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HR 3359 (formerly 7036) - The U.S. and the World Education Act February 2010 In July, 2009 Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D-47) reintroduced H.R. 7036 in the 111th Congress as H.R. 3359, the US and the World Education Act. The new legislation was reviewed by the House Education and Labor Committee and the U.S. Department of Education before it was reintroduced. The new Act calls for $200 million annually in new federal funding for the professional development of prospective, future and in-service teachers in the field of international education. The legislation was referred to the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary Education on October 22, 2009. One of the major changes was the addition of “humanitarian law” to the definition of international education in Section 3, subsection c, paragraph 2: the term international education means educational subject matter related to world history, regions, cultures, and geography, as well as foreign languages, contemporary world issues, international relations, international economics, humanitarian law, international and non-governmental organizations, and the technology and communications mediums related to such subject matter. The request for this additional language was made by the American Red Cross, now a major supporter of the legislation. In section 4, the legislation calls for the Deputy Assistant Secretary for International and Foreign Language Education to administer the international education grants authorized by the legislation. Mr. Andre Lewis was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary on 2009. The position was authorized in the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 for the first time since the Carter Administration. As of February 22, 2010 the legislation has 107 cosponsors and strong organizational endorsements. H.R. 3359 is based on a resolution drafted by Ron Herring, Executive Director of the California International Studies Project and a member of the Board of Directors of the Phillip and Sala Burton Center for Human Rights. The legislation incorporates his 30 plus years of experience in professional development of California teachers to prepare our youth for the global challenges they face. The resolution was presented at a conference on May 9, 2009 at California State University, Fullerton and endorsed by the Board of Directors of the Phillip and Sala Burton Center for Human Rights on June 4, 2008. Mr. Herring’s resolution was based on the February 2006 report by the Committee for Economic Development: Education for Global Leadership, the Importance of International and Foreign Language Studies for U.S. and National Security. H.R. 3359 is a companion bill to the Teaching Traditional American History Act now Title II, Chapter 8, Subpart 4, Section 2351 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, passed by Congress in the early days of the Bush Administration. It now authorizes over $100 million annually for professional development of American History teachers with the goal “to teach American history as a separate academic subject and not as a component of social studies”. H.R. 3359 authorizes $ 200 million annually for a broad range of subjects including foreign languages. H.R. 3359 is urgently needed in California where over 25% of our residents were born outside the United States and over 25% of our economy is involved international trade. With the historic concentration of congressional leadership in California the Phillip and Sala Burton Center for Human Rights is urging the California Congressional Delegation to take the lead in passing H.R. 3359 and appropriating the requested funds. To this end, with the assistance of Board Member, Chuck Mack we met with Congressman George Miller, Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee on July 10, 2010. At the meeting Chairman Miller stated that professional development of teachers is an appropriate use of federal funds. An incredible youth website about education: www.usandtheworld.org |
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