SEC. 6403. [20 U.S.C. 7373] FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION.

(a) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.-The Secretary, upon request, shall provide technical assistance to State and local educational agencies under this title.

(b) RULEMAKING.-The Secretary shall issue regulations under this title only to the extent that such regulations are necessary to ensure that there is compliance with the specific requirements and assurances required by this title.

(c) AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATIONS.-Notwithstanding any other provision of law, unless expressly in limitation of this subsection, funds appropriated in any fiscal year to carry out activities under this title shall become available for obligation on July 1 of such fiscal year and shall remain available for obligation until the end of the subsequent fiscal year.

TITLE

VII-BILINGUAL

EDUCATION, LANGUAGE ENHANCEMENT, AND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION PROGRAMS

PART A-BILINGUAL EDUCATION

SEC. 7101. [20 U.S.C. 7401] SHORT TITLE.

This part may be cited as the "Bilingual Education Act". SEC. 7102. [20 U.S.C. 7402] FINDINGS, POLICY, AND PURPOSE. (a) FINDINGS.-The Congress finds that

(1) language-minority Americans speak virtually all world languages plus many that are indigenous to the United States;

(2) there are large and growing numbers of children and youth of limited-English proficiency, many of whom have a cultural heritage that differs from that of their English-proficient peers;

(3) the presence of language-minority Americans is related in part to Federal immigration policies;

(4) many language-minority Americans are limited in their English proficiency, and many have limited education and in

come;

(5) limited English proficient children and youth face a number of challenges in receiving an education that will enable such children and youth to participate fully in American society, including—

(A) segregated education programs;

(B) disproportionate and improper placement in special education and other special programs due to the use of inappropriate evaluation procedures;

(C) the limited-English proficiency of their own parents, which hinders the parents' ability to fully participate in the education of their children; and

(D) a shortage of teachers and other staff who are professionally trained and qualified to serve such children and youth;

(6) Native Americans and Native American languages (as such terms are defined in section 103 of the Native American

Languages Act), including native residents of the outlying areas, have a unique status under Federal law that requires special policies within the broad purposes of this Act to serve the education needs of language minority students in the United States;

(7) institutions of higher education can assist in preparing teachers, administrators and other school personnel to understand and build upon the educational strengths and needs of language-minority and culturally diverse student enrollments;

(8) it is the purpose of this title to help ensure that limited English proficient students master English and develop high levels of academic attainment in content areas;

(9) quality bilingual education programs enable children and youth to learn English and meet high academic standards including proficiency in more than one language;

(10) as the world becomes increasingly interdependent and as international communication becomes a daily occurrence in government, business, commerce, and family life, multilingual skills constitute an important national resource which deserves protection and development;

(11) educational technology has the potential for improving the education of language-minority and limited English proficient students and their families, and the Federal Government should foster this development;

(12) parent and community participation in bilingual education programs contributes to program effectiveness;

(13) research, evaluation, and data-collection capabilities in the field of bilingual education need to be strengthened so that educators and other staff can better identify and promote those programs, program implementation strategies, and instructional practices that result in effective education of limited English proficient children;

(14) the use of a child or youth's native language and culture in classroom instruction can

(A) promote self-esteem and contribute to academic achievement and learning English by limited English proficient children and youth;

(B) benefit English-proficient children and youth who also participate in such programs; and

(C) develop our Nation's national language resources, thus promoting our Nation's competitiveness in the global

economy;

(15) the Federal Government, as exemplified by title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and section 204(f) of the Equal Education Opportunities Act of 1974, has a special and continuing obligation to ensure that States and local school districts take appropriate action to provide equal_educational opportunities to children and youth of limited English proficiency; and

(16) the Federal Government also, as exemplified by the Federal Government's efforts under this title, has a special and continuing obligation to assist States and local school districts. in developing the capacity to provide programs of instruction

that offer limited English proficient children and youth an equal educational opportunity.

(b) POLICY.-The Congress declares it to be the policy of the United States, in order to ensure equal educational opportunity for all children and youth and to promote educational excellence, to assist State and local educational agencies, institutions of higher education and community-based organizations to build their capacity to establish, implement, and sustain programs of instruction for children and youth of limited English proficiency.

(c) PURPOSE.-The purpose of this part is to educate limited. English proficient children and youth to meet the same rigorous standards for academic performance expected of all children and youth, including meeting challenging State content standards and challenging State student performance standards in academic areas by

(1) developing systemic improvement and reform of educational programs serving limited English proficient students through the development and implementation of exemplary bilingual education programs and special alternative instruction programs;

(2) developing bilingual skills and multicultural understanding;

(3) developing the English of such children and youth and, to the extent possible, the native language skills of such children and youth;

(4) providing similar assistance to Native Americans with certain modifications relative to the unique status of Native American languages under Federal law;

(5) developing data collection and dissemination, research, materials development, and technical assistance which is focused on school improvement for limited English proficient students; and

(6) developing programs which strengthen and improve the professional training of educational personnel who work with limited English proficient students.

SEC. 7103. [20 U.S.C. 7403] AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

(a) IN GENERAL.-For the purpose of carrying out this part, there are authorized to be appropriated $215,000,000 for the fiscal year 1995 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the four succeeding fiscal years.

(b) DISTRIBUTION.-From the sums appropriated under subsection (a) for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve not less than 25 percent of such funds for such year to carry out subpart 3.

SEC. 7104. [20 U.S.C. 7404] NATIVE AMERICAN AND ALASKA NATIVE CHILDREN IN SCHOOL.

(a) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.-For the purpose of carrying out programs under this part for individuals served by elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools operated predominately for Native American or Alaska Native children and youth, an Indian tribe, a tribally sanctioned educational authority, a Native Hawaiian or Native American Pacific Islander native language education organization, or an elementary or secondary school that is operated

or funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs shall be considered to be a local educational agency as such term is used in this part, subject to the following qualifications:

(1) INDIAN TRIBE.-The term "Indian tribe" means any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community, including any Alaska Native village or regional or village corporation as defined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), that is recognized for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians. (2) TRIBALLY SANCTIONED EDUCATIONAL AUTHORITY.-The term "tribally sanctioned educational authority" means

(A) any department or division of education operating within the administrative structure of the duly constituted governing body of an Indian tribe; and

(B) any nonprofit institution or organization that is— (i) chartered by the governing body of an Indian tribe to operate any such school or otherwise to oversee the delivery of educational services to members of that tribe; and

(ii) approved by the Secretary for the purpose of this section.

(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY APPLICATION.-Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, each eligible entity described in subsection (a) shall submit any application for assistance under this part directly to the Secretary along with timely comments on the need for the proposed program.

SEC. 7105. [20 U.S.C. 7405] RESIDENTS OF THE TERRITORIES AND FREELY ASSOCIATED NATIONS.

For the purpose of carrying out programs under this part in the outlying areas, the term "local educational agency" shall include public institutions or agencies whose mission is the preservation and maintenance of native languages.

Subpart 1-Bilingual Education Capacity and

Demonstration Grants

SEC. 7111. [20 U.S.C. 7421] FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR BILINGUAL EDUCATION.

The purpose of this subpart is to assist local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, and community-based organizations, through the grants authorized under sections 7112, 7113, 7114, and 7115 to

(1) develop and enhance their capacity to provide highquality instruction through bilingual education or special alternative instruction programs to children and youth of limited English proficiency; and

(2) to help such children and youth

(A) develop proficiency in English, and to the extent possible, their native language; and

(B) meet the same challenging State content standards and challenging State student performance standards ex

pected for all children and youth as required by section 1111(b).

SEC. 7112. [20 U.S.C. 7422] PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.

(a) PURPOSE. The purpose of this section is to develop and implement new comprehensive, coherent, and successful bilingual education or special alternative instructional programs for limited English proficient students, including programs of early childhood education, kindergarten through twelfth grade education, gifted and talented education, and vocational and applied technology education.

(b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

(1) AUTHORITY. (A) The Secretary is authorized to award grants to eligible entities having applications approved under section 7116 to enable such entities to carry out activities described in paragraph (2).

(B) Each grant under this section shall be awarded for a period of three years.

(2) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.-(A) Grants awarded under this section shall be used to improve the education of limited English proficient students and their families by

(i) developing and implementing comprehensive preschool, elementary, or secondary bilingual education or special alternative instructional programs that are coordinated with other relevant programs and services to meet the full range of educational needs of limited English proficient students; and

(ii) providing inservice training to classroom teachers, administrators, and other school or community-based organizational personnel to improve the instruction and assessment of language-minority and limited English proficient students.

(B) Grants under this section may be used to improve the education of limited English proficient students and their families by

(i) implementing family education programs and parent outreach and training activities designed to assist parents to become active participants in the education of their children;

(ii) improving the instructional program for limited English proficient students by identifying, acquiring, and upgrading curriculum, instructional materials, educational software and assessment procedures and, if appropriate, applying educational technology;

(iii) compensating personnel, including teacher aides who have been specifically trained, or are being trained, to provide services to children and youth of limited English proficiency;

(iv) providing tutorials and academic or career counseling for children and youth of limited-English proficiency; and

(v) providing such other activities, related to the purposes of this part, as the Secretary may approve.