Bilingual Education Act Amendments

Bilingual Education Act Amendments - Revises the Bilingual Education Act to extend the general authorization for appropriations under such Act to 1981.

Stipulates that grants for assistance to bilingual education programs will be available for fiscal years 1979, 1980, and 1981.

Revises application requirements for such grants, including provisions regarding an evaluation plan and bilingual personnel recruitment.

Provides special provisions for Puerto Rico regarding use and distribution of funds under such Act. Directs the Commissioner of Education to conduct a study of the need for compensatory English proficiency programs in Puerto Rico.

Directs the Commissioner to make authorized payments directly to the applicants rather than to the Secretary of the Interior for specified programs of bilingual education for Indian children. Transfers specified evaluation responsibilities of the Secretary regarding such programs to the Commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Revises specified bilingual education training provisions under such Act to place particular emphasis on degree programs in bilingual education. Extends indefinitely the Commissioner of Education's authority to award fellowships for bilingual teacher training.

Directs the Commissioner to undertake an ongoing study of the impact of such fellowships on the field of bilingual education. Revises the definition of "eligible applicant" for purposes of such training grants. Requires an individual receiving such assistance to work in a bilingual education related activity for a period equivalent to the period such assistance was received.

Establishes within the Office of Education in place of the existing Office of Bilingual Education a Bureau of Bilingual Education to be headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Bilingual Education.

Revises the composition of the National Advisory Council on Bilingual Education, including a requirement that at least two parents of children whose language proficiency is other than English be included in such Council.

Extends authorizations for research and demonstration projects under such Act to fiscal year 1981.

Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1979-1983 for a grant program to local educational agencies and private nonprofit organizations eligible for Emergency School Aid assistance to meet the needs of minority children from an environment in which English is not the dominant language. Stipulates that such grants be designed to complement local programs carried out under the Emergency Aid Act.

Provides for a program of grants for fiscal years 1982 and 1983 to States for bilingual education and for supplementary incentive grants to States providing State assistance to bilingual education programs.

Provides guidelines for State applications for such bilingual education grants, including an annual State plan for distribution of such funds to local educational agencies giving priority to those programs that have been funded in previous years.

Amends the Emergency School Aid Act to revise certain appropriation allocations and application requirements regarding: (1) educational television; (2) special projects; and (3) evaluations of specific projects assisted under such Act.