Dual Language Immersion Program Act Exposed

The Dual Language Immersion Program Act (Utah SB 41) is a bill signed into law by Utah Governor Gary Herbert on March 17, 2008. At the 2015 States and Nation Policy Summit ALEC will be introducing legislation modeled off of this bill.

Bill Text

Summary

The purpose of this Act {Utah} is to reform the Critical Languages Program by modifying it to the Dual Language Immersion Program as a pilot program while also making technical corrections.

Legislation

Section 1.{Definition}

The term “critical languages” means the languages stated in the federal National Security Language Initiative, including Chinese, Arabic, Russian, Farsi, Hindi, and Korean.

Section 2. {Course Development}

(A) The State Board of Education {Utah} shall develop a course taught in one of the aforementioned “critical languages” in the state’s public education system by means of

(1) An interactive system composed of video and audio;

(2) An online high school;

(3) Traditional high school settings; or

(4) By visiting designated “critical languages” teachers.

(B) The courses in Section 2 may employ paraprofessionals who:

(1) Are fluent in the critical language of the course;

(2) Can reinforce and tutor students on days when students are not participating in the two- way interactive classroom in Section 2(A)(1)

(3) The State Board of Education {Utah}, through the state superintendent of public instruction, will ensure the paraprofessionals are fluent in the critical languages.

(C) The State Board of Education {Utah} shall make rules on the critical language courses to include:

(1) Notification to school districts on the times and places of the course offerings; and

(2) Instructional materials for the courses.

(D) The State Board of Education {Utah} shall track and monitor the progress of the Critical Languages Program and may expand the program to include more course offerings and other critical languages, subject to student demand for the courses and available resources.

(E) Subject to funding for the program, the State Board of Education {Utah} shall establish a pilot program for school districts and schools to initially participate in the Critical Languages Program that provides:

(1) Up to $6,000 per language per school, for up to 60 schools, for courses offered in critical languages;

(2) Up to $100 per student who completes a critical language course; and

(3) Up to an additional $400 per foreign exchange student who completes a critical languages course; however,

(4) If the available funding is insufficient to provide the amounts described under Section 2(E), the amounts provided shall be reduced pro rata so that the total provided does not exceed the available funding.

Section 3. {Dual Language Immersion Pilot Program}

(A) Subject to funding for the program, the State Board of Education {Utah} shall establish a pilot program for school districts and schools to initially participate in the Critical Languages Immersion Program.

(B) The program shall provide funds as an incentive to 15 qualifying schools for the following languages:

(1) Six pilots for Chinese;

(2) Six pilots for Spanish;

(3) Two pilots for French; and

(4) One pilot for Navajo.

(C) Subject to funding for the program, a qualifying school shall:

(1) Receive up to $18,000 per year for up to six years;

(2) Establish an instructional model that uses 50 percent of instruction in English and 50 percent instruction in another language; and

(3) Begin the instructional model described under Subsection (C)(2) in kindergarten or grade 1 and add an additional grade each year.

Section 4. {One-time Appropriation}

(A) There is appropriated $750,000 from the Uniform School Fund for one fiscal year only to the State Board of Education {Utah}.

(B) It is the intent of the Legislature that the appropriation under Subsection (A) be:

(1) Used to provide:

(a) $480,000 to the Critical Languages Program established in Section 2; and

(b) $270,000 to the Dual Language Immersion Program established in Section 3; and

(2) Non-lapsing.