§7473. Bilingual education teachers and personnel grants
(a) Purpose
The purpose of this section is to provide for-
(1) preservice and inservice professional development for bilingual education teachers, administrators, pupil services personnel, and other educational personnel who are either involved in, or preparing to be involved in, the provision of educational services for children and youth of limited-English proficiency; and
(2) national professional development institutes that assist schools or departments of education in institutions of higher education to improve the quality of professional development programs for personnel serving, preparing to serve, or who may serve, children and youth of limited-English proficiency.
(b) Priority
The Secretary shall give priority in awarding grants under this section to institutions of higher education, in consortia with local or State educational agencies, that offer degree programs which prepare new bilingual education teachers in order to increase the availability of educators to provide high-quality education to limited English proficient students.
(c) Authorization
(1) The Secretary is authorized to award grants for not more than five years to institutions of higher education which have entered into consortia arrangements with local or State educational agencies to achieve the purposes of this section.
(2) The Secretary is authorized to make grants for not more than five years to State and local educational agencies for inservice professional development programs.
(