STEM for STEM Act

Spurring Teacher Education Movement for STEM Act or the STEM for STEM Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that:

• the United States should be at the forefront of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education;
• students in low-income and rural areas have limited access to STEM resources;
• teachers should have high-quality professional development opportunities in STEM; and
• teacher professional development should provide strategies for integrating STEM education across all demographics.

Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow local educational agencies to use grant funds under the Rural and Low-Income School program to train teachers to provide STEM education.

[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4973 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4973

  To amend the rural and low-income program under the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 to include professional development in 
                STEM education, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 25, 2014

  Mr. Pearce introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the rural and low-income program under the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 to include professional development in 
                STEM education, 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 ``Spurring Teacher Education Movement 
for STEM Act'' or the ``STEM for STEM Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The National Center for Education Statistics found that 
        high school students from 29 nations performed better in math 
        than high school students from the United States.
            (2) High school students from 22 nations performed better 
        in science than high school students from the United States.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the United States should be at the forefront of 
        education for science, technology, engineering, and math (in 
        this section referred to as ``STEM'');
            (2) students in low income and rural areas have limited 
        access to STEM resources;
            (3) teachers should have high-quality professional 
        development opportunities in STEM to increase their content 
        knowledge and improve student learning; and
            (4) teacher professional development should provide 
        strategies for integrating STEM education across all 
        demographics.

SEC. 3. USES OF FUNDS FOR RURAL AND LOW-INCOME SCHOOL PROGRAM.

    Section 6222(a)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7351a(a)(2)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and to'' and inserting ``, to''; and
            (2) by adding before the period at the end the following: 
        ``, and to train teachers in the area of science, technology, 
        engineering, and math education''.
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