113 HR 1089 IH: Stepping Up to STEM Act of 2013
U.S. House of Representatives
2013-03-12
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.This Act may be cited as the
Stepping Up to STEM Act of
2013
.
2.Congress finds the following:
(1)Technology and the
Internet have transformed nearly every aspect of both the global economy and
our daily lives. In a technology-rich world, no amount of memorizing
information will make a student competitive in the global labor market. America
needs an education system that supports students from all walks of life in
becoming inquisitive, resourceful thinkers who use technology to pursue
knowledge, collaborate across geographic and cultural boundaries, acquire new
skills, and solve complex problems.
(2)Equality and
equity of access is more than access to the same hardware, software, and
broadband connections. It includes access to the best digital learning
resources and access to teachers who know how to orchestrate the use of these
resources in ways that inspire students and produce better learning
outcomes.
(3)Technology by
itself will not improve student outcomes. What is needed are carefully designed
innovations that include not just technology but also good learning content,
effective instructional strategies, supports for teachers and school systems
figuring out how to use the new approach, and the capacity to collect, analyze
and reflect on data that will show whether or not the innovation is having the
intended effects.
(4)Effective learning
technology implementations addressing the challenging aspects of language arts,
mathematics and science that all students are expected to master. This will
require partnerships among education agencies, education researchers, and
technology developers with the common goal of harnessing technology to provide
opportunities for deeper learning to students who would not otherwise
experience them.
3.Office of Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education within the Department of
Education
(a)Section 202 of the Department of Education Organization
Act (20 U.S.C. 3412) is amended in subsection (b)(1)—
(1)in subparagraph
(E) by striking and
at the end;
(2)by redesignating
subparagraph (F) as (G); and
(3)by inserting after
subparagraph (E) the following:
(F)an Assistant Secretary for Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education (in this Act referred to as
the Assistant Secretary for STEM Education
);
and
.
(b)Title
II of the Department of Education Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3411 et seq.) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
221.Office of
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education
(a)There shall be in the Department of Education an Office
of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education (in this section
referred to as the Office of STEM Education
), to be administered
by the Assistant Secretary for STEM Education appointed under section
202(b).
(b)The Assistant Secretary of STEM Education,
acting through the Office, shall serve as the principal advisor to the
Secretary on matters affecting science, technology, engineering, and math
education, and shall administer such functions representing STEM education,
including the coordination of STEM activities and programs across Federal
agencies.
(c)The Assistant Secretary for STEM Education shall conduct
an independent evaluation, through grant or by contract, of the STEM education
programs administered by the Department, at least every 5 years, which shall
include—
(1)conducting an
assessment of STEM education activities within the Department by using the
evaluations and reports of these programs to determine these programs’ impact
on—
(A)the quantity of
students taking advanced placement in STEM areas and seeking STEM
degrees;
(B)the quantity of students exposed to STEM
content in the hours outside of the regular school day;
(C)student academic
achievement in mathematics and science; and
(D)the increased
number of highly qualified STEM teachers, STEM content coaches, and STEM master
educators; and
(2)the preparation
and submission of a report on the results of the evaluation described in
paragraph (1) to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the
Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Science, Space,
and Technology of the House of Representatives, and the Committees on
Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
(d)Authorization of
appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated $1,500,000
to carry out this section for fiscal year 2014 and such sums as may be
necessary for each fiscal year
thereafter.
.
4.Advanced Research
Projects Agency for EducationTitle II of the Department of Education
Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3411 et seq.), as amended by section 2 of this Act,
is further amended by adding at the end the following:
222.Advanced
Research Projects Agency for Education
(a)There
shall be in the Department an Advanced Research Projects Agency for Education
(referred to in this section as ARPA–ED
).
(b)ARPA–ED
is established under this section for the purposes of pursuing breakthrough
research and development in educational technology and providing the effective
use of the technology to improve achievement for all students, by—
(1)integrating STEM related content areas
including science, technology, computer science, engineering design,
mathematics and computational thinking;
(2)identifying and
promoting revolutionary advances in fundamental and applied sciences and
engineering that could be translated into new learning technologies;
(3)developing novel
learning technologies, and the enabling processes and contexts for effective
use of those technologies;
(4)developing,
testing, and evaluating the impact and efficacy of those technologies;
(5)developing
educational technology innovations including data analytic tools that help
State educational agencies and local educational agencies with reporting
required under Federal accountability mandates;
(6)accelerating
transformational technological advances in areas in which the private sector,
by itself, is not likely to accelerate such advances because of difficulties in
implementation or adoption, or technical and market uncertainty;
(7)coordinating
activities with nongovernmental entities to demonstrate technologies and
research applications to facilitate technology transfer; and
(8)encouraging
educational research using new technologies and the data produced by the
technologies.
(c)
(1)The Agency shall
work closely and collaboratively between agencies in order to maximize the
Federal effort and investment to the Project.
(2)The Agency shall
work with the National Science Foundation’s Cyber Learning Program.
(d)The Secretary is authorized to—
(1)appoint a
Director, who shall be responsible for carrying out the purposes of ARPA–ED, as
described in subsection (b), and such additional functions as the Secretary may
prescribe;
(2)establish
processes for the development and execution of projects and the solicitation of
entities to carry out the projects in a manner that is—
(A)tailored to the purposes of ARPA–ED and not
constrained by other Department-wide administrative requirements that could
detract from achieving program results; and
(B)designed to
heighten transparency, and public- and private-sector involvement, to ensure
that investments are made in the most promising areas;
(3)award grants,
contracts, cooperative agreements, and cash prizes, and enter into other
transactions (in accordance with such regulations as the Secretary may
establish regarding other transactions);
(4)obtain
independent, periodic, rigorous evaluations, as appropriate, of—
(A)the effectiveness of the processes ARPA–ED
is using to achieve its purposes; and
(B)the effectiveness of individual projects
assisted by ARPA–ED, using evidence standards developed in consultation with
the Institute of Education Sciences, and the suitability of ongoing projects
assisted by ARPA–ED for further investment or increased scale; and
(5)disseminate, through the comprehensive
centers established under section 203 of the Educational Technical Assistance
Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9602), the regional educational laboratories system
established under section 174 of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20
U.S.C. 9564), or such other means as the Secretary determines to be
appropriate, information on effective practices and technologies developed with
ARPA–ED support.
(e)The Secretary may use
funds made available for ARPA–ED to pay the cost of the evaluations under
subsection (c)(6).
(f)Federal Advisory
Committee ActNotwithstanding any other provision of law, any
advisory committee convened by the Secretary to provide advice with respect to
this section shall be exempt from the requirements of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) and the definition of employee
in
section 2105 of title 5, United States Code, shall not be considered to include
any appointee to such a committee.
(g)To the maximum extent practicable, the
Secretary shall ensure that grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, cash
prizes, or other assistance or arrangements awarded or entered into pursuant to
this section that are designed to carry out the purposes of ARPA–ED do not
duplicate activities under programs carried out under Federal law other than
this section by the Department or other Federal
agencies.
.
5.State Networks
and Consortia on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
Education
(a)From amounts made
available to carry out this section, the Secretary of Education shall make
grants to eligible networks to expand STEM education.
(b)In this section, the
term eligible network means a State-based STEM network or similar
organization, which—
(1)may include the participation of State
officials, educators, administrators, afterschool providers, out of school time
educators, parents, industry leaders, philanthropists, and representatives from
the STEM communities;
(2)aims to increase student achievement and
experiences in the STEM disciplines at the elementary schools and secondary
schools in its State, and out of school programs and particularly for students
with a high concentration of historically under represented students and at
rural schools (within the meaning of part B of title VI of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.)); and
(3)aims to increase
the number of quality afterschool programs offering STEM learning
opportunities, particularly for students from populations traditionally
under-represented in the STEM fields.
(c)Eligible network
application
(1)An eligible network
seeking a grant under this section shall submit an application at such time, in
such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably
require.
(2)In order to
receive a grant under this section, an eligible network shall agree to provide,
either directly or through private contributions, non-Federal matching funds
equal to not less than 30 percent of the amount of the grant.
(d)Each eligible network receiving a grant under this section
shall use the funds to carry out one or more of the following:
(1)Testing, validating, sharing, and scaling
up STEM education research, promising practices, and exemplary programs among
members of the network and with other eligible networks receiving grants under
this section.
(2)Identifying points
of weakness and strength among State STEM education efforts, prioritizing
strategies for addressing problem areas, and communicating State needs to the
Secretary.
(3)Assisting in the implementation of rigorous
career and college ready standards in STEM education for grades prekindergarten
through grade 12 that reflect and take into consideration—
(A)career and college ready standards in STEM
disciplines;
(B)established international standards and
21st century skills that include critical thinking, problem solving,
communication, collaboration, creativity, and innovation;
(C)the needs of
English language learners and special education students; and
(D)the need to
increase STEM literacy of prekindergarten through grade 12 students.
(4)Assisting the development of innovative
STEM assessments that measure interest, engagement, and content
proficiency.
(5)Supporting the
implementation of STEM assessments that measure career and college ready
standards.
(6)Promoting and developing rigorous
undergraduate pre-service teacher programs in institutions of higher education
that emphasize STEM content with emphasis on the elementary educator.
(7)Promoting and developing curriculum tools
and professional development for STEM educators both in school and out of
school.
(8)Developing STEM
career pathways that reflect the projected STEM workforce needs of the 21st
century that may include mentoring programs and STEM professional
outreach.
(9)Developing STEM-related education and
workforce training programs in secondary schools and community colleges to
reflect the needs of the local community.
(10)Developing systems for the implementation
of expanded learning opportunities on school sites to enhance STEM education
inside and outside of the classroom.
(11)Promoting,
supporting, and designing programs that develop STEM content coaches and master
educators in order to strengthen core competencies of the classroom
practitioner.
(e)Not later than 2 years after receiving a grant under this
section, each eligible network receiving such a grant shall—
(1)conduct periodic
independent evaluations, by grant or by contract, of the eligible network’s
effectiveness at accomplishing the activities described in this section, which
shall include an assessment of the impact of such activities on STEM teaching
and learning; and
(2)prepare and submit a report on the results
of each evaluation described in paragraph (1) to the Secretary and make for
dissemination to other STEM Networks.
(f)In
implementing this section, the Secretary may not—
(1)endorse, approve,
or sanction any STEM curriculum designed for use in any elementary school,
secondary school, or institution of higher education; or
(2)engage in
oversight, technical assistance, or activities that will require the adoption
of a specific STEM program or instructional materials by a State, local
educational agency, or school.
(g)The total amount of grants made under this section in any
fiscal year may not exceed $20,000,000.
(h)In
this section:
(1)The terms elementary school,
local educational agency, secondary school, and
State educational agency have the meanings given such terms in
section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
7801).
(2)The term
high concentration of low-income students has the meaning given
such term in section 1707 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 6537).
(3)The term
institution of higher education has the meaning given such term in
section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).
(4)The term
Secretary means the Secretary of Education.
(5)The term State means each of
the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana
Islands, American Samoa, and the United States Virgin Islands.
(6)The term
STEM means science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics.
(7)The term 21st century readiness
initiative
means any initiative that—
(A)embeds core
academic subjects with critical skills; and
(B)is focused on
ensuring that students are prepared for postsecondary education and careers,
upon graduation from secondary school.