,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #egfd  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,february #e1        
#bjbj,mr4 ,grijalva 7for himself1 ,mr4  
,young1 ,mr4 ,langevin1 ,mr4 ,gallego1  
,mr4 ,espaillat1 and ,mrs4 ,davis of    
,california7 introduced the following   
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,education and ,labor  ,a 
,,bill  ,to establish high-quality dual 
language immersion programs in          
low-income communities1 and for other   
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,supporting ,young  
,language ,learners' ,access to         
,bilingual ,education ,act of #bjbj or  
the ,,syllable ,act4  #b4 ,findings     
,congress finds the following3  7#a7    
,the demand for bilingual employees in  
the ,united ,states continues to outpace
 our supply4  7#b7 ,dual language       
immersion engenders an inclusive        
learning environment for all students4  
7#c7 ,studies have demonstrated that all
 students in dual language immersion    

programs have higher academic           
achievement as measured by statewide    
examination1 regardless of socioeconomic
 status4  7#d7 ,dual language immersion 
has proven to be one of the most        
effective and longest lasting           
intervention methods for ,english       
learners4  7#e7 ,long-term participation
 in dual language immersion programs is 
correlated with closing or substantial  
reduction of achievement gaps for       
,african-,american students1 low        
socioeconomic status students1 and      
special education students4  7#f7 ,few  
children from low-income families1      
particularly ,african-,american         
children1 have had access to a          
well-developed and well-implemented dual
 language program4  7#g7 ,children in   
dual language programs experience       
substantial gains in language1 literacy1
 and mathematics4  #c4 ,dual language   
flagship grants  7a7 ,purposes ,the     
purposes of this section are as follows3
 7#a7 ,to provide incentives for local  

educational agencies to develop         
innovative strategies for planning and  
implementing dual language immersion    
programs serving children from          
low-income families1 including ,english 
learners and minority children4  7#b7   
,to improve the school readiness of     
children from low-income families1      
including ,english learners and minority
 children1 and to ensure they enter     
school ready to succeed4  7#c7 ,to      
provide consistent support for learning 
through high-quality dual language      
programs from preschool through the     
fifth grade4  7#d7 ,to authorize the    
,secretary to carry out projects to     
enhance the biliteracy and bilingualism 
skills for children from low-income     
families1 including ,english learners   
and minority children1 through the use  
and longitudinal evaluation of dual     
language programs beginning in preschool
 through the fifth grade4  7b7 ,program 
authorized ,from funds made available   
under subsection 7i71 and after         

reserving funds under subsection 7c71   
the ,secretary is authorized to award   
not more than five grants to fund       
programs proposed by eligible entities  
to demonstrate effective strategies in  
ensuring the academic success of        
students from low-income families1      
including ,english learners and minority
 students1 through the implementation   
and evaluation of high-quality dual     
language programs that--  7#a7 serve    
children in high-need schools1 including
 ,english learners and minority         
children1 from preschool through fifth  
grade2  7#b7 establish an infrastructure
 that supports programs through a       
rigorous assessment system1 dedicated   
staff time1 professional development in 
assessment1 a data collection plan1 and 
the collection of multiple measures of  
academic progress1 bilingualism1 and    
biliteracy2  7#c7 implement and align a 
curriculum that promotes the development
 of bilingual and biliterate            
competencies for all students through at

 least grade five2  7#d7 utilize and    
align student-centered instructional    
methods that enhance the development of 
bilingualism1 biliteracy1 and academic  
achievement2  7#e7 align professional   
development and training for early      
childhood education instructors and     
elementary school teachers and staff1   
with an emphasis on dual language       
instruction1 second language            
acquisition1 and content knowledge2     
7#f7 recruit1 train1 and continuously   
develop staff to implement high-quality1
 dual language immersion programs2 and  
7#g7 establish a responsive             
infrastructure for positive1 active1 and
 ongoing relationships with students'   
families and the community that responds
 to and is reflective of the needs of   
the community and goals of the program4 
7c7 ,reservation ,the ,secretary shall  
reserve not more than #e percent of the 
amount appropriated under subsection 7i7
 to carry out this ,act1 including the  
technical assistance and evaluation     

described in subsection 7g7 and         
dissemination of best practices         
described in subsection 7h74  7d7       
,duration ,each grant under this section
 shall be awarded for a period of not   
more than five years4  7e7 ,applications
 for grants  7#a7 ,in general ,each     
eligible entity desiring a grant under  
this section shall submit an application
 to the ,secretary at such time and in  
such manner as the ,secretary may       
require4  7#b7 ,required documentation  
,each application submitted by an       
eligible entity under this section for  
proposed programs shall include         
documentation that--  7,a7 the eligible 
entity has partnered with a technical   
assistance entity that has proven       
expertise in the implementation of      
high-quality dual language programs to  
provide on-going technical assistance   
and assist with the evaluation of the   
program2  7,b7 the eligible entity has  
the qualified personnel to develop1     
administer1 evaluate1 and implement the 

program2 and  7,c7 the eligible entity  
serves children from low-income         
families1 including ,english learners   
and minority children4  7#c7 ,other     
application contents ,each application  
submitted by an entity under this       
section for a proposed program shall    
include-- 7,a7 data showing that the    
program serves children from low-income 
families1 including ,english learners   
and minority children2  7,b7 a          
description of how the program will     
align the language of assessment with   
the language of instruction2  7,c7 a    
description of how the program will be  
evaluated to assess the goals of the    
program2  7,d7 a description1 if        
applicable1 of how the evaluation will  
be used to inform broader efforts to    
improve instruction for ,english        
learners1 including for preschool-aged  
children2  7,e7 a description of        
activities that will be pursued by the  
program including a description of-- 7i7
 how the activities will further the    

school readiness and academic progress  
of children served by this program and  
support dual language development       
through grade five2  7ii7 methods of    
designing culturally and linguistically 
appropriate dual language curriculum2   
and  7iii7 methods of teacher training  
and parent outreach that will be used or
 developed through the programs2  7,f7  
an assurance that the program will      
annually provide such information as may
 be required by the ,secretary2 and     
7,g7 any other information that the     
,secretary may require4  7f7 ,selection 
of grantees ,the ,secretary through a   
peer review process shall select        
eligible entities to receive grants     
under this section based on--  7#a7 the 
articulation of preschool through fifth 
grade instructional practices1          
curriculum1 and assessments strategies2 
7#b7 the extent to which relevant and   
directly impacted school leaders have   
been involved with the proposed programs
 and indicated a commitment to carrying 

out high-quality dual language immersion
 programs2 and  7#c7 the quality of the 
programs proposed in the applications   
submitted under subsection 7e74  7g7    
,technical assistance and evaluation    
,from the amount appropriated under     
subsection 7i7 for a fiscal year1 the   
,secretary shall reserve #bej1jjj to    
contract with an eligible entity with a 
proven track record in dual language    
immersion programs for the purpose of-- 
7#a7 providing technical assistance to  
local educational agencies receiving    
grants under this ,act in order to      
strengthen programs conducted by        
grantees pursuant to this ,act2 and     
7#b7 conducting an evaluation of        
programs funded under this ,act1 which  
shall-- 7,a7 be used by the ,secretary  
to determine the effectiveness of       
programs funded through this ,act and   
improve services to participating       
children2 and  7,b7 include-- 7i7 a     
comprehensive evaluation of the impact  
of the programs on students1 including  

an assessment of literacy skills and    
language development in both ,english   
and the partner language2  7ii7 a       
comprehensive evaluation of the         
effectiveness of instructional practices
 used in the programs2 and  7iii7 a     
comprehensive evaluation of professional
 development strategies4  7h7           
,dissemination of best practices ,the   
,secretary shall disseminate information
 on model programs1 materials1 and other
 information developed under this       
section that the ,secretary determines  
to be appropriate for use by early      
childhood education providers to improve
 the school readiness of ,english       
learners4  7i7 ,authorization of        
appropriations ,for the purposes of     
carrying out this section1 there are    
authorized to be appropriated           
#ae1jjj1jjj for fiscal year #bjba and   
such sums as may be necessary for each  
of the #d succeeding fiscal years4  7j7 
,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7     
,dual language immersion program ,the   

term dual language immersion program    
means an instructional strategy in which
 students are taught literacy and       
content in two languages and use the    
partner language for at least half of   
the instructional day and foster        
bilingualism1 biliteracy1 enhanced      
awareness of linguistic and cultural    
diversity1 and high levels of academic  
achievement through instruction in two  
languages4  7#b7 ,early childhood       
education program ,the term early       
childhood education program includes a  
,state-funded preschool program and a   
,head ,start program4  7#c7 ,eligible   
entity ,the term eligible entity means a
 partnership between--  7,a7 at least   
one local educational agency2  7,b7 at  
least one early childhood education     
program2 and  7,c7 at least one         
technical assistance entity4  7#d7      
,english learner ,the term ,english     
learner has the meaning given the term  
in section #haja of the ,elementary and 
,secondary ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj

 ,u4,s4,c4 #ghja74  7#e7 ,high-need     
school ,the term high-need school has   
the meaning given the term in section   
#bbba7;b77#c77;,a7 of the ,elementary   
and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife 
7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ffda7;b77#c77;,a774     
7#f7 ,low-income family ,the term       
low-income family has the meaning given 
the term in section #bbba7;b77#c77;,b7  
of the ,elementary and ,secondary       
,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 
#ffda7;b77#c77;,b774  7#g7 ,secretary   
,the term ,secretary means the          
,secretary of ,education4  7#h7         
,state-funded preschool program ,the    
term ,state-funded preschool program    
means a program that--  7,a7 serves     
children who are ages #c through #e2    
7,b7 has a primary focus of supporting  
early childhood education1 including    
supporting children's cognitive1 social1
 emotional1 and physical development and
 approaches to learning2  7,c7 helps    
prepare children for a successful       
transition to kindergarten2  7,d7 is    

either a school- or community-based     
program2 and  7,e7 is funded either in  
whole or in part by a ,state through a  
,state agency with authority to         
promulgate regulations and monitor      
participating programs4