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Committee backs K‑3 foreign language pilot, approving grants for districts to start early instruction
Summary
House Education advanced Senate Bill 2275, a pilot grant program to fund foreign language instruction for kindergarten through grade 3. Sponsor Senator Larry Lueck said early exposure improves language acquisition; the bill moved out of committee on a 13‑1 vote with a legislative fiscal referral.
Senator Larry Lueck presented Senate Bill 2275, a pilot program to provide grants to schools that offer foreign language instruction to students in kindergarten through grade 3. Lueck said the proposal is intended to expand early language learning opportunities and encourage districts to introduce language instruction at a stage when children acquire languages more readily.
Lueck described the measure as a local‑control pilot: school boards would determine which languages to teach, and the bill would fund instructional grants through school districts rather than issuing stipends directly to individual instructors. He said earlier drafts proposed $2,500 stipends per participant but that Department of Public Instruction staff recommended a grant model and larger per‑site funding; the draft that reached the committee carried a $49,500 appropriation for the pilot program.
Representative Halstead asked whether instructors must be certified in the language; Lueck said the bill leaves implementation details to local boards and the superintendent will develop participation requirements. Representative Conley noted community members or native speakers could assist. Supporters argued early childhood is an opportune time to teach languages, citing cognitive benefits and cultural awareness.
Representative Morton moved a "do pass" recommendation with a second from Representative Novak. The committee took a roll call and approved the measure 13‑1; Representative Heilman was recorded as the lone no vote. The panel directed that the bill go to the Fiscal Committee for appropriation review.
