All Roll Calls
Yes: 342 • No: 71
117-s-989117th CongressWALLET
Native American Language Resource Center Act of 2022
Sponsored By: Senator Schatz, Brian [D-HI]
Became Law
Summary
Native American language resource centers. This law creates a Department of Education grant and contract program to establish centers that preserve, revitalize, and teach American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian languages across preschool through higher education.
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- Families and students gain expanded access to Native language courses, distance-learning materials, and programs that use Indigenous languages as a medium of instruction.
- Teachers and programs get support for teacher preparation, professional development, and alternative certification pathways to teach in Native languages.
- Tribal communities receive technical assistance, curated digital libraries limited to community-provided materials, and help with language reclamation and addressing past discrimination.
- Institutions of higher education and consortia can receive grants or contracts to staff and operate these centers with experts and fluent speakers.
*Authorizes $3.0 million per year in federal funding for the centers, creating a potential increase in federal spending of that amount.*
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Funding for Native language centers
The law authorizes $3 million each year for the program. The money funds grants or contracts to eligible colleges and consortia that run the centers. Congress must appropriate the funds before they can be spent.
More support for Native language learning
The Education Department funds college-run centers for Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian languages. Centers help teach, learn, and revitalize these languages, and support language‑medium instruction from preschool through college and adult programs. They train teachers (including alternative certification), provide technical help, and run intensive trainings like summer institutes. They build community‑controlled digital libraries, offer distance learning, and help programs get federal resources and full academic credit. Staff include fluent speakers with education experience, and the work protects the right to use Native languages and addresses past harms.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Schatz, Brian [D-HI]
HI • D
Cosponsors
Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN]
MN • D
Sponsored 3/25/2021
Sen. Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK]
AK • R
Sponsored 8/5/2021
Roll Call Votes
house vote • 12/22/2022
On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass
Yes: 342 • No: 71