[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 989 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.989

                    One Hundred Seventeenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
          the third day of January, two thousand and twenty two


                                 An Act


 
 To establish a Native American language resource center in furtherance 
      of the policy set forth in the Native American Languages Act.

    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 ``Native American Language Resource 
Center Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE RESOURCE CENTERS.
    (a) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to further align the 
resources provided by the Department of Education with the policies set 
forth in the Native American Languages Act (25 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.) 
through establishment of a program within the Department of Education 
to support 1 or more Native American language resource centers.
    (b) In General.--The Secretary of Education is authorized to make a 
grant to, or enter into a contract with, an eligible entity for the 
purpose of--
        (1) establishing, strengthening, and operating a Native 
    American language resource center; and
        (2) staffing the center with individuals with relevant 
    expertise and experience, including staff who speak American Indian 
    and Alaska Native languages and the Native Hawaiian language and 
    have worked in language education in the American Indian and Alaska 
    Native languages and the Native Hawaiian language in a preschool, 
    elementary school, secondary school, adult education, or higher 
    education program.
    (c) Authorized Activities.--The Native American language resource 
center established under subsection (b) shall carry out activities to--
        (1) improve the capacity to teach and learn Native American 
    languages;
        (2) further Native American language use and acquisition;
        (3) preserve, protect, and promote the rights and freedom of 
    Native Americans to use, practice, and develop Native American 
    languages in furtherance of--
            (A) the policies set forth in the Native American Languages 
        Act (25 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.); and
            (B) the United States trust responsibility to Native 
        American communities;
        (4) address the effects of past discrimination and ongoing 
    inequities experienced by Native American language speakers;
        (5) support the revitalization and reclamation of Native 
    American languages; and
        (6) support the use of Native American languages as a medium of 
    instruction for a wide variety of age levels, academic content 
    areas, and types of schools, including Native American language 
    medium education.
    (d) Additional Authorized Activities.--The Native American language 
resource center established under subsection (b) may also carry out 
activities--
        (1) to encourage and support the use of Native American 
    languages within educational systems in the same manner as other 
    world languages, including by encouraging State educational 
    agencies, local educational agencies, and institutions of higher 
    education to offer Native American language courses the same full 
    academic credit as courses in other world languages;
        (2) to support the development, adoption, and use of 
    educational outcome metrics aligned with the Native American 
    language of instruction, including assessments, qualifications, and 
    processes based on promising practices in Native American language 
    medium education;
        (3) to provide assistance to Native American language programs 
    seeking Federal resources;
        (4) to encourage and support teacher preparation programs that 
    prepare teachers to teach Native American languages and to use 
    Native American languages as a medium of instruction, including by 
    disseminating promising practices and developing pedagogical 
    programming and through appropriate alternative pathways to teacher 
    certification;
        (5) to provide information and resources--
            (A) on promising practices in the use and revitalization of 
        Native American languages in Native American communities, 
        including use in educational institutions; and
            (B) for the use of technology in school and community-based 
        Native American language programs to support the retention, 
        use, and teaching of Native American languages;
        (6) to support the use of distance learning technologies and 
    training for parents, students, teachers, and learning support 
    staff associated with Native American language programs, 
    including--
            (A) the compilation and curation of digital libraries and 
        other online resources for Native American languages, except 
        that any materials collected by the center shall only be 
        materials provided by a Native American language program or 
        Native American community;
            (B) the development of optional distance learning curricula 
        appropriate for preschool, elementary school, secondary school, 
        adult education, and postsecondary education;
            (C) pedagogical training for Native American language 
        teachers; and
            (D) other efforts necessary to continue Native American 
        language acquisition through distance learning;
        (7) to provide technical assistance for Native American 
    communities and school systems to develop Native American language 
    medium education programs in preschool, elementary school, 
    secondary school, or adult education programs conducted through the 
    medium of Native American languages;
        (8) to support Native American language programs and Native 
    American communities in--
            (A) accessing international best practices, resources, and 
        research in indigenous language revitalization; and
            (B) gathering and sharing technical assistance, promising 
        practices, and experiences;
        (9) for the operation of intensive programs, including summer 
    institutes, to train Native American language speakers, to provide 
    professional development, and to improve Native American language 
    instruction through preservice and in-service language training for 
    teachers; and
        (10) that otherwise support the Native American language 
    resource center established under subsection (b) to carry out the 
    activities required in subsection (c).
    (e) Definitions.--In this section:
        (1) ESEA definitions.--The terms ``elementary school'', ``local 
    educational agency'', ``secondary school'', and ``State educational 
    agency'' have the meanings given the terms in section 8101 of the 
    Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
        (2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
            (A) an institution of higher education;
            (B) an entity within an institution of higher education 
        with dedicated expertise in Native American language and 
        culture education; or
            (C) a consortium that includes 1 or more institutions of 
        higher education or 1 or more entities described in 
        subparagraph (B).
        (3) Institution of higher education.--The term ``institution of 
    higher education'' has the meaning given the term in section 101 of 
    the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).
        (4) Native american; native american language.--The terms 
    ``Native American'' and ``Native American language'' have the 
    meanings given those terms in section 103 of the Native American 
    Languages Act (25 U.S.C. 2902).
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section, $3,000,000 for each fiscal 
year.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.