Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish a geography education grant program under title II, Teacher Quality Enhancement.
Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award a grant to a national nonprofit education organization or consortium, with 75% to be used for subgrants to institutions of higher education associated with state geographic alliances, nonprofit educational organizations, or state or local educational agencies.
Requires various grantee and subgrantee activities designed to expand geographic literacy among kindergarten through grade 12 students by improving their teachers' professional development programs offered through institutions of higher education. Includes among such activities state-based conferences to assess geographic literacy and identify improvement strategies.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1376 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1376
To improve and expand geographic literacy among kindergarten through
grade 12 students in the United States by improving professional
development programs for kindergarten through grade 12 teachers offered
through institutions of higher education.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 11, 2005
Mr. Cochran (for himself, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Warner, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Akaka,
and Mr. Burns) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve and expand geographic literacy among kindergarten through
grade 12 students in the United States by improving professional
development programs for kindergarten through grade 12 teachers offered
through institutions of higher education.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Teaching Geography is Fundamental
Act''.
SEC. 2. GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION.
Title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021 et
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``PART C--GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION
``SEC. 231. FINDINGS.
``Congress makes the following findings:
``(1) Geographic literacy is essential to a well-prepared
citizenry in the 21st Century because geographic factors assume
greater importance as the world's economies, societies, and
political structures grow more global in scale.
``(2) In a recent National Geographic-Roper 9-country
survey of geographic literacy among young adults aged 18
through 24, Americans ranked second to last. Only 13 percent of
young adults aged 18 through 24 in the United States were able
to correctly identify Iraq on a map of Asia and the Middle
East.
``(3) The economic stature and competitiveness of the
United States requires increasingly sophisticated levels of
geographic knowledge and mastery of geographic tools.
``(4) United States Department of Labor data identifies
geotechnology as one of the 3 fastest growing employment fields
serving industries such as insurance, banking, real estate,
forestry, and agriculture as well as Federal, State, and local
Governments.
``(5) The National Academy of Sciences urged creation of a
national program to improve the geographic competence of the
United States general population and the school age population.
``(6) Geography is defined as a `core academic subject'
within the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
``(7) A recent National Geographic Society survey found
that all 50 States and the District of Columbia recognize
geography in their curricula or content standards, and an
increasing number require geography for graduation and include
geography in mandated statewide assessments.
``(8) Seven of 10 educators responding to a National
Geographic survey felt their professional development
opportunities in geography were inadequate and half believed
their schools had inadequate basic materials for teaching
geography.
``(9) The National Geographic Society has spent over 15
years pioneering an extraordinarily effective national program
for improving the teaching of geography by engaging university
faculty geographers and highly trained teachers in State
Geographic Alliances dedicated to providing high quality
professional development opportunities for kindergarten through
grade 12 teachers.
``(10) More than 60 colleges and universities in all 50
States have received grants from the National Geographic
Society to support State Geographic Alliances and their
professional development programs. Alliance-trained
kindergarten through grade 12 teachers and their higher
education partners conduct workshops, develop localized
teaching materials, and facilitate communication among
thousands of teachers whose responsibilities include teaching
of geography in various formats and grade levels.
``(11) A study by Mid-continent Research for Education and
Learning that assessed student academic achievement in
geography on the National Assessment of Educational Progress
showed that students taught by Alliance-trained teachers
outperformed other students by almost 10 percent.
``SEC. 232. PURPOSES AND OBJECTIVES.
``(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this part is to promote geographic
literacy and improved understanding of global cultures among
kindergarten through grade 12 students by expanding programs that
employ the geographic knowledge and expertise of faculty members in
institutions of higher education for the benefit of kindergarten
through grade 12 teachers and to otherwise advance geographic literacy.
``(b) Objectives.--The objectives of this part are the following:
``(1) To increase students knowledge of, and achievement
in, standards-based geography to enable the students to become
better informed and more productive citizens.
``(2) To increase the number of highly qualified teachers
of United States and world geography and to enable the teachers
to improve student mastery of geographic principles and
practical applications of those principles.
``(3) To encourage geographic education research, to
develop and disseminate effective instructional materials, and
to promote replication of best practices and exemplary programs
that foster geographic literacy.
``(4) To assist States in measuring the impact of education
in geography.
``(5) To leverage and expand private and public support for
geography education partnerships at national, State, and local
levels.
``SEC. 233. GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.
``The Secretary is authorized to award a grant to a national
nonprofit education organization or a consortium of organizations
(hereafter in this part referred to as the `grantee') that has as its
primary purpose the improvement of the quality of student understanding
of geography through effective teaching of geography in the Nation's
classrooms.
``SEC. 234. USE OF FUNDS.
``(a) Direct Activities.--The grantee shall use not more than 25
percent of the funds made available through the grant for a fiscal
year--
``(1) to strengthen and expand the grantee's relationships
with institutions of higher education and with State and local
agencies and other public and private organizations with a
commitment to geography education and the benefits of geography
education;
``(2) to support and promote research-based training of
teachers of geography and related disciplines in kindergarten
through grade 12 as a means of broadening student knowledge of
the world, including the dissemination of information on
effective practices and research findings concerning the
teaching of geography;
``(3) to support research on effective geography teaching
practices and the development of assessment instruments and
strategies to document student understanding of geography;
``(4) to convene national conferences on geography
education to assess the current state of geographic literacy
and to identify strategies for improvement; and
``(5) to develop and disseminate appropriate research-based
materials to foster geographic literacy.
``(b) Subgrants.--
``(1) In general.--The grantee shall use not more than 75
percent of the funds made available through the grant for a
fiscal year to award subgrants to eligible recipients.
``(2) Eligible recipient defined.--In this part the term
`eligible recipient' means an institution of higher education
associated with--
``(A) a State geographic alliance;
``(B) a nonprofit educational organization;
``(C) a State educational agency or local
educational agency; or
``(D) a partnership between or among an alliance,
organization, or agency described in subparagraph (A),
(B) or (C).
``(3) Subgrant uses of funds.--Eligible recipients shall
use the subgrant funds for 1 or more of the following purposes:
``(A) Conducting teacher training programs that use
effective and research-based approaches to the teaching
of geography at the kindergarten through grade 12
level.
``(B) Applying Geographic Information System (GIS)
or other geographic technological tools to the teaching
of geography.
``(C) Applying Internet and other distance leaning
technology to the teaching of geography or to the
continuing education of teachers.
``(D) Promoting rigorous academic standards and
assessment techniques to guide and measure student
performance in geography.
``(E) Promoting research in geography education,
emphasizing research that leads to improving student
achievement.
``(F) Carrying out local, field-based activities
for teachers and students to improve their knowledge of
the concepts and tools of geography while enhancing
understanding of their home region.
``(G) Promoting comparative studies of world
cultures, economies, and environments.
``(H) Encouraging replication of best practices and
model programs to promote geographic literacy.
``(I) Developing and disseminating effective,
research-based geography learning materials.
``(J) Convening State-based conferences to assess
the state of geographic literacy and to identify
strategies for improvement.
``SEC. 235. APPLICATIONS.
``(a) Grantee Applications.--To be eligible to receive a grant
under this part, the grantee shall submit to the Secretary an
application at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such
information as the Secretary may require.
``(b) Eligible Recipient Applications.--
``(1) Submission.--To be eligible to receive a subgrant
under this part, an eligible recipient shall submit an
application to the grantee at such time, in such manner and
accompanied by such information as the grantee may require.
``(2) Review.--
``(A) In general.--The grantee shall invite
individuals described in subparagraph (B) to review all
applications from eligible recipients for a subgrant
under this section and to make recommendations to the
grantee regarding the approval of the applications.
``(B) Reviewers.--The individuals referred to in
subparagraph (A) are the following:
``(i) Leaders in the field of geography
education.
``(ii) Such other individuals as the
grantee may determine are necessary or
desirable.
``SEC. 236. REQUIREMENTS.
``(a) Administrative Costs.--The grantee receiving a grant under
this part for a fiscal year, and each eligible recipient receiving a
subgrant under this part for a fiscal year, may use not more than 15
percent of the funds made available through the grant or subgrant,
respectively, for administrative costs.
``(b) Matching Requirements.--
``(1) In general.--In order to be eligible to receive a
subgrant under this part an eligible recipient shall agree in
the application submitted under section 235(b) to provide
matching funds towards the costs of the activities assisted
under the subgrant.
``(2) Amount.--An eligible recipient shall provide matching
funds in an amount equal to 20 percent of the subgrant funds
received under this part for the second and each succeeding
fiscal year for which subgrant payments are made.
``(3) Source of matching funds.--Matching funds may be
provided in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, including
facilities, staffing salaries, and educational materials.
``SEC. 237. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part
$15,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 and each of the 4 succeeding fiscal
years.''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S7991-7992)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
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