§ 9863. Program authorized

(a) Program authorized

(1) In general

The Secretary is authorized to award grants to eligible recipients to enable partnerships served by the eligible recipients to establish articulated programs of study in critical foreign languages that will enable students to advance successfully from elementary school through postsecondary education and achieve higher levels of proficiency in a critical foreign language.

(2) Duration

A grant awarded under paragraph (1) shall be for a period of not more than 5 years, of which 2 years may be for planning and development. A grant may be renewed for not more than 2 additional 5-year periods, if the Secretary determines that the partnership’s program is effective and the renewal will best serve the purposes of this subchapter.

(b) Applications

(1) In general

Each eligible recipient desiring a grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require.

(2) Contents

Each application shall—

(A) identify each local educational agency partner, including contact information and letters of commitment, and describe the responsibilities of each member of the partnership, including—

(i) how each of the partners will be involved in planning, developing, and implementing—

(I) program curriculum and materials; and

(II) teacher professional development;

(ii) what resources each of the partners will provide; and

(iii) how the partners will contribute to ensuring the continuity of student progress from elementary school through the postsecondary level;

(B) describe how an articulated curriculum for students will be developed and implemented, which may include the use and integration of technology into such curriculum;

(C) identify target proficiency levels for students at critical benchmarks (such as grades 4, 8, and 12), and describe how progress toward those proficiency levels will be assessed at the benchmarks, and how the program will use the results of the assessments to ensure continuous progress toward achieving a superior level of proficiency at the postsecondary level;

(D) describe how the partnership will—

(i) ensure that students from a program assisted under this subchapter who are beginning postsecondary education will be assessed and enabled to progress to a superior level of proficiency;

(ii) address the needs of students already at, or near, the superior level of proficiency, which may include diagnostic assessments for placement purposes, customized and individualized language learning opportunities, and experimental and interdisciplinary language learning; and

(iii) identify and describe how the partnership will work with institutions of higher education outside the partnership to provide participating students with multiple options for postsecondary education consistent with the purposes of this subchapter;

(E) describe how the partnership will support and continue the program after the grant has expired, including how the partnership will seek support from other sources, such as State and local governments, foundations, and the private sector; and

(F) describe what assessments will be used or, if assessments not ^[1] available, how assessments will be developed.

Grant funds awarded under this subchapter—

(1) shall be used to plan, develop, and implement programs at the elementary school level through postsecondary education, consistent with the purpose of this subchapter, including—

(A) the development of curriculum and instructional materials; and

(B) recruitment of students; and

(2) may be used for—

(A) teacher recruitment (including recruitment from other professions and recruitment of native-language speakers in the community) and professional development directly related to the purposes of this subchapter at the elementary school through secondary school levels;

(B) development of appropriate assessments;

(C) opportunities for maximum language exposure for students in the program, such as the creation of immersion environments (such as language houses, language tables, immersion classrooms, and weekend and summer experiences) and special tutoring and academic support;

(D) dual language immersion programs;

(E) scholarships and study-abroad opportunities, related to the program, for postsecondary students and newly recruited teachers who have advanced levels of proficiency in a critical foreign language, except that not more than 20 percent of the grant funds provided to an eligible recipient under this section for a fiscal year may be used to carry out this subparagraph;

(F) activities to encourage community involvement to assist in meeting the purposes of this subchapter;

(G) summer institutes for students and teachers;

(H) bridge programs that allow dual enrollment for secondary school students in institutions of higher education;

(I) programs that expand the understanding and knowledge of historic, geographic, and contextual factors within countries with populations who speak critical foreign languages, if such programs are carried out in conjunction with language instruction;

(J) research on, and evaluation of, the teaching of critical foreign languages;

(K) data collection and analysis regarding the results of—

(i) various student recruitment strategies;

(ii) program design; and

(iii) curricular approaches;

(L) the impact of the strategies, program design, and curricular approaches described in subparagraph (K) on increasing—

(i) the number of students studying critical foreign languages; and

(ii) the proficiency of the students in the critical foreign languages; and

(M) distance learning projects for critical foreign language learning.

(d) Matching requirement

(1) In general

An eligible recipient that receives a grant under this subchapter shall provide, toward the cost of carrying out the activities supported by the grant, from non-Federal sources, an amount equal to—

(A) 20 percent of the amount of the grant payment for the first fiscal year for which a grant payment is made;

(B) 30 percent of the amount of the grant payment for the second such fiscal year;

(D) 50 percent of the amount of the grant payment for each of the fourth and fifth such fiscal years.

(2) Non-Federal share

The non-Federal share required under paragraph (1) may be provided in cash or in-kind.

(3) Waiver

The Secretary may waive all or part of the matching requirement of paragraph (1), for any fiscal year, if the Secretary determines that—

(A) the application of the matching requirement will result in serious hardship for the partnership; or

(B) the waiver will best serve the purposes of this subchapter.

(e) Supplement not supplant

Grant funds provided under this subchapter shall be used to supplement, not supplant, other Federal and non-Federal funds available to carry out the activities described in subsection (c).

(f) Technical assistance

The Secretary shall enter into a contract to establish a technical assistance center to provide technical assistance to partnerships developing critical foreign language programs assisted under this subchapter. The center shall—

(1) assist the partnerships in the development of critical foreign language instructional materials and assessments; and

(2) disseminate promising foreign language instructional practices.

(g) Program evaluation

(1) In general

The Secretary may reserve not more than 5 percent of the total amount appropriated for this subchapter for any fiscal year to annually evaluate the programs under this subchapter.

(2) Report

The Secretary shall prepare and annually submit, to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives, and the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and House of Representatives, a report—

(A) on the results of any program evaluation conducted under this subsection; and

(B) that includes best practices on the teaching and learning of foreign languages based on the findings from the evaluation.

[1] So in original. Probably should be preceded by “are”.

U.S. Code

§ 9863. Program authorized