JNCL-NCLIS staff regularly meets with policy-makers to advance the policy priorities of our members, and to disseminate information about the national security, economic, and social justice imperatives of increasing language capacity in the U.S., the cognitive and educational benefits of language learning, and the developments necessary to implement language programming in the US system. We also facilitate constituent interactions with Congress by prepping, scheduling and developing talking points and materials for discussion.
We advocate with the United States Congress and Executive Branch for all programs that support Foreign Language and international education, to include:
Restoration of the Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP)
Full funding for Title VI/Fulbright Hays
And increased funding for:
STARTALK
The Language Flagship
The Boren Program
English for Heritage Learners
The National Security Language Initiative Program for Youth
The Critical Language Scholarship Program
The Teachers of Critical Languages Program
The Intensive Summer Language Institutes
JNCL-NCLIS work actively with the Departments of Education, State, and Defense to promote these programs, to monitor their implementation, and to advocate for expanded access to more languages and levels of learning. We work in close collaboration with our governing members to promote local and state advocacy. We work with the $15b US language services industry to promote language education and standards.
JNCL-NCLIS holds an annual Language Advocacy Day in the spring, affording members and others the opportunity to meet with their Senators and Representatives as well as US Government officials. During the Language Advocacy Day, attendees also hear presentations by professionals from all sectors of the language field and are invited to join in advocacy workshops, policy roundtables, and more, while connecting with colleagues across sectors and gaining a deeper understanding of the applications of and needs for language in the U.S.