[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 385 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 385

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide 
for parental notification and consent prior to enrollment of a child in 
 a bilingual education program or a special alternative instructional 
            program for limited English proficient students.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 31, 2001

 Mr. Tancredo (for himself, Mr. Stump, Mr. Shays, Ms. Rivers, and Mr. 
 Ryun of Kansas) 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 provide 
for parental notification and consent prior to enrollment of a child in 
 a bilingual education program or a special alternative instructional 
            program for limited English proficient students.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Parents Know Best Act of 2001''.

SEC. 2. PARENTAL NOTIFICATION AND CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE.

    Section 7502(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7602(b)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(b) Parental Notification and Consent.--
            ``(1) In general.--A parent or the parents of a limited 
        English proficient student participating in a bilingual 
        education program, or a special alternative instructional 
        program, assisted under this Act shall be informed of--
                    ``(A) the reasons for the identification of the 
                student as being in need of participation;
                    ``(B) the child's level of English proficiency, how 
                such level was assessed, and the status of the child's 
                academic achievement;
                    ``(C) how such program will specifically help the 
                child acquire English and meet age-appropriate 
                standards for grade promotion and graduation;
                    ``(D) what the specific exit requirements for the 
                program are;
                    ``(E) the expected rate of graduation from the 
                program into mainstream classes; and
                    ``(F) the expected rate of graduation from high 
                school for the program.
            ``(2) Parental consent.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A parent or the parents of a 
                limited English proficient student who is identified 
                for participation in a bilingual education program, or 
                a special alternative instructional program, assisted 
                under this Act shall--
                            ``(i) sign a form consenting to the 
                        student's placement in such a program prior to 
                        such time as the student is enrolled in the 
                        program;
                            ``(ii) select among methods of instruction, 
                        if more than one method is offered in the 
                        program; and
                            ``(iii) have the right to have the student 
                        immediately removed from the program upon the 
                        parent's request.
                    ``(B) Effect of lau decision.--A local educational 
                agency shall not be relieved of any of its obligations 
                under the holding in the Supreme Court case of Lau v. 
                Nichols, 414 U.S. 563 (1974), because any parent 
                chooses not to enroll their child in a bilingual 
                education program.
            ``(3) Receipt of information.--A parent or the parents of a 
        limited English proficient student who is identified for 
        participation in a bilingual education program, or a special 
        alternative instructional program, assisted under this Act 
        shall receive, in a manner and form understandable to the 
        parent or parents, the information required by this subsection. 
        At a minimum, the parent or parents shall receive--
                    ``(A) timely information about such programs; and
                    ``(B) if a parent of a participating child so 
                desires, notice of opportunities for regular meetings 
                for the purpose of formulating and responding to 
                recommendations from such parents.''.
                                 <all>