 
 CHAPTER 70--STRENGTHENING AND IMPROVEMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY 
                                 SCHOOLS
 
SUBCHAPTER VII--BILINGUAL EDUCATION, LANGUAGE ENHANCEMENT, AND LANGUAGE 
                          ACQUISITION PROGRAMS
 
                       Part A--Bilingual Education
 
           subpart 2--research, evaluation, and dissemination
 
Sec. 7452. Research


(a) Administration

    The Secretary shall conduct research activities authorized by this 
subpart through the Office of Educational Research and Improvement in 
coordination and collaboration with the Office of Bilingual Education 
and Minority Language Affairs.

(b) Requirements

    Such research activities--
        (1) shall have a practical application to teachers, counselors, 
    paraprofessionals, school administrators, parents, and others 
    involved in improving the education of limited English proficient 
    students and their families;
        (2) may include research on effective instructional practices 
    for multilingual classes, and on effective instruction strategies to 
    be used by teachers and other staff who do not know the native 
    language of a limited English proficient child or youth in their 
    classrooms;
        (3) may include establishing (through the National Center for 
    Education Statistics in consultation with experts in bilingual 
    education, second language acquisition, and English-as-a-second-
    language) a common definition of ``limited English proficient 
    student'' for purposes of national data collection; and
        (4) shall be administered by individuals with expertise in 
    bilingual education and the needs of limited English proficient 
    students and their families.

(c) Field-initiated research

                           (1) In general

        The Secretary shall reserve not less than 5 percent of the funds 
    made available to carry out this section for field-initiated 
    research conducted by current or recent recipients of grants under 
    this subpart or subpart 1 of this part who have received such grants 
    within the previous five years. Such research may provide for 
    longitudinal studies of students or teachers in bilingual education, 
    monitoring the education of such students from entry in bilingual 
    education through secondary school completion.

                          (2) Applications

        Applicants for assistance under this subsection may submit an 
    application for such assistance to the Secretary at the same time as 
    applications are submitted under this subpart or subpart 1 of this 
    part. The Secretary shall complete a review of such applications on 
    a timely basis to allow research and program grants to be 
    coordinated when recipients are awarded two or more such grants.

(d) Consultation

    The Secretary shall consult with agencies and organizations that are 
engaged in bilingual education research and practice, or related 
research, and bilingual education researchers and practitioners to 
identify areas of study and activities to be funded under this section.

(e) Data collection

    The Secretary shall provide for the continuation of data collection 
on limited English proficient students as part of the data systems 
operated by the Department.

(Pub. L. 89-10, title VII, Sec. 7132, as added Pub. L. 103-382, title I, 
Sec. 101, Oct. 20, 1994, 108 Stat. 3729.)


                Research Relating to Bilingual Education

    Section 6211 of title VI of Pub. L. 100-297 provided that:
    ``(a) Research and Development.--The Secretary shall, through 
competitive contracts under this section, provide financial assistance 
for research and development proposals submitted by institutions of 
higher education, private for-profit and nonprofit organizations, State 
and local educational agencies, and individuals.
    ``(b) Authorized Activities.--Research activities authorized to be 
assisted under this section shall include--
        ``(1) studies to determine and evaluate effective models for 
    bilingual education programs;
        ``(2) studies which examine the process by which individuals 
    acquire a second language and master the subject matter skills 
    required for grade-promotion and graduation, and which identify 
    effective methods for teaching English and subject matter skills 
    within the context of a bilingual education program or special 
    alternative instructional program to students who have language 
    proficiencies other than English;
        ``(3) longitudinal studies to measure the effect of title VII of 
    the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 [former 20 U.S.C. 
    3281 et seq.] on students enrolled in programs under such title 
    (including a longitudinal study of the impact of bilingual education 
    programs on limited-English proficient students using a nationally 
    representative sample of the programs funded under such title and 
    which provides information including data on grade retention, 
    academic performance, and dropout rates);
        ``(4) studies to determine effective and reliable methods for 
    identifying students who are entitled to services under such title 
    and for determining when their English language proficiency is 
    sufficiently well developed to permit them to derive optimal 
    benefits from an all-English instructional program;
        ``(5) the operation of a clearinghouse which shall collect, 
    analyze, and disseminate information about bilingual education and 
    related programs (and coordinate its activities with the National 
    Diffusion Network);
        ``(6) studies to determine effective methods of teaching English 
    to adults who have language proficiencies other than English;
        ``(7) studies to determine and evaluate effective methods of 
    instruction for bilingual programs, taking into account language and 
    cultural differences among students;
        ``(8) studies to determine effective approaches to preservice 
    and inservice training for teachers, taking into account the 
    language and cultural differences of their students;
        ``(9) the effect of such title on the capacity of local 
    educational agencies to operate bilingual programs following the 
    termination of assistance under this [such] title; and
        ``(10) studies to determine effective and reliable methods for 
    identifying gifted and talented students who have language 
    proficiencies other than English.
    ``(c) Consultation and Delegation of Authority.--In carrying out the 
responsibilities of this section, the Secretary may delegate authority 
to the Director, and in any event, shall consult with the Director, 
representatives of State and local educational agencies, appropriate 
groups and organizations involved in bilingual education, the Committee 
on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate, and the Committee on 
Education and Labor [now Committee on Education and the Workforce] of 
the House of Representatives.
    ``(d) Publication of Proposals.--The Secretary shall publish and 
disseminate all requests for proposals in research and development 
assisted under such title.
    ``(e) Limitation of Authority.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed as authorizing the Secretary to conduct or support studies or 
analyses of the content of educational textbooks.''
