FLUENT Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3606 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 23, 2023 Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. CROCKETT, and Mr. BOW- MAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 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 2023’’ or the 5 ‘‘FLUENT Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 Congress finds the following: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3606.IH H3606 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3606 IH (1) The Census Bureau’s American Community 1 Survey of 2021 estimated 21.6 percent of United 2 States households speak a language other than 3 English at home. 4 (2) In many recently immigrated families, care- 5 givers speak little to no English, can possess low lit- 6 eracy skills in their primary language due to limited 7 or interrupted education, and frequently struggle to 8 assist their children’s English and primary language 9 and literacy development. 10 (3) The United States is a Nation of immi- 11 grants, and even today, according to the Census Bu- 12 reau’s American Community Survey of 2021, more 13 than 45,270,103 individuals who live in the United 14 States were born outside the country. 15 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 16 The purpose of this Act is to improve the educational, 17 social, and economic advancement of families with English 18 language learners who have unmet literacy needs by ex- 19 panding and enhancing family literacy activities and serv- 20 ices for such families. 21 SEC. 4. COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM. 22 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From funds made 23 available pursuant to section 9, and after reserving funds 24 under section 9(b), the Secretary may award grants to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3606.IH H3606 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3606 IH family literacy providers to provide, directly or through a 1 contract with another provider, family literacy services de- 2 signed for English language learners and their families. 3 Each grant under this Act shall be for a period of 1 year 4 and may be renewed for a total of 5 additional years. 5 (b) APPLICATION.—Family literacy providers who de- 6 sire to receive a grant under this Act shall submit an ap- 7 plication at such time, containing such information, and 8 in such manner as the Secretary may require. Such appli- 9 cation shall include the following: 10 (1) An assurance that services provided with 11 funds under this Act shall be provided to the hard- 12 est-to-reach populations, prioritizing English lan- 13 guage learner populations with the greatest eco- 14 nomic, educational, and social need. 15 (2) A description of the services that will be 16 provided with funds under this Act, including the 17 manner in which the services will be research-based 18 literacy instruction for children who are English 19 learners and caregivers who are English language 20 learners. 21 (3) A description of the outcome measures, con- 22 sistent with section 6, that are based on research 23 and will be employed by the family literacy provider 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3606.IH H3606 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3606 IH to measure the effectiveness of services provided 1 with funds under this Act. 2 (4) An assurance that, in providing family lit- 3 eracy services through the grant, the family literacy 4 provider will collaborate with one or more of the fol- 5 lowing: 6 (A) A State or Tribal local educational 7 agency. 8 (B) A public elementary school. 9 (C) A public secondary school. 10 (D) A nonprofit entity (such as a commu- 11 nity-based organization, library, community col- 12 lege, or early childhood provider). 13 (5) A requirement that any preservice educators 14 or paraprofessionals who facilitate family or adult 15 literacy activities be trained and under the direct su- 16 pervision of a highly qualified family literacy pro- 17 vider trained in research-based methods of early lan- 18 guage and literacy promotion. 19 (c) GRANT AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant under 20 this Act for a fiscal year shall not be less than $150,000 21 or more than $1,000,000. 22 (d) SERVICES REQUIREMENTS.—Family literacy 23 services under this Act shall be provided in sufficient in- 24 tensity in terms of hours, and shall be of sufficient dura- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3606.IH H3606 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3606 IH tion, to make sustainable changes in a family and shall 1 integrate all of the following activities: 2 (1) Interactive literacy activities between care- 3 givers and their children that includes online and 4 digital learning resources. 5 (2) Education that helps caregivers learn how 6 to advocate for their children and support their chil- 7 dren’s primary and English language and literacy 8 development and educational success. 9 (3) Adult literacy education which includes dig- 10 ital and systems literacy that improves conceptual 11 knowledge and reasoning skills. 12 (4) An age-appropriate education plan, devel- 13 oped in partnership with caregivers, to prepare chil- 14 dren for success in school, career, and civic life. 15 (e) SPECIAL RULE.—Family literacy services under 16 this Act may be provided to a family only if— 17 (1) each caregiver in the family has attained 16 18 years of age; and 19 (2) the family has at least one child who has 20 not yet attained 8 years of age. 21 SEC. 5. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING. 22 (a) ACTIVITIES BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary, act- 23 ing through the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and 24 Secondary Education, shall, through grants or contracts 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3606.IH H3606 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3606 IH as described in subsection (b), provide technical assistance 1 and training to family literacy providers receiving a grant 2 under section 4 for the purposes described in subsection 3 (c). 4 (b) ACTIVITIES BY NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 6 grants to, or enter into contracts with, at least 2 eli- 7 gible national organizations to provide technical as- 8 sistance and training to family literacy providers re- 9 ceiving a grant under section 4 for the purposes de- 10 scribed in subsection (c). 11 (2) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘el- 12 igible national organization’’ means a national orga- 13 nization with expertise in providing family literacy 14 services to English language learner populations. 15 (c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of technical assistance 16 and training provided under this section are the following: 17 (1) Assisting family literacy providers receiving 18 a grant under section 4 to improve the quality of 19 their family literacy services. 20 (2) Enabling such family literacy providers that 21 demonstrate the effective provision of family literacy 22 services, based on improved outcomes for children 23 and their caregivers, to provide technical assistance 24 and training to government agencies and to family 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3606.IH H3606 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 3606 IH literacy providers that work in collaboration with 1 such agencies to improve the quality of their family 2 literacy services. 3 (3) Assisting such providers in the implementa- 4 tion of literacy curriculum and training activities, in- 5 cluding curriculum and training activities that sup- 6 port building on a child’s primary language. 7 (d) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 90 days 8 after the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall sub- 9 mit to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 10 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 11 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a 12 report on the technical assistance and training provided 13 pursuant to subsections (a) and (b). Each such report 14 shall describe the actions taken by the Secretary to ensure 15 that such technical assistance and training is of high qual- 16 ity and is responsive to the needs of grantees under this 17 Act. 18 SEC. 6. OUTCOME MEASURES. 19 The Secretary shall require each family literacy pro- 20 vider receiving a grant under this Act to meet culturally 21 appropriate and competent outcome measures described in 22 the provider’s application under section 4, including out- 23 come measures with respect to— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3606.IH H3606 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 3606 IH (1) acquisition of the English language, includ- 1 ing improvement in academic achievement and aca- 2 demic language fluency and comprehension; 3 (2) literacy skills and building of the primary 4 language; 5 (3) improved caregiving and life skills, such as 6 communication and problem-solving skills; 7 (4) the improved ability of caregivers who are 8 English language learners to effectively communicate 9 and partner with school personnel at the preschool, 10 elementary, or secondary school their children at- 11 tend; 12 (5) improvement in the developmental skills and 13 ability of the children to direct, regulate, and assess 14 their own learning; 15 (6) increased caregiver participation in their 16 children’s education, interactive literacy activities, 17 and home environments to support children’s learn- 18 ing and growth; and 19 (7) improved general, cross-cutting abilities 20 such as applied academic skills, critical thinking 21 skills, interpersonal skills, communication skills, per- 22 sonal qualities, and skills in resource management, 23 information use, systems thinking, and technology 24 use. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3606.IH H3606 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 3606 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 00:04 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3606.IH H3606 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 3606 IH Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 1 U.S.C. 3272). 2 (4) FAMILY LITERACY PROVIDER.—The term 3 ‘‘family literacy provider’’ means an entity that— 4 (A) except in a case in which the Secretary 5 waives the requirement of this subparagraph 6 with respect to an entity, is located in a geo- 7 graphic area containing at least one public ele- 8 mentary school or secondary school with either 9 a majority enrollment or recent increase in en- 10 rollment of children who have been identified as 11 English learners; and 12 (B) is one of the following: 13 (i) A grantee under the Head Start 14 Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), or any other 15 Federal or State early childhood program. 16 (ii) An adult education provider. 17 (iii) A local educational agency. 18 (iv) A public or private nonprofit 19 agency. 20 (v) Another entity that has the dem- 21 onstrated ability to provide family literacy 22 services to English language learning 23 adults and families. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3606.IH H3606 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 3606 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 2024 through 2028. 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 00:04 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3606.IH H3606 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB