H.R. 1572 — World LEAP Act

This section declares the purpose of the Act to establish and provide assistance for the World Language Education Assistance Program in order to (1) establish or improve grant programs under the program, (2) support and uplift dual language and world language programs, and (3) provide students with language skills for an interconnected global world.

This section sets forth congressional findings on a national language capacity crisis, including that only one-fifth of U.S. residents speak a language other than English at home, 90% of employers rely on such skills, and one-third of foreign language-dependent employers report a skills gap with implications for business, government, military, diplomatic, and intelligence services. The section further finds shortages of world language, English learner, and bilingual/dual language immersion educators; obstacles to equitable multilingualism for students, including English learners who increased by 2.1 million from 2000 to 2019 due to the lack of a federal elementary and secondary world/dual language program; and a federal interest in preparing students to compete globally.

This section defines terms for purposes of the Act, including (1) community-based heritage language school (i.e., a nonprofit, community-based school offering pre-kindergarten through grade 12 classes to maintain and teach languages and cultures of non-English speaking communities); (2) dual language program (i.e., a bilingual program providing instruction in English and another language for at least half of the instructional day in pre-kindergarten and elementary school, continuing through grades 6-8 for prior participants); (3) specified terms from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) (i.e., English learner, secondary school, local educational agency, professional development, Secretary, and State); (4) heritage learner (i.e., pre-kindergarten through secondary school student with proficiency in or cultural connection to a non-English language); and (5) world language program (i.e., a program preparing pre-kindergarten through secondary school students for proficient, culturally competent communication in a non-English language).

This section establishes a competitive grant program under which the Secretary of Education awards grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to establish new or improve existing world language or dual language programs, with grants for a period of three years that may be renewed at the Secretary's discretion. In selecting grantees, the Secretary must prioritize applications for programs that (1) demonstrate growth in language proficiency from kindergarten through grade 12, are replicable in other LEAs, include a post-grant sustainability plan, and provide professional development; and (2) emphasize intensive summer professional development, partnerships with heritage language schools, immersion programs for English learners and heritage learners, consortia (preferably including institutions of higher education), collaboration on teacher certification pathways, or recruitment of secondary and postsecondary students into teacher preparation programs. Grant recipients must reserve not less than 20% of funds for paraprofessional pathways to world language or dual language teacher certification and professional development for such teachers, not more than 5% for program evaluation, and use the remainder for program implementation (including administration). Not later than 18 months after receiving a grant, each LEA must report to the Secretary on program implementation and data comparing pre- and post-grant student enrollment in language education, certified bilingual educators, and community support levels, in compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g). The section authorizes $15 million for FY2026 and each subsequent fiscal year.