Summary — SB 2275 (North Dakota) — Pilot grants for K–3 foreign language instruction
Status
- Enacted and filed with the Secretary of State: 03/18/2025 (signed by Governor 03/18/2025).
- Pilot period: 2025–26 and 2026–27 school years.
Purpose
- Create a short-term pilot program to support early (kindergarten through grade 3) foreign language instruction in North Dakota schools by providing small grants to participating schools.
Key provisions
- Authority and administration
- The Superintendent of Public Instruction must establish and operate the pilot program.
- The Superintendent will develop participation requirements and procedures.
- Eligible recipients
- Schools that provide foreign language instruction to students in kindergarten through grade 3.
- Grant use and limits
- Grants may be used for program costs, instructional materials, or stipends.
- Grants may not exceed $2,500 per school per year.
- Duration
- The pilot runs beginning with the 2025–26 school year through the 2026–27 school year.
- Appropriation
- $49,500 is appropriated from the state general fund to the Department of Public Instruction for the 2025–27 biennium “for the purpose of creating a pilot program” under this bill.
Who is affected
- Directly: public (and potentially nonpublic if eligible under DPI rules) schools offering K–3 foreign language instruction that apply and meet the Superintendent’s requirements.
- Indirectly: K–3 students receiving or eligible to receive early foreign language instruction, classroom teachers (may receive stipends funded through grants), and local school districts administering program participation.
- Administering agency: North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (program setup, application procedures, award decisions, and oversight).
Practical implications and scale
- Funding is modest: $49,500 total for the biennium. At the statutory maximum ($2,500 per school per year), the appropriation could support about 19 total school-year grants across the biennium (49,500 ÷ 2,500 ≈ 19.8). Actual number of schools served depends on award amounts chosen by DPI and multi-year awards.
- The bill shifts program design and selection details to DPI, including eligibility, application, reporting, and allowable stipend disbursement.
Notes
- Earlier drafts and committee language referenced stipends to individual teachers; the enrolled/first-engrossed version provides grants to schools (up to $2,500 per school per year) and appropriates $49,500.
