Bill Summary
The Combating Implicit Bias in Education Act is a bill that aims to address implicit bias in elementary and secondary schools. It directs the Secretary of Education to establish a competitive grant program to award grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) for the purpose of providing training to educators, principals, and other staff on implicit bias. The training is intended to help end discrimination based on implicit bias, improve school climate and relationships between students and staff, and enhance academic achievement for students. LEAs must submit an application to receive the grant and the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences will periodically review the effectiveness of the grant program. The bill also includes definitions for key terms, such as "implicit bias" and "training", and authorizes $10 million in funding for each fiscal year from 2020 to 2022 to carry out the Act.
Possible Impacts
1. The grant program established by this legislation could provide funding for training programs that address implicit bias in schools. This could potentially affect students, teachers, and other staff members by helping to create a more inclusive and equitable learning environment.
2. The periodic review conducted by the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences could provide data and evidence on the effectiveness of the grant program, which could inform future policies and initiatives relating to implicit bias in education.
3. The authorization of appropriations for this Act could potentially face opposition or support from different groups, such as taxpayers or advocates for education equity, which could impact the amount of funding available for the grant program and its potential impact on individuals and communities.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4776 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4776
To direct the Secretary of Education to establish a competitive grant
program to award grants to local educational agencies to address
implicit bias in elementary and secondary schools, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 21, 2019
Ms. Norton (for herself and Mr. Evans) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Education to establish a competitive grant
program to award grants to local educational agencies to address
implicit bias in elementary and secondary schools, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Combating Implicit Bias in Education
Act''.
SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Education shall award grants,
on a competitive basis, to local educational agencies to provide
training to educators, principals, and other staff of elementary
schools and secondary schools on implicit bias, for the purposes of--
(1) ending discrimination based on such bias, including--
(A) in the administration of exclusionary
discipline (including suspensions and expulsions);
(B) in access to gifted and talented programs; and
(C) in the apportionment of academic resources;
(2) improving the school climate and the relationships
between students and educators, principals, and other staff of
elementary and secondary schools; and
(3) improving the academic achievement and attainment of
students.
(b) Application.--A local educational agency desiring to receive a
grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary
as the Secretary shall require. The application shall include a
description of how the local educational agency will use the grant to
carry out training under subsection (a).
(c) Report.--The Director of the Institute of Education Sciences
shall conduct a periodic review of the effectiveness of the grant
program established by this Act.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of carrying
out this Act, there are authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2020 through 2022.
(e) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Elementary and secondary education act terms.--The
terms ``elementary school'', ``local educational agency'',
``other staff'', and ``secondary school'' have the meanings
given those terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
(2) Implicit bias.--The term ``implicit bias'' means bias
with respect to actual or perceived race, religion, sex
(including sexual orientation or gender identity), disability,
ethnicity, or socioeconomic status, that results from
subconsciously held attitudes, beliefs, or associations.
(3) Training.--The term ``training'' means evidence based,
on-going professional development and support.
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