February 25, 2025
Mrs. Kiggans of Virginia (for herself and Mr. Panetta) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce
To direct the Secretary of Education to award grants to local educational agencies to establish or improve world language or dual language programs, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the World Language Education Assistance Program Act
or the World LEAP Act
.
Sec. 2. Purpose
The purpose of this Act is to establish and make assistance available to the World Language Education Assistance Program in order to—
(1)
establish or improve and carry out World Language Education Assistance Program grant programs;
(2)
support and uplift dual language and world language programs; and
(3)
provide students with the language skills necessary for an interconnected and global world.
Sec. 3. Findings
Congress finds the following:
(1)
Recent academic studies demonstrate that America’s language capacity has reached a crisis point, with only one fifth of United States residents speaking a language other than English at home, 90 percent of United States-based employers reporting a reliance on employees with language skills other than English, and one third of foreign language-dependent employers reporting a language skills gap. This language crisis has real world implications for business, government, the military, and diplomatic and intelligence services.
(2)
The Department of Education does not have an innovative world languages program for elementary and secondary students.
(3)
The Nation’s education system is suffering from severe shortages of world language, English learner, and bilingual and dual language immersion educators.
(4)
The lack of a Federal elementary and secondary school world language and dual language program, coupled with the continuing shortage of world language and bilingual teachers, creates significant obstacles to providing equitable opportunities for all students to develop multilingualism. English learners, a population which has grown by 2,100,000 between 2000 and 2019, have been disproportionately impacted.
(5)
The Federal Government has a strong interest in better preparing American students to compete in the global economy.
Sec. 4. Definitions
In this Act:
(1) Community-based heritage language school
The term community-based heritage language school means a nonprofit, community-based school that offers classes for students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12, for the purpose of maintaining and teaching the language and culture of non-English speaking communities.
(2) Dual language program
The term dual language program means—
(A)
with respect to pre-kindergarten and elementary school, a bilingual education program in which students receive instruction in English and a language other than English for at least half of the instructional school day for each year of pre-kindergarten and elementary school, with the goal of achieving proficiency in both languages; and
(B)
with respect to grades 6 through 8, a bilingual education program in which students who participated in a program described in subparagraph (A) continue to receive instruction in English and a language other than English for at least half of the instructional school day for each year of such grades 6 through 8.
(3) ESEA definitions
The terms English learner, secondary school, local educational agency, professional development, Secretary, and State have the meanings given those terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
(4) Heritage learner
The term heritage learner means an individual—
(A)
with proficiency in, or a cultural connection to (through family, community, or country of origin), a language other than English; and
(B)
who is studying such language in pre-kindergarten, elementary school, or secondary school.
(5) World language program
The term world language program means a program that educates and prepares pre-kindergarten, elementary, or secondary school students to communicate, in a proficient and culturally competent manner, with individuals who speak a language other than English.
Sec. 5. World language education assistance program
(a) Establishment
(1) In general
The Secretary shall award, on a competitive basis, grants to local educational agencies to establish and carry out new, or improve existing world language or dual language programs.
(2) Duration
A grant awarded under this section shall be for a period of 3 years and may be renewed at the discretion of the Secretary.
(b) Application
A local educational agency desiring a grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information and assurances as the Secretary may require.
(c) Criteria for selection
(1) In general
In awarding a grant to a local educational agency under this section, the Secretary shall select applications describing programs that—
(A)
provide approaches to instruction that lead to demonstrated growth in language proficiency from kindergarten through grade 12;
(B)
can be disseminated and duplicated in other local educational agencies;
(C)
have a plan for how the program will continue after the conclusion of the grant period; and
(D)
include a professional development component.
(2) Priority
In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to applications describing programs that—
(A)
include intensive summer professional development for world language program and dual language program teachers;
(B)
enter into partnerships with community-based heritage language schools and communities;
(C)
provide world language and dual language immersion programs, including with respect to English learners and heritage learners;
(D)
are carried out through a consortium that shall include the agency receiving the grant and an elementary school or secondary school served by such agency, with a preference for consortia that include an institution of higher education;
(E)
collaborate with the appropriate State licensure office to broaden pathways for language or dual language teacher certification; or
(F)
conduct outreach and recruit secondary and post-secondary students, including former English learners and heritage learners, into programs that prepare such students to become dual language or world language program teachers.
(d) Use of funds
A local educational agency that receives a grant under this section shall—
(1)
reserve not less than 20 percent of such grant funds to provide—
(A)
accessible pathways for paraprofessionals to gain certification and licensure as world language or dual language teachers; and
(B)
professional development for certified and licensed world language or dual language teachers;
(2)
reserve not more than 5 percent of such grant funds to evaluate the efficacy of programs carried out with funds awarded under this section; and
(3)
after making the reservations required under paragraphs (1) and (2), use the remainder of such grant funds to establish and carry out new, and improve existing, world language or dual language programs (including any associated administrative expenses).
(e) Reporting requirements
(1) In general
Not later than 18 months after receiving a grant under this section, each local educational agency shall submit to the Secretary a report that—
(A)
describes the implementation of the program for which the local educational agency received the grant; and
(B)
includes data that identifies—
(i)
the number of students enrolled in language education at the elementary and secondary schools served by the local educational agency prior to receiving a grant under this section;
(ii)
the number of students enrolled in such language instruction as of the date of submission of the report;
(iii)
the number of certified bilingual educators working for the local educational agency prior to receiving a grant under this section;
(iv)
the number of certified bilingual educators working for the local educational agency as of the date of submission of the report; and
(v)
levels of community support for language education—
(I)
prior to receiving a grant under this section; and
(II)
as of the date of submission of the report.
(2) Student privacy
A local educational agency shall prepare the report required under paragraph (1) in a manner that protects the privacy rights of each student in accordance with section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g; commonly known as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974
).
(f) Authorization of appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2026 and for each subsequent fiscal year.