[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2484 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

  2d Session
                                S. 2484

   To ensure that immigrant students and their families receive the 
     services that the students and families need to successfully 
participate in elementary schools, secondary schools, and communities, 
             in the United States, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 27, 2000

 Mr. Cleland (for himself and Mr. Coverdell) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To ensure that immigrant students and their families receive the 
     services that the students and families need to successfully 
participate in elementary schools, secondary schools, and communities, 
             in the United States, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. IMMIGRANTS TO NEW AMERICANS MODEL PROGRAMS.

    (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Immigrants to 
New Americans Act''.
    (b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) In 1997, there were an estimated 25,800,000 foreign-
        born individuals residing in the United States. That number is 
        the largest number of such foreign-born individuals ever in 
        United States history and represents a 6,000,000, or 30 
        percent, increase over the 1990 census figure of 19,800,000 of 
        such foreign-born individuals. The Bureau of the Census 
        estimates that the recently arrived immigrant population 
        (including the refugee population) currently residing in the 
        Nation will account for 75 percent of the population growth in 
        the United States over the next 50 years.
            (2) For millions of immigrants settling into the Nation's 
        hamlets, towns, and cities, the dream of ``life, liberty, and 
        the pursuit of happiness'' has become a reality. The wave of 
        immigrants, from various nationalities, who have chosen the 
        United States as their home, has positively influenced the 
        Nation's image and relationship with other nations. The diverse 
        cultural heritage of the Nation's immigrants has helped define 
        the Nation's culture, customs, economy, and communities. By 
        better understanding the people who have immigrated to the 
        Nation, individuals in the United States better understand what 
        it means to be an American.
            (3) There is a critical shortage of teachers with the 
        skills needed to educate immigrant students and their families 
        in nonconcentrated, nontraditional, immigrant communities as 
        well as communities with large immigrant populations. The large 
        influx of immigrant families over the last decade presents a 
        national dilemma: The number of such families with school-age 
        children, requiring assistance to successfully participate in 
        elementary schools, secondary schools, and communities in the 
        United States, is increasing without a corresponding increase 
        in the number of teachers with skills to accommodate their 
        needs.
            (4) Immigrants arriving in communities across the Nation 
        generally settle into high-poverty areas, where funding for 
        programs to provide immigrant students and their families with 
        the services the students and families need to successfully 
        participate in elementary schools, secondary schools, and 
        communities in the United States is inadequate.
            (5) The influx of immigrant families settling into many 
        United States communities is often the result of concerted 
        efforts by local employers who value immigrant labor. Those 
        employers realize that helping immigrants to become productive, 
        prosperous members of a community is beneficial for the local 
        businesses involved, the immigrants, and the community. 
        Further, local businesses benefit from the presence of the 
        immigrant families because the families present businesses with 
        a committed and effective workforce and help to open up new 
        market opportunities. However, many of the communities into 
        which the immigrants have settled need assistance in order to 
        give immigrant students and their families the services the 
        students and families need to successfully participate in 
        elementary schools, secondary schools, and communities, in the 
        United States.
    (c) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to establish a grant 
program, within the Department of Education, that provides funding to 
partnerships of local educational agencies and community-based 
organizations for the development of model programs to provide to 
immigrant students and their families the services the students and 
families need to successfully participate in elementary schools, 
secondary schools, and communities, in the United States.
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Community-based organization; elementary school; local 
        educational agency; secondary school.--The terms ``community-
based organization'', ``elementary school'', ``local educational 
agency'', and ``secondary school'' have the meanings given the terms in 
section 14101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 8801).
            (2) Immigrant.--The term ``immigrant'' has the meaning 
        given the term in section 101 of the Immigration and 
        Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101).
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Education.
    (e) Program Authorized.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary is authorized to award not 
        more than 10 grants in a fiscal year to eligible partnerships 
        for the design and implementation of model programs to--
                    (A) assist immigrant students to achieve in 
                elementary schools and secondary schools in the United 
                States by offering such educational services as English 
                as a second language classes, literacy programs, 
                programs for introduction to the education system, and 
                civics education; and
                    (B) assist parents of immigrant students by 
                offering such services as parent education and literacy 
                development services and by coordinating activities 
                with other entities to provide comprehensive community 
                social services such as health care, job training, 
                child care, and transportation services.
            (2) Duration.--Each grant awarded under this section shall 
        be awarded for a period of not more than 5 years. A partnership 
        may use funds made available through the grant for not more 
        than 1 year for planning and program design.
    (f) Applications for Grants.--
            (1) In general.--Each eligible partnership desiring a grant 
        under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary 
        at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may require.
            (2) Eligible partnerships.--To be eligible to receive a 
        grant under this section, a partnership--
                    (A) shall include--
                            (i) at least 1 local educational agency; 
                        and
                            (ii) at least 1 community-based 
                        organization; and
                    (B) may include another entity such as an 
                institution of higher education, a local or State 
                government agency, a private sector entity, or another 
                entity with expertise in working with immigrants.
            (3) Required documentation.--Each application submitted by 
        a partnership under this section for a proposed program shall 
        include documentation that--
                    (A) the partnership has the qualified personnel 
                required to develop, administer, and implement the 
                proposed program; and
                    (B) the leadership of each participating school has 
                been involved in the development and planning of the 
                program in the school.
            (4) Other application contents.--Each application submitted 
        by a partnership under this section for a proposed program 
        shall include--
                    (A) a list of the organizations entering into the 
                partnership;
                    (B) a description of the need for the proposed 
                program, including data on the number of immigrant 
                students, and the number of such students with limited 
                English proficiency, in the schools or school districts 
                to be served through the program and the 
                characteristics of the students described in this 
                subparagraph, including--
                            (i) the native languages of the students to 
                        be served;
                            (ii) the proficiency of the students in 
                        English and the native languages;
                            (iii) achievement data for the students 
                        in--
                                    (I) reading or language arts (in 
                                English and in the native languages, if 
                                applicable); and
                                    (II) mathematics; and
                            (iv) the previous schooling experiences of 
                        the students;
                    (C) a description of the goals of the program;
                    (D) a description of how the funds made available 
                through the grant will be used to supplement the basic 
                services provided to the immigrant students to be 
                served;
                    (E) a description of activities that will be 
                pursued by the partnership through the program, 
                including a description of--
                            (i) how parents, students, and other 
                        members of the community, including members of 
                        private organizations and nonprofit 
organizations, will be involved in the design and implementation of the 
program;
                            (ii) how the activities will further the 
                        academic achievement of immigrant students 
                        served through the program;
                            (iii) methods of teacher training and 
                        parent education that will be used or developed 
                        through the program, including the 
                        dissemination of information to immigrant 
                        parents, that is easily understandable in the 
                        language of the parents, about educational 
                        programs and the rights of the parents to 
                        participate in educational decisions involving 
                        their children; and
                            (iv) methods of coordinating comprehensive 
                        community social services to assist immigrant 
                        families;
                    (F) a description of how the partnership will 
                evaluate the progress of the partnership in achieving 
                the goals of the program;
                    (G) a description of how the local educational 
                agency will disseminate information on model programs, 
                materials, and other information developed under this 
                section that the local educational agency determines to 
                be appropriate for use by other local educational 
                agencies in establishing similar programs to facilitate 
                the educational achievement of immigrant students;
                    (H) an assurance that the partnership will annually 
                provide to the Secretary such information as may be 
                required to determine the effectiveness of the program; 
                and
                    (I) any other information that the Secretary may 
                require.
    (g) Selection of Grantees.--
            (1) Criteria.--The Secretary, through a peer review 
        process, shall select partnerships to receive grants under this 
        section on the basis of the quality of the programs proposed in 
        the applications submitted under subsection (f), taking into 
        consideration such factors as--
                    (A) the extent to which the program proposed in 
                such an application effectively addresses differences 
                in language, culture, and customs;
                    (B) the quality of the activities proposed by a 
                partnership;
                    (C) the extent of parental, student, and community 
                involvement;
                    (D) the extent to which comprehensive community 
                social services are made available;
                    (E) the quality of the plan for measuring and 
                assessing success; and
                    (F) the likelihood that the goals of the program 
                will be achieved.
            (2) Geographic distribution of programs.--The Secretary 
        shall approve applications under this section in a manner that 
        ensures, to the extent practicable, that programs assisted 
        under this section serve different areas of the Nation, 
        including urban, suburban, and rural areas, with special 
        attention to areas that are experiencing an influx of immigrant 
        groups (including refugee groups), and that have limited prior 
        experience in serving the immigrant community.
    (h) Evaluation and Program Development.--
            (1) Requirement.--Each partnership receiving a grant under 
        this section shall--
                    (A) conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the 
                program assisted under this section, including an 
                evaluation of the impact of the program on students, 
                teachers, administrators, parents, and others; and
                    (B) prepare and submit to the Secretary a report 
                containing the results of the evaluation.
            (2) Evaluation report components.--Each evaluation report 
        submitted under this section for a program shall include--
                    (A) data on the partnership's progress in achieving 
                the goals of the program;
                    (B) data showing the extent to which all students 
                served by the program are meeting the State's student 
                performance standards, including--
                            (i) data comparing the students served to 
                        other students, with regard to grade retention 
                        and academic achievement in reading and 
                        language arts, in English and in the native 
                        languages of the students if the program 
                        develops native language proficiency, and in 
                        mathematics; and
                            (ii) a description of how the activities 
                        carried out through the program are coordinated 
                        and integrated with the overall school program 
                        of the school in which the program described in 
                        this section is carried out, and with other 
                        Federal, State, or local programs serving 
                        limited English proficient students;
                    (C) data showing the extent to which families 
                served by the program have been afforded access to 
                comprehensive community social services; and
                    (D) such other information as the Secretary may 
                require.
    (i) Administrative Funds.--A partnership that receives a grant 
under this section may use not more than 5 percent of the grant funds 
received under this section for administrative purposes.
    (j) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of carrying 
out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 
for fiscal year 2001 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 
4 succeeding fiscal years.
                                 <all>