Last month, the House Appropriations Committee approved its version of fiscal year 2025 Department of Defense (DoD) appropriations legislation, including $15 million for the World Language Advancement and Readiness Grants Program (WLARP). This is a significant funding victory for world language advocates, as the same committee voted to cut the program in half for fiscal year 2024, which ultimately resulted in a $5 million reduction for the program.
Authorized in 2020, WLARP has provided more than $50 million in multiyear grants for innovative world language and dual language immersion programs to 24 military-connected public school districts, spread across 16 states. Languages represented by the awards include ASL, French, German, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish.
“The House Appropriations Committee’s vote to restore WLARP funding to $15 million is a major step forward in ensuring continued funding to support innovative language programs in military-connected schools,” said JNCL-NCLIS executive director Amanda Seewald. “The swift mobilization and dedicated advocacy of our JNCL-NCLIS advocates and current WLARP grantees undoubtedly played a pivotal role in this decision.”
Coming during an era of federal budget austerity, this significant funding increase compared to last year is a demonstration of support for world language funding. The full House is expected to take up the committee’s approved fiscal year 2025 DoD appropriations bill later this summer. Ultimately, the final House bill will need to be reconciled with the Senate’s version of the same bill, which has not yet been outlined.
“JNCL-NCLIS truly appreciates the House Appropriations Committee’s action and recognition of the importance of language education. We are grateful for the support of our House WLARP champions Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) and Rep. Young Kim (R-CA), and we look forward to continuing to work together to show Congress and the administration that WLARP provides essential value for our nation,” concluded Seewald.
