STEM Education Innovation Act of 2011 - Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to establish the Office of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education within the Department of Education to administer STEM education.
Directs the Office of STEM Education to conduct an independent evaluation of the Department's STEM Education programs at least once every five years.
Establishes an Education Innovation Project within the Department to pursue breakthrough research and development in educational technology, and facilitate the effective use of that technology to improve student achievement.
Directs the Office of STEM Education to award competitive matching grants to consortia of state-based STEM stakeholders that enable each of them to establish a state consortium on STEM education.
Require each consortium to: (1) promote STEM education research and best practices; (2) address deficiencies in state STEM education efforts and communicate state needs to the federal government; (3) support the implementation of rigorous common content standards in mathematics and science education, and the development of innovative STEM assessments based on those standards; (4) promote and develop curriculum tools and training for in-service STEM teachers; (5) develop STEM Career Awareness Programs; and (6) develop STEM-related workforce education and training programs.
[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3373 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3373
To stimulate collaboration with respect to, and provide for
coordination and coherence of, the Nation's science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics education initiatives, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 4, 2011
Mr. Honda (for himself, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Carnahan,
Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Hinchey, Mr.
McDermott, Ms. Matsui, Mr. Meeks, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Polis, Mr. Price
of North Carolina, Ms. Richardson, Mr. Rothman of New Jersey, Mr. Ryan
of Ohio, Ms. Schakowsky, and Mr. Sires) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To stimulate collaboration with respect to, and provide for
coordination and coherence of, the Nation's science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics education initiatives, and for other
purposes.
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 ``STEM Education Innovation Act of
2011''.
SEC. 2. OFFICE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS
EDUCATION WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.
(a) Assistant Secretary.--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) Office.--Title II of the Department of Education Organization
Act is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 221. OFFICE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS
EDUCATION.
``(a) In General.--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) Responsibilities.--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) Evaluation and Report.--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) student academic achievement in mathematics
and science; and
``(C) the increased number of highly qualified STEM
teachers; 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 Science of the Senate, the Committee on Education
and the Workforce and the Committee on Science and Technology
of the House of Representatives, and the Committees on
Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated $1,500,000 to carry out this section for fiscal year 2013
and such sums as may be necessary for each fiscal year thereafter.''.
SEC. 3. EDUCATION INNOVATION PROJECT.
Title II of the Department of Education Organization Act is further
amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 221. EDUCATION INNOVATION PROJECT.
``(a) Establishment.--There shall be in the Department an Education
Innovation Project (referred to in this section as `EIP').
``(b) Purposes.--EIP 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) identifying and promoting revolutionary advances in
fundamental and applied sciences and engineering that could be
translated into new learning technologies;
``(2) developing novel learning technologies, and the
enabling processes and contexts for effective use of those
technologies;
``(3) developing, testing, and evaluating the impact and
efficacy of those technologies;
``(4) 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;
``(5) coordinating activities with nongovernmental entities
to demonstrate technologies and research applications to
facilitate technology transfer; and
``(6) encouraging educational research using new
technologies and the data produced by the technologies.
``(c) Authorities of Secretary.--The Secretary is authorized to--
``(1) appoint a Director, who shall be responsible for
carrying out the purposes of EIP, 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 EIP 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) make appointments of up to 20 scientific,
engineering, professional, and other mission-related employees,
for periods of up to 4 years (which appointments may not be
renewed) without regard to the provisions of title 5, United
States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service;
``(5)(A) prescribe the rates of basic pay for the personnel
described in paragraph (4) at rates not in excess of the
maximum rate of basic pay authorized for senior-level positions
under section 5376 of title 5, United States Code,
notwithstanding any provision of that title governing the rates
of basic pay or classification of employees in the executive
branch, but those personnel shall not receive any payment for
service (such as an award, premium payment, incentive payment
or bonus, allowance, or other similar payment) under any other
provision of that title; and
``(B) pay any employee appointed pursuant to paragraph (4)
payments in addition to that basic pay, except that the total
amount of those payments for any calendar year shall not exceed
the lesser of--
``(i) $25,000; or
``(ii) the difference between the employee's annual
rate of basic pay under paragraph (4) and the annual
rate for level I of the Executive Schedule under
section 5312 of title 5, United States Code, based on
the rates in effect at the end of the applicable
calendar year (or, if the employee separated during
that year, on the date of separation);
``(6) obtain independent, periodic, rigorous evaluations,
as appropriate, of--
``(A) the effectiveness of the processes EIP is
using to achieve its purposes; and
``(B) the effectiveness of individual projects
assisted by EIP, using evidence standards developed in
consultation with the Institute of Education Sciences,
and the suitability of ongoing projects assisted by EIP
for further investment or increased scale; and
``(7) 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 EIP support.
``(d) Evaluation Funds.--The Secretary may use funds made available
for EIP to pay the cost of the evaluations under subsection (c)(6).
``(e) Federal Advisory Committee Act.--Notwithstanding 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.
``(f) Nonduplication.--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 EIP do not duplicate activities under programs carried out
under Federal law other than this section by the Department or other
Federal agencies.''.
SEC. 4. STATE CONSORTIUM ON SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND
MATHEMATICS EDUCATION.
(a) In General.--From amounts made available to carry out this
section, the Secretary of Education, acting through the Office of STEM
Education, shall award competitive grants to eligible consortia to
enable each such eligible consortium to establish a State Consortium on
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education (which may
be referred to in this section as a ``State Consortium on STEM
Education'').
(b) Eligible Consortium Defined.--In this section, the term
``eligible consortium'' means a State-based STEM council, network,
group, or advisory board which includes the participation of State
officials, educators, administrators, parents, business leaders, and
representatives from the science and engineering communities who have
formed to increase student achievement in the STEM areas in their
State.
(c) Peer Review and Selection.--The Secretary shall--
(1) establish a peer-review process to assist in the review
and approval of the grant proposals submitted by eligible
consortia under this section; and
(2) with the assistance of the peer-review process, approve
grants from the grant proposals submitted under this section
not later than 120 days after the deadline for submission of
such proposals established by the Secretary, unless the
Secretary determines that the grant proposals submitted do not
meet the requirements of this section.
(d) Total Amount of Grants.--The total amount of grants made under
this section in any fiscal year may not exceed $20,000,000.
(e) Use of Grant Funds.--Each eligible consortium receiving a grant
under this section shall use the grant funds awarded under this section
to establish a State consortium on STEM education to carry out the
following:
(1) To support at least one full-time staff member for each
State.
(2) To test, validate, share, and scale STEM education
research, promising practices, and exemplary programs among
members of the consortium and with other State consortia on
STEM education established under this section.
(3) To identify points of weakness and strength among State
STEM education efforts, prioritize strategies for addressing
problem areas, and communicate State needs to the STEM
Education Committee within the OSTP and the Assistant Secretary
for STEM Education.
(4) To assist in the implementation of rigorous common
content standards in mathematics and science education for
grades prekindergarten through grade 12, which reflect common
elements between such disciplines and take into consideration--
(A) established international standards and 21st
century skills; and
(B) the needs of English language learners and
special education students.
(5) To assist and support, the development and
implementation of innovative STEM assessments based on common
content standards in mathematics and science.
(6) To promote and develop curriculum tools and
professional development for in-service STEM teachers that
foster innovation and inventiveness.
(7) To develop STEM Career Awareness Programs in
collaboration with school guidance counselors that reflect the
projected STEM workforce needs of the 21st century that may
include mentoring programs and STEM professional outreach.
(8) To develop STEM-related workforce education and
training programs to enhance the skills of workers to meet the
needs of business and industry.
(f) Matching Requirement.--In order to receive a grant under this
section, an eligible consortium 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.
(g) Evaluation and Report.--Each State Consortium on STEM Education
established under this section shall--
(1) conduct periodic independent evaluations, by grant or
by contract, of the State Consortium on STEM Education's
effectiveness at accomplishing the activities described in
subsection (e), 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 Assistant
Secretary of STEM Education.
(h) Prohibitions.--In implementing this section, the Secretary may
not--
(1) endorse, approve, or sanction any STEM curriculum
designed for use in any elementary school or secondary school;
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.
(i) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The terms ``elementary school'', ``local educational
agency'', and ``secondary school'' 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 ``Office of STEM Education'' means the Office
of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education
of the Department of Education.
(3) The term ``OSTP'' means the Office of Science and
Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President.
(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.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E2006-2007)
Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
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