S.Amdt. 4053

1. Inserts new text at the end of the bill

   Inserts

   In S. 2611 · Placed on Calendar Senate

   "(ii) Fine.--An alien who is granted a waiver under clause (i) shall pay a $2,000 fine.".

   Inserted: SEC. . IMMIGRANTS TO NEW AMERICANS MODEL PROGRAMS

   Inserted: (a) Findings.--The Senate finds the following: (1) English is the language of the United States, and all members of the society recognize the importance of English to national life and individual accomplishment;

   Inserted: (2) The English language is spoken by 92 percent of United States residents, according to the 2000 United States Census, and English language skills are essential to successful participation in communities across the United States;

   Inserted: (3) Many communities recognize the need to continue to provide services in languages other than English to facilitate access to essential functions of government, promote public health and safety, promote equal educational opportunity, and ensure government efficiency.

   Inserted: (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to establish a grant program, within the Department of Education, that provides funding to partnerships of local educational agencies and community-based organizations to develop model programs that encourage all residents of this country to become fully proficient in English and provide immigrant students and their families the services needed to successfully participate in elementary schools, secondary schools, and communities, in the United States.

   Inserted: (c) Definitions.--In this section:

   Inserted: (1) Secondary School.--The terms "community-based organization", "elementary school", "local educational agency", and "secondary school" have the meanings given the terms in section 14101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801).

   Inserted: (2) Immigrant.--The term "immigrant" has the meaning given the term in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101).

   Inserted: (3) Secretary.--The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Education.

   Inserted: (d) Program Authorized.--

   Inserted: (1) In general.--The Secretary is authorized to award not more than 10 grants in a fiscal year to eligible partnerships for the design and implementation of model programs to--

   Inserted: (A) assist immigrant students to achieve in elementary schools and secondary schools in the United States by offering such educational services as English as a second language classes, literacy programs, programs for introduction to the education system, and civics education; and

   Show 55 more inserted paragraphsShow less

   Inserted: (B) assist parents of immigrant students by offering such services as Adult English as a second language class, civics and government classes, parent education, and literacy development services, and;

   Inserted: (C) to coordinate activities with other entities to provide comprehensive community social services such as health care, job training, child care, and transportation services.

   Inserted: (2) Duration.--Each grant awarded under this section shall be awarded for a period of not more than 5 years. A partnership may use funds made available through the grant for not more than 1 year for planning and program design.

   Inserted: (e) Applications for Grants.--

   Inserted: (1) In general.--Each eligible partnership desiring a grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may require.

   Inserted: (2) Eligible partnerships.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a partnership--

   Inserted: (A) shall include--

   Inserted: (i) at least 1 local educational agency; and

   Inserted: (ii) at least 1 community-based organization; and

   Inserted: (B) may include another entity such as an institution of higher education, a local or State government agency, a private sector entity, or another entity with expertise in working with immigrants.

   Inserted: (3) Required documentation.--Each application submitted by a partnership under this section for a proposed program shall include documentation that--

   Inserted: (A) the partnership has the qualified personnel required to develop, administer, and implement the proposed program; and

   Inserted: (B) the leadership of each participating school has been involved in the development and planning of the program in the school.

   Inserted: (4) Other application contents.--Each application submitted by a partnership under this section for a proposed program shall include--

   Inserted: (A) a list of the organizations entering into the partnership;

   Inserted: (B) a description of the need for the proposed program, including data on the number of immigrant students, and the number of such students with limited English proficiency, in the schools or school districts to be served through the program and the characteristics of the students described in this subparagraph, including--

   Inserted: (i) the native languages of the students to be served;

   Inserted: (ii) the proficiency of the students in English and the native languages;

   Inserted: (iii) achievement data for the students in--

   Inserted: (I) reading or language arts (in English and in the native languages, if applicable); and

   Inserted: (II) mathematics; and

   Inserted: (iv) the previous schooling experiences of the students;

   Inserted: (C) a description of the goals of the program;

   Inserted: (D) a description of how the funds made available through the grant will be used to supplement the basic services provided to the immigrant students to be served;

   Inserted: (E) a description of activities that will be pursued by the partnership through the program, including a description of--

   Inserted: (i) how parents, students, and other members of the community, including members of private organizations and nonprofit organizations, will be involved in the design and implementation of the program;

   Inserted: (ii) how the activities will further the academic achievement of immigrant students served through the program;

   Inserted: (iii) methods of teacher training and parent education that will be used or developed through the program, including the dissemination of information to immigrant parents, that is easily understandable in the language of the parents, about educational programs and the rights of the parents to participate in educational decisions involving their children; and

   Inserted: (iv) methods of coordinating comprehensive community social services to assist immigrant families;

   Inserted: (F) a description of how the partnership will evaluate the progress of the partnership in achieving the goals of the program;

   Inserted: (G) a description of how the local educational agency will disseminate information on model programs, materials, and other information developed under this section that the local educational agency determines to be appropriate for use by other local educational agencies in establishing similar programs to facilitate the educational achievement of immigrant students;

   Inserted: (H) an assurance that the partnership will annually provide to the Secretary such information as may be required to determine the effectiveness of the program; and

   Inserted: (I) any other information that the Secretary may require.

   Inserted: (f) Selection of Grantees.--

   Inserted: (1) Criteria.--The Secretary, through a peer review process, shall select partnerships to receive grants under this section on the basis of the quality of the programs proposed in the applications submitted under subsection (f), taking into consideration such factors as--

   Inserted: (A) the extent to which the program proposed in such an application effectively addresses differences in language, culture, and customs;

   Inserted: (B) the quality of the activities proposed by a partnership;

   Inserted: (C) the extent of parental, student, and community involvement;

   Inserted: (D) the extent to which comprehensive community social services are made available;

   Inserted: (E) the quality of the plan for measuring and assessing success; and

   Inserted: (F) the likelihood that the goals of the program will be achieved.

   Inserted: (2) Geographic distribution of programs.--The Secretary shall approve applications under this section in a manner that ensures, to the extent practicable, that programs assisted under this section serve different areas of the Nation, including urban, suburban, and rural areas, with special attention to areas that are experiencing an influx of immigrant groups (including refugee groups), and that have limited prior experience in serving the immigrant community.

   Inserted: (g) Evaluation and Program Development.--

   Inserted: (1) Requirement.--Each partnership receiving a grant under this section shall--

   Inserted: (A) conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the program assisted under this section, including an evaluation of the impact of the program on students, teachers, administrators, parents, and others; and

   Inserted: (B) prepare and submit to the Secretary a report containing the results of the evaluation.

   Inserted: (2) Evaluation report components.--Each evaluation report submitted under this section for a program shall include--

   Inserted: (A) data on the partnership's progress in achieving the goals of the program;

   Inserted: (B) data showing the extent to which all students served by the program are meeting the State's student performance standards, including--

   Inserted: (i) data comparing the students served to other students, with regard to grade retention and academic achievement in reading and language arts, in English and in the native languages of the students if the program develops native language proficiency, and in mathematics; and

   Inserted: (ii) a description of how the activities carried out through the program are coordinated and integrated with the overall school program of the school in which the program described in this section is carried out, and with other Federal, State, or local programs serving limited English proficient students;

   Inserted: (C) data showing the extent to which families served by the program have been afforded access to comprehensive community social services; and

   Inserted: (D) such other information as the Secretary may require.

   Inserted: (h) Administrative Funds.--A partnership that receives a grant under this section may use not more than 5 percent of the grant funds received under this section for administrative purposes.

   Inserted: (i) Authorization of appropriations.--For the purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums for fiscal year 2007 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.

   Original wording

   At the end, add the following:

Read automatically from the Congressional Record. Check the original before relying on it.

As printed