20 U.S.C. § 7457

Current through P.L. 118-107 (published on www.congress.gov on 11/21/2024)

Section 7457 - 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 7801 of this title.

(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 1001 of this title.

(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.

20 U.S.C. § 7457

Pub. L. 117-335, §2, Jan. 5, 2023, 136 Stat. 6143.

EDITORIAL NOTES

REFERENCES IN TEXTThis Act, referred to in subsec. (a), is Pub. L. 117-335, Jan. 5, 2023, 136 Stat. 6143, known as the Native American Language Resource Center Act of 2022, which enacted this section and provisions set out as a note under section 6301 of this title.The Native American Languages Act, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (c)(3)(A), is title I of Pub. L. 101-477, 104 Stat. 1153, which is classified generally to chapter 31 (§2901 et seq.) of Title 25, Indians. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 2901 of Title 25 and Tables.

CODIFICATIONSection was enacted as part of the Native American Language Resource Center Act of 2022, and not as part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 which comprises this chapter.

Department: The term "Department" means the Department of Education.
Secretary: The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Education.
State educational agency: The term "State educational agency" means the agency primarily responsible for the State supervision of public elementary schools and secondary schools.
State: The term "State" means each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and each of the outlying areas.
distance learning: The term "distance learning" means the transmission of educational or instructional programming to geographically dispersed individuals and groups via telecommunications.
elementary school: The term "elementary school" means a nonprofit institutional day or residential school, including a public elementary charter school, that provides elementary education, as determined under State law.
professional development: The term "professional development" means activities that-(A) are an integral part of school and local educational agency strategies for providing educators (including teachers, principals, other school leaders, specialized instructional support personnel, paraprofessionals, and, as applicable, early childhood educators) with the knowledge and skills necessary to enable students to succeed in a well-rounded education and to meet the challenging State academic standards; and(B) are sustained (not stand-alone, 1-day, or short term workshops), intensive, collaborative, job-embedded, data-driven, and classroom-focused, and may include activities that-(i) improve and increase teachers'-(I) knowledge of the academic subjects the teachers teach;(II) understanding of how students learn; and(III) ability to analyze student work and achievement from multiple sources, including how to adjust instructional strategies, assessments, and materials based on such analysis;(ii) are an integral part of broad schoolwide and districtwide educational improvement plans;(iii) allow personalized plans for each educator to address the educator's specific needs identified in observation or other feedback;(iv) improve classroom management skills;(v) support the recruitment, hiring, and training of effective teachers, including teachers who became certified through State and local alternative routes to certification;(vi) advance teacher understanding of-(I) effective instructional strategies that are evidence-based; and(II) strategies for improving student academic achievement or substantially increasing the knowledge and teaching skills of teachers;(vii) are aligned with, and directly related to, academic goals of the school or local educational agency;(viii) are developed with extensive participation of teachers, principals, other school leaders, parents, representatives of Indian tribes (as applicable), and administrators of schools to be served under this chapter;(ix) are designed to give teachers of English learners, and other teachers and instructional staff, the knowledge and skills to provide instruction and appropriate language and academic support services to those children, including the appropriate use of curricula and assessments;(x) to the extent appropriate, provide training for teachers, principals, and other school leaders in the use of technology (including education about the harms of copyright piracy), so that technology and technology applications are effectively used in the classroom to improve teaching and learning in the curricula and academic subjects in which the teachers teach;(xi) as a whole, are regularly evaluated for their impact on increased teacher effectiveness and improved student academic achievement, with the findings of the evaluations used to improve the quality of professional development;(xii) are designed to give teachers of children with disabilities or children with developmental delays, and other teachers and instructional staff, the knowledge and skills to provide instruction and academic support services, to those children, including positive behavioral interventions and supports, multi-tier system of supports, and use of accommodations;(xiii) include instruction in the use of data and assessments to inform and instruct classroom practice;(xiv) include instruction in ways that teachers, principals, other school leaders, specialized instructional support personnel, and school administrators may work more effectively with parents and families;(xv) involve the forming of partnerships with institutions of higher education, including, as applicable, Tribal Colleges and Universities as defined in section 316(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b)), to establish school-based teacher, principal, and other school leader training programs that provide prospective teachers, novice teachers, principals, and other school leaders with an opportunity to work under the guidance of experienced teachers, principals, other school leaders, and faculty of such institutions;(xvi) create programs to enable paraprofessionals (assisting teachers employed by a local educational agency receiving assistance under part A of subchapter I) to obtain the education necessary for those paraprofessionals to become certified and licensed teachers;(xvii) provide follow-up training to teachers who have participated in activities described in this paragraph that are designed to ensure that the knowledge and skills learned by the teachers are implemented in the classroom; and(xviii) where practicable, provide jointly for school staff and other early childhood education program providers, to address the transition to elementary school, including issues related to school readiness.
technology: The term "technology" means modern information, computer and communication technology products, services, or tools, including, the Internet and other communications networks, computer devices and other computer and communications hardware, software applications, data systems, and other electronic content (including multimedia content) and data storage.