20 U.S.C. § 7453 — Native American and Alaska Native language immersion schools and programs
submitted 11 years ago by Pub. L. 89-10 to r/title-20-EDUCATION · 1,146 words · no verdicts yet
The Secretary must fund grants for schools using Native American or Alaska Native languages as primary instructional languages. The section identifies eligible entities, application information, grant activities, reporting, and a 5% administrative-cost limit.
(a) The purposes are—(1) to create grants for schools using Native American or Alaska Native languages as the main instructional language; (2) to protect and promote Native Americans’ and Alaska Natives’ rights and freedom to use, practice, maintain, and revitalize their languages as envisioned in the Native American Languages Act; and (3) to support language and culture revitalization and improve education and student outcomes in those communities. (b)(1) From funds reserved under section 7492(c), the Secretary must reserve 20% for grants to develop, maintain, improve, or expand programs supporting elementary or secondary schools that use those languages as primary instructional languages. (2) An “eligible entity” is an Indian* tribe; Tribal College or University; tribal education agency; local educational agency, including a qualifying public charter school; Bureau of Indian Education school; Alaska Native Regional Corporation; private, tribal, or Alaska Native nonprofit; or nontribal for-profit organization with the required language-program plan. (c)(1) An applicant must provide the target language, student count, instructional hours, and a plan for using funds, doing subsection (e) activities, rigorous academic content, and high-level fluency. It must also provide governance and affiliation information, including governing entity, accreditation, higher-education partnerships, and indigenous-language cooperatives. It must assure long-term State or tribal goals, language-based assessments where possible, qualified instructional and leadership staff, and public reporting of achievement and, when appropriate, graduation, career readiness, and postsecondary or workforce-program enrollment. (2) The Secretary may not give priority based on the governance or affiliation information in (1)(E). (3) A public school, BIE school, or nontribal for-profit or nonprofit applicant must also submit certification from a specified Tribal College or University, federally recognized tribe or tribal organization, Alaska Native Regional Corporation or nonprofit, or Native Hawaiian organization, stating that the school or organization can primarily educate in the target language and has enough speakers available. (d) The Secretary sets grant amount and duration, not over three years, and must represent language diversity as much as feasible. (e)(1) Grantees must support language education and development and provide professional development for teachers and, as appropriate, staff and administrators. (2) They may develop curriculum and materials; create or refine aligned, language-based proficiency assessments; and conduct other relevant language-maintenance and revitalization work. (f) Each grantee must annually report its activities, children served, and instructional hours in the language. (g) No more than 5% of a fiscal year’s grant may be used for administration.
The purposes of this section are—
to establish a grant program to support schools that use Native American and Alaska Native languages as the primary language of instruction;
to maintain, protect, and promote the rights and freedom of Native Americans and Alaska Natives to use, practice, maintain, and revitalize their languages, as envisioned in the Native American Languages Act (25 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.); and
to support the Nation’s First Peoples’ efforts to maintain and revitalize their languages and cultures, and to improve educational opportunities and student outcomes within Native American and Alaska Native communities.
From funds reserved under section 7492(c) of this title, the Secretary shall reserve 20 percent to make grants to eligible entities to develop and maintain, or to improve and expand, programs that support schools, including elementary school and secondary school education sites and streams, using Native American and Alaska Native languages as the primary languages of instruction.
In this subsection, the term “eligible entity” means any of the following entities that has a plan to develop and maintain, or to improve and expand, programs that support the entity’s use of a Native American or Alaska Native language as the primary language of instruction in elementary schools or secondary schools, or both:
An Indian* tribe.
A Tribal College or University (as defined in section 1059c of this title).
A tribal education agency.
A local educational agency, including a public charter school that is a local educational agency under State law.
A school operated by the Bureau of Indian Education.
An Alaska Native Regional Corporation (as described in section 1602(g) of title 43).
A private, tribal, or Alaska Native nonprofit organization.
A nontribal for-profit organization.
An eligible entity that desires to receive a grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may require, including the following:
The name of the Native American or Alaska Native language to be used for instruction at the school supported by the eligible entity.
The number of students attending such school.
The number of hours of instruction in or through 1 or more Native American or Alaska Native languages being provided to targeted students at such school, if any.
A description of how the eligible entity will—
use the funds provided to meet the purposes of this section;
implement the activities described in subsection (e);
ensure the implementation of rigorous academic content; and
ensure that students progress toward high-level fluency goals.
Information regarding the school’s organizational governance or affiliations, including information about—
the school governing entity (such as a local educational agency, tribal education agency or department, charter organization, private organization, or other governing entity);
the school’s accreditation status;
any partnerships with institutions of higher education; and
any indigenous language schooling and research cooperatives.
An assurance that—
the school is engaged in meeting State or tribally designated long-term goals for students, as may be required by applicable Federal, State, or tribal law;
the school provides assessments of students using the Native American or Alaska Native language of instruction, where possible;
the qualifications of all instructional and leadership personnel at such school is sufficient to deliver high-quality education through the Native American or Alaska Native language used in the school; and
the school will collect and report to the public data relative to student achievement and, if appropriate, rates of high school graduation, career readiness, and enrollment in postsecondary education or workforce development programs, of students who are enrolled in the school’s programs.
The Secretary shall not give a priority in awarding grants under this section based on the information described in paragraph (1)(E).
An eligible entity that is a public elementary school or secondary school (including a public charter school or a school operated by the Bureau of Indian Education) or a nontribal for-profit or nonprofit organization shall submit, along with the application requirements described in paragraph (1), a certification described in subparagraph (B) indicating that—
the school or organization has the capacity to provide education primarily through a Native American or an Alaska Native language; and
there are sufficient speakers of the target language at the school or available to be hired by the school or organization.
The certification described in subparagraph (A) shall be from one of the following entities, on whose land the school or program is located, that is an entity served by such school, or that is an entity whose members (as defined by that entity) are served by the school:
A Tribal College or University (as defined in section 1059c of this title).
A Federally recognized Indian tribe or tribal organization.
An Alaska Native Regional Corporation or an Alaska Native nonprofit organization.
A Native Hawaiian organization.
In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall—
determine the amount of each grant and the duration of each grant, which shall not exceed 3 years; and
ensure, to the maximum extent feasible, that diversity in languages is represented.
An eligible entity that receives a grant under this section shall use such funds to carry out the following activities:
Supporting Native American or Alaska Native language education and development.
Providing professional development for teachers and, as appropriate, staff and administrators to strengthen the overall language and academic goals of the school that will be served by the grant program.
An eligible entity that receives a grant under this section may use such funds to carry out the following activities:
Developing or refining curriculum, including teaching materials and activities, as appropriate.
Creating or refining assessments written in the Native American or Alaska Native language of instruction that measure student proficiency and that are aligned with State or tribal academic standards.
Carrying out other activities that promote the maintenance and revitalization of the Native American or Alaska Native language relevant to the grant program.
Each eligible entity that receives a grant under this section shall prepare and submit an annual report to the Secretary, which shall include—
the activities the entity carried out to meet the purposes of this section; and
the number of children served by the program and the number of instructional hours in the Native American or Alaska Native language.
Not more than 5 percent of the funds provided to a grantee under this section for any fiscal year may be used for administrative purposes.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 89–10, title VI, § 6133, as added Pub. L. 114–95, title VI, § 6002(o), Dec. 10, 2015, 129 Stat. 2057.)
- 2015Enacted · Pub. L. 89-10 · 129 Stat. 2057
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 89-10 on 2015-12-10.
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