[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1203 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1203

 To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to ensure 
that funds provided under such Act are not used to promote the teaching 
                 or use of regional or group dialects.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 20, 1997

  Mr. Stump introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to ensure 
that funds provided under such Act are not used to promote the teaching 
                 or use of regional or group dialects.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Individuals who speak standard English can secure jobs 
        and function effectively in society in the United States.
            (2) Conversely, individuals who are unable to communicate 
        effectively in standard English have more difficulty obtaining 
        jobs, reading publications, securing an adequate education, and 
        otherwise functioning effectively in society in the United 
        States.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to ensure that students 
are taught, in public elementary and secondary schools throughout the 
United States, to communicate in standard English and that a school 
makes no special effort to promote special or pronounced dialectic 
idiosyncrasies or regional dialects.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION.

    Part E of title 14 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 14515. PROHIBITION ON PROMOTING REGIONAL DIALECTS.

    ``None of the funds authorized under this Act may be used, directly 
or indirectly, for instruction (including teacher training programs), 
instructional materials, or any other expense related to the promotion 
of teaching or using dialects peculiar to a region or group within the 
population of the United States, except that--
            ``(1) a teacher may be trained and may use and teach 
        foreign languages; and
            ``(2) a teacher may communicate in his own mode of speech 
        if no special effort is made to teach or encourage students to 
        communicate in such mode of speech.''.
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