STEM Master Teacher Corps Act of 2013 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award competitive matching grants to consortia of local educational agencies (LEAs) or states, acting in partnership with institutions of higher education or nonprofit organizations to establish a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) Master Teacher Corps program.
Requires grantees to: (1) select exemplary elementary and secondary school STEM teachers for membership in the STEM Master Teacher Corps; (2) provide those teachers with compensation that supplements their base salaries, with higher compensation going to those teaching at high-need public schools; (3) provide, and track the effectiveness of, research-based training for Corps members; (4) provide discretionary resources for Corps members at high-need schools to use; (5) help coordinate instructional leadership and mentoring roles for Corps members; and (6) facilitate efforts by Corps members to inform STEM education policy at the national, state, and local levels.
Gives grant priority to applicants that intend to include: (1) large numbers of teachers in the STEM Master Teacher Corps; and (2) rural schools, particularly high-need rural schools, in the area they serve.
Requires grantees to ensure that at least 75% of their STEM Master Teacher Corps are teachers at high-need schools.
Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences, to: (1) evaluate the STEM Master Teacher Corps program; (2) identify optimal strategies for designing and advancing such program; and (3) identify best practices for developing, supporting, and retaining STEM teachers based on lessons learned from the program.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 358 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 358
To establish a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Master
Teacher Corps program.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 14, 2013
Mr. Franken (for himself, Mrs. Murray, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Nelson, Mr.
Johnson of South Dakota, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Cardin, and Ms. Warren)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Master
Teacher Corps 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 ``STEM Master Teacher Corps Act of
2013''.
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 and National Academies' committees, have highlighted
the need to raise student achievement in STEM fields to enable
the United States to maintain its competitive edge in the
global economy.
(2) Success in the American workforce increasingly requires
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics skills.
(3) According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will
be 6,750,000 STEM-related job openings by 2020, as defined by
the Occupational Information Network.
(4) Recent standardized tests show United States students'
mathematics and science performance is only average or below
average compared with their international peers. According to
the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study,
60 percent of U.S. eighth graders failed to meet the
intermediate international benchmark in mathematics and 27
percent failed to reach the same benchmark in science.
(5) Too few American students graduate from high school
with the interest and the preparation to successfully pursue
STEM degrees in college. Well over half of college students in
China and Japan major in STEM fields, compared with only a
third of U.S. students.
(6) Several researchers, including at Stanford University,
have found that the effects of well-prepared teachers on
student achievement can be stronger than the influences of
student background factors, such as poverty, language
background, and minority status.
(7) The Harvard Graduate School of Education report ``Who
Stays in Teaching and Why'' cites research that shows more
young people would consider teaching if it offered more
opportunities for advancement, and that if schools fail to
offer teachers these opportunities throughout their teaching
careers, they may risk losing them permanently. It also reports
that well implemented mentoring and induction programs provide
the support novices need to feel satisfied and remain in their
schools.
(8) Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have
found that STEM teachers migrate within the teaching profession
to better paying jobs at better-funded schools, resulting in
local imbalances and leaving schools in high-poverty
communities struggling to find knowledgeable teachers.
(9) Individuals with strong STEM skills have opportunities
for more lucrative careers outside of teaching. According to
the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD), the United States ranks in the bottom third of OECD
countries in terms of teacher salary relative to other
occupations requiring tertiary education. Furthermore, data
from the National Association of Colleges and Employers show
the average salary offered to recent college graduates in 2012
in certain STEM-related fields was up to $20,000 higher than
that offered to new secondary school teachers and up to $23,000
higher than that offered to new elementary school and middle
school teachers.
SEC. 3. STEM MASTER TEACHER CORPS.
(a) In General.--Subpart 5 of part A of title II of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6651 et seq.) is
amended--
(1) by inserting before section 2151 the following:
``CHAPTER A--NATIONAL ACTIVITIES OF DEMONSTRATED EFFECTIVENESS'';
and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``CHAPTER B--STEM MASTER TEACHER CORPS
``SEC. 2155. PURPOSE.
``The purpose of this chapter is to establish a STEM Master Teacher
Corps program that--
``(1) elevates the status of the STEM teaching profession
by recognizing and rewarding outstanding STEM teachers;
``(2) attracts and retains effective STEM teachers,
particularly in high-need schools, by offering them additional
compensation, instructional resources, and instructional
leadership roles; and
``(3) creates a network of outstanding STEM teacher-leaders
who will--
``(A) share best practices and resources;
``(B) take on leadership responsibilities in their
schools, districts, States (if part of the
participating area), or consortia with the authority to
provide professional support to their STEM colleagues
not participating in the STEM Master Teacher Corps;
``(C) aid in the development and retention of
beginning teachers by serving as their role models and
providing them with instructional support; and
``(D) inform the development of STEM education
policy.
``SEC. 2156. DEFINITIONS.
``In this chapter:
``(1) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means a
consortium of local educational agencies or 1 or more State
educational agencies, acting in partnership with 1 or more--
``(A) institutions of higher education; or
``(B) nonprofit organizations with a demonstrated
record of success in preparing or improving the
effectiveness of STEM teachers.
``(2) High-need school.--The term `high-need school' means
a public school, which may be a public charter school, that
meets 1 or more of the following criteria:
``(A) Not less than 40 percent of the students
enrolled at the school--
``(i) receive or are eligible to receive a
free or reduced price lunch under the Richard
B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C.
1751 et seq.); or
``(ii) are from low-income families, as
determined using 1 of the measures of poverty
specified under section 1113(a)(5).
``(B) The school is among the lowest performing 10
percent of schools in the State in which it is located.
``(C) In the case of a public high school, the
school has a graduation rate of 65 percent or less.
``(D) In the case of a public school containing
middle grades, the school feeds into a public high
school that has a graduation rate of 65 percent or
less.
``(3) Participating area.--The term `participating area'
means--
``(A) in the case of an eligible entity that
includes a State educational agency or consortium of
State educational agencies, the State or States; or
``(B) in the case of an eligible entity that
includes a consortium of local educational agencies,
the area served by such agencies.
``(4) Rural school.--The term `rural school' means a public
school--
``(A) designated with a school locale code of
Distant Town, Remote Town, Fringe Rural, Distant Rural,
or Remote Rural; and
``(B) served by a local educational agency in which
not less than two-thirds of the students served by the
agency attend a school designated with 1 of the school
locale codes listed in subparagraph (A).
``(5) STEM.--The term `STEM' means science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics.
``SEC. 2157. STEM MASTER TEACHER CORPS PROGRAM.
``(a) In General.--
``(1) Grants authorized.--The Secretary, in consultation
with the Director of the National Science Foundation and the
heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, as determined by
the Secretary, shall establish a STEM Master Teacher Corps
program by awarding, on a competitive basis, 1 or more grants
of not less than $15,000,000 each to eligible entities to
enable the eligible entities to establish the program, in
accordance with section 2159.
``(2) Planning grants.--The Secretary may award planning
grants to eligible entities to enable the entities to make
plans to establish the program, in accordance with section
2159.
``(b) Duration of Grant.--
``(1) In general.--A grant awarded under this chapter shall
be for a period of not more than 5 years.
``(2) Review.--The Secretary shall--
``(A) review, 3 years after an eligible entity is
awarded a grant under this chapter, the performance of
the entity during the 3-year period; and
``(B) fund the remaining grant period for such
entity if the Secretary determines, based on such
review, that the entity is achieving satisfactory
results.
``(c) Matching Requirement.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), an
eligible entity that receives a grant under this chapter shall
provide, from non-Federal sources, an amount equal to not less
than 50 percent of the amount of the grant, which may be
provided in cash or in-kind, to carry out the activities
supported by the grant.
``(2) Exception.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary may waive the 50
percent matching requirement under paragraph (1) for an
eligible entity that the Secretary determines is unable
to meet such requirement. The Secretary shall set a
matching requirement for such eligible entities
according to the sliding scale described in
subparagraph (B).
``(B) Sliding scale.--The amount of a match under
subparagraph (A) shall be established based on a
sliding fee scale that takes into account--
``(i) the relative poverty of the
population to be targeted by the eligible
entity; and
``(ii) the ability of the eligible entity
to obtain such matching funds.
``(3) Consideration.--The Secretary shall not consider an
eligible entity's ability to match funds when determining which
eligible entities will receive grant awards under this chapter.
``SEC. 2158. APPLICATION.
``(a) In General.--An eligible entity desiring a grant under this
chapter shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in
such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may
require.
``(b) Contents.--An application submitted under this section shall
include--
``(1) a description of the STEM Master Teacher Corps
program that the eligible entity intends to carry out,
including the number of Corps members the entity intends to
select, the intended distribution of subjects and grade levels
taught, the geographic and economic characteristics of the
local educational agencies that are part of the participating
area, such as the rural-urban continuum codes and proportion of
high-need schools served, and the type of activities proposed
for recruitment of Corps members;
``(2) a description of the roles and responsibilities that
each participating local educational agency, State, institution
of higher education, or nonprofit organization, as applicable,
will have;
``(3) a demonstration that the entity has sufficient
capacity to carry out the activities described in section 2159;
``(4) a description of the member selection process and
criteria that the applicant will use to select members of the
STEM Master Teacher Corps, in accordance with section 2159(b);
``(5) a description of how the eligible entity intends to
facilitate networking and sharing of best practices and
educational resources relating to STEM education among Corps
members, particularly at rural schools, if applicable, and make
a selection of these best practices and resources more widely
available to other teachers and the STEM educational community,
including through electronic means;
``(6) a demonstration that the entity has a clear plan
for--
``(A) offering research-based professional
development to Corps members, including training on
instructional leadership, mentoring, engaging and
effectively teaching historically underachieving or
underrepresented groups in STEM fields, such as girls,
minorities, low-income students, English language
learners, and students with disabilities, and effective
STEM teaching methods, such as incorporating hands-on
STEM projects into their lesson plans; and
``(B) tracking the effectiveness of such
professional development;
``(7) a demonstration that the entity has a clear plan for
evaluating the impact of the professional support provided by
STEM Master Teacher Corps members to other teachers in their
school, district, State (if part of the participating area), or
consortium;
``(8) a description of how the local educational agencies
and schools served by the eligible entity intend to align STEM
Master Teacher Corps members' duties with school systems and
activities already in place, if applicable, such as
professional development and mentoring;
``(9) an explanation of how STEM Master Teacher Corps
members will be afforded the time, authority, and resources to
fulfill requirements under the program, and how other teachers
will be afforded the time to receive professional support from
Corps members;
``(10) a demonstration that the entity has a clear plan for
oversight to ensure that STEM Master Teacher Corps members
carry out the responsibilities described in section 2159(c) to
the fullest extent practicable, and a description of the
actions to be taken if a member does not carry out such
responsibilities; and
``(11) a description of how the grant funds will be
financially managed.
``(c) Criteria for Awarding Grants.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall award grants under
this chapter on the basis of merit considering, at a minimum,
the following:
``(A) The extent to which the local educational
agencies that are part of the eligible entity are
committed to integrating the program into existing
school structures, policies, operations, and budgets,
such as by enabling STEM Master Teacher Corps members
to take on leadership roles in their schools,
districts, States, if part of the participating area,
or consortia, in addition to their classroom duties,
including assisting in the development and
implementation of professional development activities
and driving the instructional program of the school.
``(B) The quality of the proposed professional
development, teacher leadership and mentorship
activities, and networking opportunities.
``(C) Demonstration that the local educational
agencies and schools they serve have removed barriers
to full participation in the program, including
affording Corps members and the teachers they mentor
the time to participate in activities required by the
program.
``(D) The number and quality of the individuals
that will be served by the program.
``(E) The capacity of the eligible entity to
effectively carry out the program.
``(2) Priority.--In awarding grants under this chapter, the
Secretary shall give priority to--
``(A) eligible entities that intend to include
large numbers of teachers in the STEM Master Teacher
Corps; and
``(B) eligible entities that intend to include
rural schools, particularly high-need rural schools, in
the participating area to be served.
``SEC. 2159. REQUIRED USE OF FUNDS.
``(a) In General.--An eligible entity receiving a grant under this
chapter shall use grant funds to--
``(1) administer the selection of teachers for membership
in the STEM Master Teacher Corps, in accordance with the
requirements of subsection (b);
``(2) provide compensation to each public school teacher
who is selected and serves as a member of the STEM Master
Teacher Corps, in recognition of the teacher's teaching
accomplishments, leadership, and increased responsibilities,
which amount shall--
``(A) supplement, and not supplant, the teacher's
base salary; and
``(B) be equal to--
``(i) in the case of a teacher who teaches
at a high-need public school, including a high-
need charter school, $15,000 per year for each
year the teacher serves as a member of the
Corps; and
``(ii) in the case of a teacher who teaches
at a public school, including a charter school,
that is not a high-need school, $5,000 per year
for each year the teacher serves as a member of
the Corps;
``(3) provide research-based professional development
activities for members of the STEM Master Teacher Corps, as
described in subsection 2158(b)(6), and track the effectiveness
of such professional development in order to determine whether
to alter professional development activities;
``(4) provide discretionary resources for STEM Master
Teacher Corps members at high-need public schools to use in
their classrooms and schools, including for afterschool
activities, to enrich STEM education and to facilitate long-
distance networking, mentoring, and sharing of best practices,
including equipment and technology;
``(5) assist in coordinating instructional leadership roles
for STEM Master Teacher Corps members and mentoring
relationships between STEM Master Teacher Corps members and
other teachers in the same school, school district, State, if
part of the participating area, or consortium in which the
Corps members serve as instructional leaders;
``(6) facilitate efforts by STEM Master Teacher Corps
members to inform STEM education policy at the national, State,
and local levels;
``(7) help defray costs associated with affording STEM
Master Teacher Corps members the time to fulfill their duties
as Corps members; and
``(8) support other activities that advance the purpose of
this chapter.
``(b) Selecting Members of the STEM Master Teacher Corps.--
``(1) Selection criteria for corps members.--The eligible
entity shall select, as members of the STEM Master Teacher
Corps, exemplary STEM teachers at the elementary school and
secondary school levels who teach in the participating area,
which may also include special education teachers and teachers
of English language learners who teach a STEM subject. In
selecting the members, the eligible entity shall--
``(A) make decisions based on the teacher's--
``(i) ability to improve student academic
achievement in the STEM fields, as demonstrated
by, if applicable, student academic growth in
such fields;
``(ii) ability to enhance student
engagement in such fields;
``(iii) record of leadership in the
teacher's school and involvement in
professional and outreach activities;
``(iv) record of teaching students not on
grade level or not on track to graduate college
and career ready; and
``(v) demonstrated ability to facilitate
student academic achievement growth with the
students described in clause (iv), where such
measures are available; and
``(B) evaluate the teacher's ability and record
based on multiple measures, such as--
``(i) teacher evaluations of pedagogical
skills;
``(ii) an assessment of content knowledge;
``(iii) the performance and improvement of
the teacher's students on tests;
``(iv) demonstration of practical
professional experience in the teacher's
discipline, such as having worked in industry
or research;
``(v) involvement in STEM discipline
professional societies;
``(vi) STEM outreach and community
involvement; and
``(vii) certification by the National Board
for Professional Teaching Standards, or other
equivalently rigorous, performance-based, peer-
reviewed certification, as a high-performing
teacher.
``(2) Overall corps membership requirements.--An eligible
entity receiving a grant under this chapter shall ensure that--
``(A) not more than 5 percent of the STEM teachers
who teach in the participating area are members of the
Corps;
``(B) not less than 75 percent of the STEM Master
Teacher Corps members are teachers at high-need
schools;
``(C) the proportion of STEM Master Teacher Corps
members in the participating area who teach at rural
high-need schools is not less than the proportion of
all teachers who teach at rural high-need schools in
the participating area;
``(D) there are multiple cohorts of STEM Master
Teacher Corps members; and
``(E) the STEM Master Teacher Corps includes
teachers from each of science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics, if teachers from each of these
disciplines meeting the standards of Corps membership
are available in the participating area.
``(3) Participation of private school teachers.--An
eligible entity may select STEM teachers who teach at private
schools in the participating area to be members of the STEM
Master Teacher Corps, except that--
``(A) not more than 5 percent of teachers selected
as STEM Master Teacher Corps members shall be teachers
at private schools; and
``(B) private school teachers shall not be eligible
for compensation described in subsection (a)(2),
discretionary resource funds described in subsection
(a)(4), or for defrayment funds described in subsection
(a)(7).
``(c) Corps Member Requirements.--Each teacher selected to be a
member of the STEM Master Teacher Corps who wishes to join the Corps
shall enter into an agreement with the eligible entity, under which the
teacher shall, as a condition of receiving the compensation described
in subsection (a)(2) and the discretionary resources described in
subsection (a)(4), agree to carry out the responsibilities of a master
teacher as required by the eligible entity, including--
``(1) participating in professional development activities
offered by the program;
``(2) networking and sharing best practices and educational
resources with other members of the STEM Master Teacher Corps;
and
``(3) contributing to the professional development of the
teacher's colleagues, which may include providing school-based
professional support to other STEM teachers through regular
weekly professional development sessions and individual
coaching, where possible, leading professional learning
communities, and taking on other instructional leadership roles
in the teacher's school, district, State, if part of the
participating area, or consortium.
``(d) Collection for Noncompliance.--
``(1) Monitoring compliance.--Each eligible entity that
receives a grant under this chapter shall monitor whether each
teacher the entity selects to be a member of the STEM Master
Teacher Corps is in compliance with the Corps member
requirements described in subsection (c).
``(2) Collection of repayment.--
``(A) In general.--A teacher selected to be a
member of the STEM Master Teacher Corps shall repay the
additional compensation provided for a school year
described in subsection (a)(2) to the eligible entity
if--
``(i) the entity finds the teacher not in
compliance with the Corps member requirements
described in subsection (c) and the entity
determines the teacher should no longer be a
member of the Corps for such year; or
``(ii) the teacher withdraws during such
year from membership in the Corps without an
accepted excuse, as determined by the eligible
entity.
``(B) Compensation returned to the treasury.--
``(i) In general.--Except as provided in
clause (ii), an eligible entity that receives
repaid compensation under subparagraph (A)
shall return such compensation to the United
States Treasury.
``(ii) Administrative costs.--An eligible
entity that receives repaid compensation under
subparagraph (A) may retain a percentage,
determined by the Secretary, of such repayment
to defray administrative costs associated with
the collection.
``SEC. 2160. REPORT AND EVALUATION.
``(a) Administrative and Reporting Costs.--Of the amounts
appropriated for this chapter for any fiscal year, the Secretary may
use not more than 6 percent of the funds appropriated for such fiscal
year for administrative costs and report and evaluation costs under
this section, except that the Secretary may use not more than 3 percent
of the funds appropriated for such fiscal year for administrative
costs.
``(b) Reports to the Secretary.--
``(1) In general.--Each eligible entity receiving a grant
under this chapter shall provide an annual report to the
Secretary that--
``(A) summarizes the activities assisted under the
grant and program outcomes; and
``(B) includes, with respect to each member of the
STEM Master Teacher Corps, the following:
``(i) The name of the member.
``(ii) The school at which the member
teaches and the location of such school.
``(iii) The subject area the teacher
teaches.
``(iv) The grade level the teacher teaches.
``(2) Publication.--Each eligible entity receiving a grant
under this chapter shall publicize the information described in
paragraph (1)(B).
``(c) IES Evaluation.--The Secretary, acting through the Director
of the Institute of Education Sciences, shall--
``(1) evaluate the implementation and impact of the program
under this chapter, particularly with regard to the program's
success in achieving the purpose described in section 2155;
``(2) identify optimal strategies for the design,
implementation, and continuing development of the STEM Master
Teacher Corps program; and
``(3) identify best practices for developing, supporting,
and retaining STEM teachers based on lessons learned from the
program.
``(d) Dissemination.--The Secretary shall disseminate findings from
the evaluation conducted under subsection (c) to the STEM education
field and make the findings publicly available.
``(e) Reports to Congress.--Not later than 4 years after the
establishment of the program under this chapter, and not later than 2
years thereafter, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the
Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Science,
Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, a report that
summarizes--
``(1) the activities assisted under the program under this
chapter;
``(2) the outcomes of the program; and
``(3) any recommendations regarding changes to, the
termination of, or the continuation and expansion of the
program.
``SEC. 2161. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this chapter
$35,000,000 for fiscal year 2014 and such sums as may be necessary for
each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents in section 2 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended--
(1) by inserting after the item relating to subpart 5 of
part A of title II the following:
``Chapter A--National Activities of Demonstrated Effectiveness'';
and
(2) by inserting after the item relating to section 2151
the following:
``Chapter B--STEM Master Teacher Corps
``Sec. 2155. Purpose.
``Sec. 2156. Definitions.
``Sec. 2157. STEM Master Teacher Corps Program.
``Sec. 2158. Application.
``Sec. 2159. Required use of funds.
``Sec. 2160. Report and evaluation.
``Sec. 2161. Authorization of appropriations.''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
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