,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #gehg ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #ac1 #bjbj,mr4 ,grijalva 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,jackson ,lee1 ,mr4 ,san ,nicolas1 ,mr4 ,espaillat1 ,mr4 ,garca of ,illinois1 ,ms4 ,jayapal1 ,ms4 ,norton1 ,mr4 ,yarmuth1 ,mr4 ,vargas1 ,mr4 ,crdenas1 and ,mr4 ,gonzalez of ,texas7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,education and ,labor ,a ,,bill ,to improve the literacy and ,english skills of ,english language learners1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,families ,learning and ,understanding ,english ,together ,act of #bjbj or the ,,fluent ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,the ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the ,census ,bureau's ,american ,community ,survey of #bjah estimated #ba4i percent of ,united ,states households speak a language other than ,english at home4 7#b7 ,many parents in many recently immigrated families speak little to no ,english1 can possess low literacy skills in their native language due to limited education1 and frequently struggle to assist their children's ,english language development4 7#c7 ,the ,united ,states is a nation of immigrants1 and even today1 according to the ,census ,bureau's ,american ,community ,survey of #bjah1 more than #dd1jjj1jjj individuals who live in the ,united ,states were born outside the country4 #c4 ,purpose ,the purpose of this ,act is to improve the educational1 social1 and economic advancement of families with ,english language learners in need of literacy skills by expanding and enhancing family literacy activities and services for such families4 #d4 ,competitive ,grant ,program 7a7 ,program authorized ,from funds made available pursuant to section #i1 and after reserving funds under section #i7;b71 the ,secretary may award grants to family literacy providers to provide1 directly or through a contract with another provider1 family literacy services designed for families with ,english language learners4 ,each grant under this ,act shall be for a period of #a year and may be renewed for a total of #e additional years4 7b7 ,application ,family literacy providers who desire to receive a grant under this ,act shall submit an application at such time1 containing such information1 and in such manner as the ,secretary may require4 ,such application shall include the following3 7#a7 ,an assurance that services provided with funds under this ,act shall be provided to the hardest-to-reach populations1 including populations with the greatest economic and social need4 7#b7 ,a description of the services that will be provided with funds under this ,act1 including how the services will be based on research-based reading instruction for children who are ,english learners and parents who are ,english language learners4 7#c7 ,a description of the outcome measures1 consistent with section #f1 that are based on research and will be employed by the family literacy provider to measure the effectiveness of services provided with funds under this ,act4 7#d7 ,an assurance that1 in providing family literacy services through the grant1 the family literacy provider will collaborate with one or more of the following3 7,a7 ,a local educational agency4 7,b7 ,an elementary school4 7,c7 ,a secondary school4 7,d7 ,a nonprofit entity4 7c7 ,grant amount ,the amount of a grant under this ,act for a fiscal year shall not be less than #aej1jjj or more than #a1jjj1jjj4 7d7 ,services requirements ,family literacy services under this ,act shall be provided in sufficient intensity in terms of hours1 and shall be of sufficient duration1 to make sustainable changes in a family and shall integrate all of the following activities3 7#a7 ,interactive literacy activities between parents and their children4 7#b7 ,training for parents regarding how to be the primary teacher for their children and full partners in the education of their children4 7#c7 ,parent literacy training that leads to economic self-sufficiency4 7#d7 ,an age-appropriate education to prepare children for success in school and life experiences4 7e7 ,special rule ,family literacy services under this ,act may be provided to a family only if-- 7#a7 each parent in the family has attained #af years of age2 and 7#b7 the family has at least one child who has not yet attained #h years of age4 #e4 ,technical assistance and training 7a7 ,activities by ,secretary ,the ,secretary1 acting through the ,assistant ,secretary for ,elementary and ,secondary ,education1 shall1 through grants or contracts as described in subsection 7b71 provide technical assistance and training to grantees under this ,act for the purposes described in subsection 7c74 7b7 ,activities by national organizations 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall make grants to1 or enter into contracts with1 at least #b eligible national organizations to provide technical assistance and training to grantees under this ,act for the purposes described in subsection 7c74 7#b7 ,definition ,in this section1 the term eligible national organization means a national organization with expertise in providing family literacy services to ,english language learner populations4 7c7 ,purposes ,the purposes of technical assistance and training provided under this section are the following3 7#a7 ,assisting grantees under this ,act to improve the quality of their family literacy services4 7#b7 ,enabling such grantees that demonstrate the effective provision of family literacy services1 based on improved outcomes for children and their parents1 to provide technical assistance and training to government agencies and to family literacy providers that work in collaboration with such agencies to improve the quality of their family literacy services4 7#c7 ,assisting such grantees in the implementation of literacy curriculum and training activities1 including curriculum and training activities that support building on a child's native language4 7d7 ,reports to ,congress ,not later than #ij days after the end of each fiscal year1 the ,secretary shall submit to the ,committee on ,education and ,labor of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions of the ,senate a report on the technical assistance and training provided pursuant to subsections 7a7 and 7b74 ,each such report shall describe the actions taken by the ,secretary to ensure that such technical assistance and training is of high quality and is responsive to the needs of grantees under this ,act4 #f4 ,outcome measures ,the ,secretary shall require each family literacy provider receiving a grant under this ,act to meet culturally appropriate and competent outcome measures described in the provider's application under section #d1 including outcome measures with respect to-- 7#a7 acquisition of the ,english language1 including improved educational levels2 7#b7 literacy skills and building of a home language2 7#c7 improved parenting and life skills2 7#d7 the improved ability of parents who are ,english language learners to effectively interact with officials of the schools their children attend2 7#e7 improved developmental skills and independent learning of the children2 7#f7 increased parental participation in their children's education and home environments that are supportive of educational endeavors2 and 7#g7 employability skills4 #g4 ,evaluation ,the ,secretary shall conduct an annual evaluation of the grant program under this ,act4 ,such evaluation shall be used by the ,secretary-- 7#a7 for program improvement2 7#b7 to further define the program's goals and objectives2 and 7#c7 to determine program effectiveness4 #h4 ,definitions ,for purposes of this ,act3 7#a7 ,application of ,,esea terms ,the terms elementary school1 ,english learner1 local educational agency1 and secondary school have the meanings given such terms in section #haja of the ,elementary and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ghja74 7#b7 ,english language learner2 family literacy activities ,the terms ,english language learner and family literacy activities have the meanings given the terms in section #bjc of the ,workforce ,innovation and ,opportunity ,act 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #cbgb74 7#c7 ,family literacy provider ,the term family literacy provider means an entity that-- 7,a7 is located in a geographic area containing at least one public elementary school or secondary school with a majority enrollment of children who are ,english learners2 and 7,b7 is one of the following3 7i7 ,a grantee under the ,head ,start ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #ihca et seq471 or any other ,federal or ,state early childhood program4 7ii7 ,an adult education provider4 7iii7 ,a local educational agency4 7iv7 ,a public or private nonprofit agency4 7v7 ,another entity that has the demonstrated ability to provide family literacy services to ,english language learning adults and families4 7#d7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,education4 #i4 ,authorization of appropriations 7a7 ,in general ,there is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this ,act #ej1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjba through #bjbe4 7b7 ,reservations ,from funds made available pursuant to subsection 7a7 for a fiscal year1 the ,secretary shall reserve-- 7#a7 not more than #b percent of such funds for conducting the annual evaluation required by section #g2 and 7#b7 #e1jjj1jjj for technical assistance and training under section #e4