Reaching English Learners Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1963 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award institutions of higher education grants for teaching English learners. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 8, 2021 Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself and Mr. CORNYN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Edu- cation, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award institutions of higher education grants for teaching English learners. 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 ‘‘Reaching English 4 Learners Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. TEACHING ENGLISH LEARNERS GRANT. 6 Part B of title II of the Higher Education Act of 7 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1031 et seq.) is amended by adding at 8 the end the following: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:02 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1963.IS S1963 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1963 IS ‘‘Subpart 6—Teaching English Learners Grant 1 ‘‘SEC. 259. TEACHING ENGLISH LEARNERS GRANT. 2 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary 3 shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible part- 4 nerships to improve the preparation of teacher candidates 5 to ensure that such teacher candidates possess the knowl- 6 edge and skills necessary to effectively instruct English 7 learners. 8 ‘‘(b) DURATION OF GRANTS.—A grant under this 9 section shall be awarded for a period of not more than 10 5 years. 11 ‘‘(c) PREFERENCE.—In awarding grants under this 12 section, the Secretary shall give preference to eligible part- 13 nerships that recruit and enroll teacher candidates who 14 are from underrepresented populations or former English 15 learners. 16 ‘‘(d) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—An eligible partnership 17 that receives a grant under this section shall provide not 18 less than 50 percent of the cost of the activities carried 19 out with such grant from non-Federal sources, which may 20 be provided in cash or in kind. 21 ‘‘(e) USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible partnership that 22 receives a grant under this section shall use the grant to— 23 ‘‘(1) develop, or strengthen, an undergraduate, 24 postbaccalaureate, or master’s teacher preparation 25 program that enables the graduate to meet the 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:02 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1963.IS S1963 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1963 IS State’s licensure or certification requirements to 1 teach English learners and incorporates evidence- 2 based strategies for teaching English learners (in- 3 cluding bilingual, immersion, and dual-language edu- 4 cation) into the education curriculum and academic 5 content; 6 ‘‘(2) provide teacher candidates participating in 7 a program under paragraph (1) with skills related 8 to— 9 ‘‘(A) helping English learners— 10 ‘‘(i) achieve at high levels in early 11 childhood education programs, and elemen- 12 tary schools and secondary schools so such 13 English learners can meet the challenging 14 State academic standards that— 15 ‘‘(I) have been adopted under 16 section 1111(b)(1) of the Elementary 17 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 18 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(1)) by the State 19 of the school attended or to be at- 20 tended by the English learners; and 21 ‘‘(II) apply to all public school 22 students in the State; and 23 ‘‘(ii) attain English proficiency; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:02 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1963.IS S1963 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1963 IS ‘‘(B) appropriately identifying and meeting 1 the specific learning needs of children with dis- 2 abilities who are English learners; 3 ‘‘(C) recognizing and addressing the social 4 and emotional needs of English learners; and 5 ‘‘(D) promoting parental, family, and com- 6 munity engagement in educational programs 7 that serve English learners; and 8 ‘‘(3) provide teacher candidates participating in 9 the program with high-quality preservice clinical ex- 10 perience that includes, to the extent practicable— 11 ‘‘(A) clinical learning in classrooms that 12 service English learners; and 13 ‘‘(B) mentoring by a teacher certified to 14 teach English learners. 15 ‘‘(f) APPLICATION.—An eligible partnership seeking 16 a grant under this section shall submit an application to 17 the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con- 18 taining such information as the Secretary may require. 19 Such application shall include— 20 ‘‘(1) a self-assessment by the eligible partner- 21 ship of the existing teacher preparation program at 22 the institution of higher education and the needs re- 23 lated to preparing teacher candidates to instruct 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:02 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1963.IS S1963 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1963 IS English learners in the manner described in sub- 1 section (e)(2); 2 ‘‘(2) a self-assessment by the eligible partner- 3 ship of the personnel needs for teachers who instruct 4 English learners at local, early childhood education 5 programs, and elementary schools and secondary 6 schools; 7 ‘‘(3) a description of the intended uses of such 8 grant; and 9 ‘‘(4) a description of the plan to carry out the 10 evaluation under subsection (g)(1). 11 ‘‘(g) EVALUATIONS.— 12 ‘‘(1) REPORT FROM ELIGIBLE PARTNER- 13 SHIPS.—An eligible partnership receiving a grant 14 under this section shall submit to the Secretary the 15 results of an evaluation conducted by the partner- 16 ship at the end of the grant period to determine— 17 ‘‘(A) the effectiveness of teachers who com- 18 pleted a program under subsection (e)(1) with 19 respect to instruction of English learners; 20 ‘‘(B) the systemic impact of the activities 21 carried out by such grant on how such partner- 22 ship prepares teachers to provide instruction in 23 early childhood education programs, and ele- 24 mentary schools and secondary schools; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:02 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1963.IS S1963 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1963 IS ‘‘(C) the percentage of teacher candidates 1 that meet the State certification and licensure 2 requirements for teaching English learners. 3 ‘‘(2) REPORT FROM THE SECRETARY.—Not 4 later than 180 days after the last day of the grant 5 period under this section, the Secretary shall make 6 available to the authorizing committees and the pub- 7 lic— 8 ‘‘(A) the findings of the evaluations sub- 9 mitted under paragraph (1); and 10 ‘‘(B) information on best practices related 11 to effective instruction of English learners. 12 ‘‘(h) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—An eligible 13 partnership receiving a grant under this section may use 14 the grant only to supplement funds made available from 15 non-Federal sources to carry out the activities supported 16 by such grant, and in no case to supplant such funds from 17 non-Federal sources. 18 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 19 ‘‘(1) CHILD WITH A DISABILITY.—The term 20 ‘child with a disability’ has the meaning given the 21 term in section 602 of the Individuals with Disabil- 22 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401). 23 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU- 24 CATION.—The term ‘eligible institution of higher 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:02 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1963.IS S1963 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1963 IS education’ means an institution of higher education 1 that has a program of study that leads to an under- 2 graduate degree, a master’s degree, or completion of 3 a postbaccalaureate program required for teacher 4 certification or licensure, including any requirements 5 for certification obtained through alternative routes 6 to certification. 7 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘eligi- 8 ble partnership’ means an eligible institution of 9 higher education in partnership with a high-need 10 local educational agency or a high-need early child- 11 hood education program. 12 ‘‘(4) ENGLISH LEARNER.—The term ‘English 13 learner’ has the meaning given the term in section 14 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 15 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).’’. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:02 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1963.IS S1963 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS