 
 CHAPTER 70--STRENGTHENING AND IMPROVEMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY 
                                 SCHOOLS
 
SUBCHAPTER VII--BILINGUAL EDUCATION, LANGUAGE ENHANCEMENT, AND LANGUAGE 
                          ACQUISITION PROGRAMS
 
                       Part A--Bilingual Education
 
Sec. 7402. Findings, policy, and purpose


(a) Findings

    The Congress finds that--
        (1) language-minority Americans speak virtually all world 
    languages plus many that are indigenous to the United States;
        (2) there are large and growing numbers of children and youth of 
    limited-English proficiency, many of whom have a cultural heritage 
    that differs from that of their English-proficient peers;
        (3) the presence of language-minority Americans is related in 
    part to Federal immigration policies;
        (4) many language-minority Americans are limited in their 
    English proficiency, and many have limited education and income;
        (5) limited English proficient children and youth face a number 
    of challenges in receiving an education that will enable such 
    children and youth to participate fully in American society, 
    including--
            (A) segregated education programs;
            (B) disproportionate and improper placement in special 
        education and other special programs due to the use of 
        inappropriate evaluation procedures;
            (C) the limited-English proficiency of their own parents, 
        which hinders the parents' ability to fully participate in the 
        education of their children; and
            (D) a shortage of teachers and other staff who are 
        professionally trained and qualified to serve such children and 
        youth;

        (6) Native Americans and Native American languages (as such 
    terms are defined in section 2902 of title 25), including native 
    residents of the outlying areas, have a unique status under Federal 
    law that requires special policies within the broad purposes of this 
    chapter to serve the education needs of language minority students 
    in the United States;
        (7) institutions of higher education can assist in preparing 
    teachers, administrators and other school personnel to understand 
    and build upon the educational strengths and needs of language-
    minority and culturally diverse student enrollments;
        (8) it is the purpose of this subchapter to help ensure that 
    limited English proficient students master English and develop high 
    levels of academic attainment in content areas;
        (9) quality bilingual education programs enable children and 
    youth to learn English and meet high academic standards including 
    proficiency in more than one language;
        (10) as the world becomes increasingly interdependent and as 
    international communication becomes a daily occurrence in 
    government, business, commerce, and family life, multilingual skills 
    constitute an important national resource which deserves protection 
    and development;
        (11) educational technology has the potential for improving the 
    education of language-minority and limited English proficient 
    students and their families, and the Federal Government should 
    foster this development;
        (12) parent and community participation in bilingual education 
    programs contributes to program effectiveness;
        (13) research, evaluation, and data-collection capabilities in 
    the field of bilingual education need to be strengthened so that 
    educators and other staff can better identify and promote those 
    programs, program implementation strategies, and instructional 
    practices that result in effective education of limited English 
    proficient children;
        (14) the use of a child or youth's native language and culture 
    in classroom instruction can--
            (A) promote self-esteem and contribute to academic 
        achievement and learning English by limited English proficient 
        children and youth;
            (B) benefit English-proficient children and youth who also 
        participate in such programs; and
            (C) develop our Nation's national language resources, thus 
        promoting our Nation's competitiveness in the global economy;

        (15) the Federal Government, as exemplified by title VI of the 
    Civil Rights Act of 1964 [42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.] and section 
    1703(f) of this title, has a special and continuing obligation to 
    ensure that States and local school districts take appropriate 
    action to provide equal educational opportunities to children and 
    youth of limited English proficiency; and
        (16) the Federal Government also, as exemplified by the Federal 
    Government's efforts under this subchapter, has a special and 
    continuing obligation to assist States and local school districts in 
    developing the capacity to provide programs of instruction that 
    offer limited English proficient children and youth an equal 
    educational opportunity.

(b) Policy

    The Congress declares it to be the policy of the United States, in 
order to ensure equal educational opportunity for all children and youth 
and to promote educational excellence, to assist State and local 
educational agencies, institutions of higher education and community-
based organizations to build their capacity to establish, implement, and 
sustain programs of instruction for children and youth of limited 
English proficiency.

(c) Purpose

    The purpose of this part is to educate limited English proficient 
children and youth to meet the same rigorous standards for academic 
performance expected of all children and youth, including meeting 
challenging State content standards and challenging State student 
performance standards in academic areas by--
        (1) developing systemic improvement and reform of educational 
    programs serving limited English proficient students through the 
    development and implementation of exemplary bilingual education 
    programs and special alternative instruction programs;
        (2) developing bilingual skills and multicultural understanding;
        (3) developing the English of such children and youth and, to 
    the extent possible, the native language skills of such children and 
    youth;
        (4) providing similar assistance to Native Americans with 
    certain modifications relative to the unique status of Native 
    American languages under Federal law;
        (5) developing data collection and dissemination, research, 
    materials development, and technical assistance which is focused on 
    school improvement for limited English proficient students; and
        (6) developing programs which strengthen and improve the 
    professional training of educational personnel who work with limited 
    English proficient students.

(Pub. L. 89-10, title VII, Sec. 7102, as added Pub. L. 103-382, title I, 
Sec. 101, Oct. 20, 1994, 108 Stat. 3716.)

                       References in Text

    The Civil Rights Act of 1964, referred to in subsec. (a)(15), is 
Pub. L. 88-352, July 2, 1964, 78 Stat. 241, as amended. Title VI of the 
Act is classified generally to subchapter V (Sec. 2000d et seq.) of 
chapter 21 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete 
classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out 
under section 2000a of Title 42 and Tables.
