcome measures, con- 20 sistent with section 6, that are based on research 21 and will be employed by the family literacy provider 22 to measure the effectiveness of services provided 23 with funds under this Act. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3398.IH H3398 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3398 IH (4) An assurance that, in providing family lit- 1 eracy services through the grant, the family literacy 2 provider will collaborate with one or more of the fol- 3 lowing: 4 (A) A State or Tribal local educational 5 agency. 6 (B) A public elementary school. 7 (C) A public secondary school. 8 (D) A nonprofit entity (such as a commu- 9 nity-based organization, library, community col- 10 lege, or early childhood provider). 11 (5) A requirement that any preservice educators 12 or paraprofessionals who facilitate family or adult 13 literacy activities be trained and under the direct su- 14 pervision of a highly qualified family literacy pro- 15 vider trained in research-based methods of early lan- 16 guage and literacy promotion. 17 (c) GRANT AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant under 18 this Act for a fiscal year shall not be less than $150,000 19 or more than $1,000,000. 20 (d) SERVICES REQUIREMENTS.—Family literacy 21 services under this Act shall be provided in sufficient in- 22 tensity in terms of hours, and shall be of sufficient dura- 23 tion, to make sustainable changes in a family and shall 24 integrate all of the following activities: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3398.IH H3398 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3398 IH (1) Interactive literacy activities between care- 1 givers and their children that includes online and 2 digital learning resources. 3 (2) Education that helps caregivers learn how 4 to advocate for their children and support their chil- 5 dren’s primary and English language and literacy 6 development and educational success. 7 (3) Adult literacy education which includes dig- 8 ital and systems literacy that improves conceptual 9 knowledge and reasoning skills. 10 (4) An age-appropriate education plan, devel- 11 oped in partnership with caregivers, to prepare chil- 12 dren for success in school, career, and civic life. 13 (e) SPECIAL RULE.—Family literacy services under 14 this Act may be provided to a family only if— 15 (1) each caregiver in the family has attained 16 16 years of age; and 17 (2) the family has at least one child who has 18 not yet attained 8 years of age. 19 SEC. 5. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING. 20 (a) ACTIVITIES BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary, act- 21 ing through the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and 22 Secondary Education, shall, through grants or contracts 23 as described in subsection (b), provide technical assistance 24 and training to family literacy providers receiving a grant 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3398.IH H3398 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3398 IH under section 4 for the purposes described in subsection 1 (c). 2 (b) ACTIVITIES BY NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 4 grants to, or enter into contracts with, at least 2 eli- 5 gible national organizations to provide technical as- 6 sistance and training to family literacy providers re- 7 ceiving a grant under section 4 for the purposes de- 8 scribed in subsection (c). 9 (2) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘el- 10 igible national organization’’ means a national orga- 11 nization with expertise in providing family literacy 12 services to English language learner populations. 13 (c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of technical assistance 14 and training provided under this section are the following: 15 (1) Assisting family literacy providers receiving 16 a grant under section 4 to improve the quality of 17 their family literacy services. 18 (2) Enabling such family literacy providers that 19 demonstrate the effective provision of family literacy 20 services, based on improved outcomes for children 21 and their caregivers, to provide technical assistance 22 and training to government agencies and to family 23 literacy providers that work in collaboration with 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3398.IH H3398 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3398 IH such agencies to improve the quality of their family 1 literacy services. 2 (3) Assisting such providers in the implementa- 3 tion of literacy curriculum and training activities, in- 4 cluding curriculum and training activities that sup- 5 port building on a child’s primary language. 6 (d) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 90 days 7 after the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall sub- 8 mit to the Committee on Education and Labor of the 9 House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, 10 Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a report 11 on the technical assistance and training provided pursuant 12 to subsections (a) and (b). Each such report shall describe 13 the actions taken by the Secretary to ensure that such 14 technical assistance and training is of high quality and 15 is responsive to the needs of grantees under this Act. 16 SEC. 6. OUTCOME MEASURES. 17 The Secretary shall require each family literacy pro- 18 vider receiving a grant under this Act to meet culturally 19 appropriate and competent outcome measures described in 20 the provider’s application under section 4, including out- 21 come measures with respect to— 22 (1) acquisition of the English language, includ- 23 ing improvement in academic achievement and aca- 24 demic language fluency and comprehension; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3398.IH H3398 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3398 IH (2) literacy skills and building of the primary 1 language; 2 (3) improved caregiving and life skills, such as 3 communication and problem-solving skills; 4 (4) the improved ability of caregivers who are 5 English language learners to effectively communicate 6 and partner with school personnel at the preschool, 7 elementary, or secondary school their children at- 8 tend; 9 (5) improvement in the developmental skills and 10 ability of the children to direct, regulate, and assess 11 their own learning; 12 (6) increased caregiver participation in their 13 children’s education, interactive literacy activities, 14 and home environments to support children’s learn- 15 ing and growth; and 16 (7) improved general, cross-cutting abilities 17 such as applied academic skills, critical thinking 18 skills, interpersonal skills, communication skills, per- 19 sonal qualities, and skills in resource management, 20 information use, systems thinking, and technology 21 use. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3398.IH H3398 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3398 IH SEC. 7. EVALUATION. 1 The Secretary shall conduct an annual evaluation of 2 the grant program under this Act. Such evaluation shall 3 be used by the Secretary— 4 (1) for program improvement; 5 (2) to further define the program’s goals and 6 objectives; and 7 (3) to determine program effectiveness. 8 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 9 For purposes of this Act: 10 (1) ADULT EDUCATION PROVIDER.—The term 11 ‘‘adult education provider’’ has the meaning given 12 the term ‘‘eligible provider’’ in section 203 of the 13 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 14 U.S.C. 3272). 15 (2) APPLICATION OF ESEA TERMS.—The terms 16 ‘‘elementary school’’, ‘‘English learner’’, ‘‘local edu- 17 cational agency’’, and ‘‘secondary school’’ have the 18 meanings given such terms in section 8101 of the 19 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 20 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 21 (3) ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER; FAMILY LIT- 22 ERACY ACTIVITIES.—The terms ‘‘English language 23 learner’’ and ‘‘family literacy activities’’ have the 24 meanings given the terms in section 203 of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3398.IH H3398 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3398 IH Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 1 U.S.C. 3272). 2 (4) FAMILY LITERACY PROVIDER.—The term 3 ‘‘family literacy provider’’ means an entity that— 4 (A) except in a case in which the Secretary 5 waives the requirement of this subparagraph 6 with respect to an entity, is located in a geo- 7 graphic area containing at least one public ele- 8 mentary school or secondary school with either 9 a majority enrollment or recent increase in en- 10 rollment of children who have been identified as 11 English learners; and 12 (B) is one of the following: 13 (i) A grantee under the Head Start 14 Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), or any other 15 Federal or State early childhood program. 16 (ii) An adult education provider. 17 (iii) A local educational agency. 18 (iv) A public or private nonprofit 19 agency. 20 (v) Another entity that has the dem- 21 onstrated ability to provide family literacy 22 services to English language learning 23 adults and families. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3398.IH H3398 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3398 IH (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 1 the Secretary of Education. 2 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro- 4 priated to carry out this Act $50,000,000 for each of fiscal 5 years 2022 through 2026. 6 (b) RESERVATIONS.—From funds made available 7 pursuant to subsection (a) for a fiscal year, the Secretary 8 shall reserve— 9 (1) not more than 2 percent of such funds for 10 conducting the annual evaluation required by section 11 7; and 12 (2) $5,000,000 for technical assistance and 13 training under section 5. 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3398.IH H3398 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS