[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2861 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2861

   To forgive certain loan repayments of teachers of limited English 
proficiency students, to direct the Commissioner of the National Center 
for Educational Statistics to study educational achievement performance 
    measures of limited English proficiency children, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 26, 2007

Ms. Velazquez introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To forgive certain loan repayments of teachers of limited English 
proficiency students, to direct the Commissioner of the National Center 
for Educational Statistics to study educational achievement performance 
    measures of limited English proficiency children, 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Language Education for Success Act 
of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Between January 2000 and March 2005, an estimated 
        7,900,000 new immigrants (documented and undocumented) 
        relocated to the United States, constituting the biggest wave 
        of immigrants in American history.
            (2) English language learners account for 10.3 percent of 
        public school enrollment and are concentrated in large and 
        urban school districts.
            (3) Hispanic students from age 16 through age 19 who have 
        non-proficient English language skills have a dropout rate of 
        59 percent.
            (4) The poverty rate for immigrants and their United 
        States-born children under age 18 is 57 percent higher than the 
        percentage for natives and their children.
            (5) High poverty school districts, both urban and rural, 
        are particularly affected by teacher shortages.
            (6) The National Center for Education Statistics predicts 
        that over 2,000,000 new teachers will be needed across the 
        Nation over the next decade.

SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR TEACHERS OF STUDENTS OF LIMITED 
              ENGLISH PROFICIENCY.

    (a) FFEL Loans.--Section 428J(c)(3) of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078-10(c)(3)) is amended--
            (1) in the paragraph heading, by inserting ``, and teachers 
        of students of limited english proficiency'' before the period; 
        and
            (2) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking ``mathematics or 
        science'' and inserting ``mathematics, science, or students of 
        limited English proficiency''.
    (b) Direct Loans.--Section 460(c)(3) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 
1087j(c)(3)) is amended--
            (1) in the paragraph heading, by inserting ``, and teachers 
        of students of limited english proficiency'' before the period; 
        and
            (2) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking ``mathematics or 
        science'' and inserting ``mathematics, science, or students of 
        limited English proficiency''.
    (c) New Borrower Eligibility.--The amendments made by this section 
shall apply only with respect to teachers of students of limited 
English proficiency who are new borrowers (as such term is defined in 
103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003)) on or after 
October 1, 1998.

SEC. 4. STUDY AND REPORT ON EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT PERFORMANCE 
              MEASURES OF LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY CHILDREN.

    (a) Study.--
            (1) In general.--The Commissioner of the National Center 
        for Educational Statistics (in this Act referred to as the 
        ``Commissioner'') shall conduct a study to obtain detailed 
        information about the performance of recipients of funding 
        under title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
        of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6801 et seq.) to measure academic progress 
        of limited English proficiency children and immigrant children 
        and youth.
            (2) Specific topics.--In conducting the study required 
        under paragraph (1), the Commissioner shall specifically 
        examine the following questions:
                    (A) What are the dropout rates of limited English 
                proficiency children across the Nation, and why do 
                these children drop?
                    (B) What are the graduation completion and dropout 
                rates of all students covered by title III of the 
                Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
                U.S.C. 6801 et seq.)?
                    (C) What is the academic achievement gap between 
                Hispanic and non-Hispanic limited English proficiency 
                children?
                    (D) Is there a correlation between English 
                proficiency and graduation rates for limited English 
                proficiency children?
                    (E) How does socioeconomic status affect dropout 
                rates of the limited English proficiency children?
                    (F) What percentage of limited English proficiency 
                children attend adult education programs (including 
                English as a Second Language and General Educational 
                Development course work) after they drop out? What 
                percentage of students would attend those programs if 
                they were universally available?
            (3) Deadline.--The Commissioner shall complete the study 
        required by this subsection not later than 2 years after the 
        date of enactment of this Act.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 60 days after completion of the study 
required by subsection (a), the Commissioner shall submit to Congress a 
report containing a detailed statement of the findings and conclusions 
based upon such study.

SEC. 5. BEST PRACTICES OF STATES IMPLEMENTING PROGRAMS FOR LIMITED 
              ENGLISH PROFICIENCY STUDENTS.

    The Secretary of Education shall compile and make public a list 
with descriptions of the instructional programs used in each State for 
achieving academic success of limited English proficiency children and 
immigrant students. For such list, the Secretary shall assess the cost, 
advantages, and risks of the various programs.

SEC. 6. SPRINGBOARD CREDITS.

    Subpart 1 of part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new chapter:

                    ``CHAPTER 4--SPRINGBOARD CREDITS

``SEC. 408A. PROGRAM AUTHORITY.

    ``(a) Grants Authorized.--From the amounts appropriated under 
subsection (e), the Secretary is authorized to provide grants to 
institutions of higher education to provide foreign language and 
teacher preparation instruction to incoming first-year undergraduates 
in accordance with the requirements of this section.
    ``(b) Applications.--Any institution of higher education that seeks 
to obtain a grant under this chapter shall submit an application to the 
Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing or accompanied 
by such information and assurances as the Secretary may require.
    ``(c) Eligible Program.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
this chapter, a program of an institution of higher education shall--
            ``(1) provide, during the months preceding the enrollment 
        of an incoming first-year student, a program of instruction, on 
        the campus of that or another institution of higher education, 
        consisting of both--
                    ``(A) a course in foreign language instruction of 3 
                credit hours, or an equivalent as determined by the 
                institution; and
                    ``(B) a course in teacher preparation instruction, 
                in the education department (or comparable unit) of the 
                institution, of 3 credit hours, or an equivalent as 
                determined by the institution; and
            ``(2) provide, from the amount of the grant received by the 
        institution, a grant to any such student selected for 
        participation in the program of not more than $1,500 to cover 
        the cost of tuition for enrollment in such courses.
    ``(d) Selection of Grant Recipients.--
            ``(1) Approval and selection.--The Secretary shall, by 
        regulation, prescribe procedures for the approval of 
        applications and the selection of institutions of higher 
        education for the award of grants under this chapter.
            ``(2) Notice of program.--Within 90 days after the date of 
        enactment of this chapter, the Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) publish a concise summary the program under 
                this chapter on the website of the Department; and
                    ``(B) transmit such summary to each eligible 
                institution of higher education.
    ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this chapter $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 
and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal 
years.
    ``(f) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term `incoming 
first-year student' means an individual who has been accepted for 
enrollment by an institution of higher education and who has not 
successfully completed the first year of a program of undergraduate 
education at that institution.''.
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