Elementary Educator STEM Content Coach Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to award grants to states and, through them, subgrants to partnerships between local educational agencies and public or nonprofit organizations to carry out professional development training programs for elementary school teachers that have at least three years of classroom teaching experience and exhibit content knowledge in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.
Refers to those teachers as STEM Coaches.
Requires grant applicants to have adopted college- and career-ready standards in the STEM disciplines.
Requires public or nonprofit subgrantees to have expertise in developing or implementing before school, after school, summer learning, or expanded learning time activities for students.
Requires the professional development training programs to: (1) give STEM Coaches a deep understanding of the principles and concepts of the STEM disciplines; (2) create enthusiasm for the STEM disciplines; (3) provide opportunities for collaboration and teacher mentoring among STEM Coaches and between STEM Coaches and other teachers; and (4) allow STEM Coaches to connect student learning in the STEM disciplines to real-life applications, to out of school programs, and across the curriculum.
Directs the Secretary to plan a national evaluation of the professional development training program for STEM Coaches.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1090 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1090
To establish an Elementary Educator Science, Technology, Engineering,
and Mathematics (STEM) Content Coach program.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 12, 2013
Mr. Honda (for himself, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Conyers, Mr.
Ellison, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Payne, Mr. Rangel, and Mr. Takano)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Education and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish an Elementary Educator Science, Technology, Engineering,
and Mathematics (STEM) Content Coach program.
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 ``Elementary Educator STEM Content
Coach Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Numerous recent reports by national advisory groups,
including the President's Council of Advisors on Science and
Technology (PCAST) and committees of the National Academies,
have highlighted the need to raise student achievement in
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields
to enable the United States to maintain its competitive edge in
the global economy.
(2) The PCAST report entitled ``Prepare and Inspire: K-12
Education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)
for America's Future'' states, ``The most important factor in
ensuring excellence is great STEM teachers, with both deep
content knowledge in STEM subjects and mastery of the
pedagogical skills required to teach these subjects well.''.
(3) The PCAST report also recommends that the Federal
Government should support the professional development of all
teachers to help them achieve deep STEM content knowledge and
mastery of STEM pedagogy.
(4) The National Academy of Sciences finds that school
districts need to enhance the capacity of kindergarten through
grade 12 teachers with content knowledge and expertise in
teaching in order to successfully promote effective STEM
education in those grades.
(5) The Center for American Progress finds that improving
the elementary school teacher's knowledge of STEM-related
facts, concepts, and procedures is vital to our Nation's global
competitiveness in the 21st century.
SEC. 3. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to create a cohort of elementary
educators with a deep content knowledge in STEM disciplines by
providing professional development to elementary educators.
SEC. 4. ELEMENTARY EDUCATOR STEM CONTENT COACH GRANT PROGRAM.
From amounts appropriated under section 9, the Secretary of
Education shall award grants to State educational agencies to award
subgrants to eligible entities to carry out professional development
training programs for STEM Coaches.
SEC. 5. GRANTS TO STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.
To be eligible to receive a grant under this Act, a State
educational agency shall submit an application to the Secretary at such
time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary
may require, which shall include--
(1) a list of the eligible entities the State educational
agency has selected to receive a subgrant under this program;
and
(2) assurances that the State educational agency has
adopted college- and career-ready standards in STEM
disciplines.
SEC. 6. SUBGRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.
(a) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a subgrant under this
Act, an eligible entity shall submit an application to the State
educational agency at such time, in such manner, and containing such
information as the State educational agency may require, which shall
include--
(1) an identification of the number of STEM Coaches and the
schools at which the STEM Coaches teach;
(2) a description of the qualifications of the STEM
Coaches;
(3) assurances that the eligible entity will make
reasonable efforts to place STEM Coaches that complete the
professional development training program described in this
section in positions at a school served by the local
educational agency that receives the subgrant; and
(4) a description of the plan for offering a research-based
professional development training program to STEM Coaches,
which may include--
(A) training in STEM disciplines which may include
science, technology, computer science, engineering
design, mathematics, and computational thinking;
(B) methods to integrate such disciplines into the
curriculum;
(C) methods to increase skills and knowledge of
pedagogy for effective STEM teaching;
(D) techniques for engaging historically
underachieving or underrepresented groups in STEM
fields, such as girls, minorities, low-income students,
English language learners, and students with
disabilities;
(E) educational and instructional leadership
training; and
(F) opportunities for teacher mentoring and
collaboration.
(b) Benefits of Professional Development.--The professional
development training program described in subsection (a)(4) shall be
designed to--
(1) give STEM Coaches a deep understanding of the
principles and concepts of STEM disciplines;
(2) create enthusiasm for the teaching and learning of STEM
disciplines;
(3) provide opportunities for collaboration and teacher
mentoring among STEM Coaches and between STEM Coaches and other
teachers; and
(4) allow STEM Coaches to connect student learning in STEM
disciplines--
(A) to real-life applications;
(B) to out of school programs; and
(C) across the curriculum.
(c) Subgrant Period.--An eligible entity awarded a subgrant under
this Act shall conduct the professional development training program
described in this section for a period of not less than 3 successive
school years.
(d) Requirements for Additional Funding.--An eligible entity
awarded a subgrant under this Act shall receive funds for the second
half of the subgrant period described in subsection (c) upon
demonstration to the Secretary that the eligible entity is making
progress in implementing the professional development training program
described in this section at a rate that the Secretary determines will
result in full implementation of such program.
SEC. 7. EVALUATION AND REPORT.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall develop a plan for a national
evaluation of the Elementary Educator STEM Content Coach program that
evaluates--
(1) the implementation of the program; and
(2) the results achieved by eligible entities at the end of
the 3-year subgrant period.
(b) Reports to Congress.--Not later than September 1 of the first
year beginning after the end of the subgrant periods, the Secretary
shall submit a report describing the results of the evaluation under
subsection (a) to the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the
Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, and to the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the Committee
on Appropriations of the Senate.
SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) ESEA definitions.--The terms ``community-based
organization'' ``elementary school'', ``institution of higher
education'' ``local educational agency'', ``professional
development'', ``Secretary'', ``State educational agency'', and
``teacher mentoring'' have the meanings given those terms in
section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
(2) College- and career-ready standards.--The term
``college- and career-ready standards'' has the meaning given
the term in the notice entitled ``Application for New Awards;
Race to the Top-District'' published by the Department of
Education on August 16, 2012 (77 Fed. Reg. 49654).
(3) Elementary educator.--The term ``elementary educator''
means a teacher who--
(A) teaches in a public elementary school in a
State;
(B) has at least 3 years of classroom teaching
experience;
(C) has obtained full certification as a teacher in
such State, or holds a license to teach in such State,
in 1 or more grades from prekindergarten through grade
6; and
(D) exhibits content knowledge in STEM fields.
(4) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means a
partnership of--
(A) 1 or more local educational agencies; and
(B) 1 or more public or nonprofit organizations,
which may include institutions of higher education and
community-based organizations, with a demonstrated
record of success in designing and implementing before
school, after school, summer learning, or expanded
learning time activities for students.
(5) State.--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) STEM.--The term ``STEM'' means science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics.
(7) STEM coach.--The term ``STEM Coach'' means an
elementary educator who participates in or has participated in
the Elementary Educator STEM Content Coach program under this
Act.
SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of
Education such sums as are necessary for fiscal years 2014 through 2018
to carry out this Act.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
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