II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3510 

To amend the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 to 

authorize grants for Partnerships for Access to Laboratory Science (PALS). 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 14, 2006 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself and Mr. ALLEN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the National Science Foundation Authorization 

Act of 2002 to authorize grants for Partnerships for 

Access to Laboratory Science (PALS). 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 Section 5(e) of the National Science Foundation Au5 thorization Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–368; 116 Stat. 

6 3039) is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(e) FISCAL YEAR 2007.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

2 appropriated to the Foundation $9,839,262,000 for 

3 fiscal year 2007. 

4 ‘‘(2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATION.—Of the amounts 

5 appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1), 

6 $50,000,000 shall be for the Partnerships for Access 

7 to Laboratory Sciences described in section 10A.’’. 

8 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR PARTNERSHIPS FOR ACCESS 

9 TO LABORATORY SCIENCES. 

10 Section 8 of the National Science Foundation Au11 thorization Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–368; 116 Stat. 

12 3043) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(12) PARTNERSHIPS FOR ACCESS TO LABORA14 TORY SCIENCE (PALS).—The partnerships for access 

15 to laboratory science described in section 10A.’’. 

16 SEC. 3. PARTNERSHIPS FOR ACCESS TO LABORATORY 

17 SCIENCE DESCRIBED. 

18 The National Science Foundation Authorization Act 

19 of 2002 (Public Law 107–368; 116 Stat. 3043) is amend20 ed by inserting after section 10 the following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 10A. PARTNERSHIPS FOR ACCESS TO LABORATORY 

22 SCIENCE (PALS). 

23 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) AUTHORITY TO MAKE GRANTS.—The 

2 Director shall carry out a program to award 

3 grants to high-need local educational agencies 

4 to establish partnerships for access to labora5 tory science to improve laboratories and provide 

6 instrumentation as part of a comprehensive 

7 program to enhance the quality of mathematics, 

8 science, engineering, and technology instruction 

9 at the secondary school level. 

10 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA FOR AWARDING GRANTS.— 

11 Grants shall be awarded under this section on 

12 a competitive, merit-reviewed basis. 

13 ‘‘(2) PARTNERSHIPS.—In order to be eligible to 

14 receive a grant under this section, a high-need local 

15 educational agency shall enter into a partnership 

16 that— 

17 ‘‘(A) includes an institution of higher edu18 cation or a community college; 

19 ‘‘(B) includes a business or eligible non20 profit organization; and 

21 ‘‘(C) may include a State educational agen22 cy, other public agency, National Laboratory, or 

23 community-based organization. 

24 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

25 the cost of activities carried out using amounts from 


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1 a grant under this section shall not exceed 33 per2 cent. 

3 ‘‘(4) DURATION.—A high-need local educational 

4 agency that receives approval of a grant application 

5 submitted under this section shall be eligible to re6 ceive grants under this section for activities de7 scribed in the application for a period of 3 fiscal 

8 years. 

9 ‘‘(5) PLAN REQUIRED.—In order to be eligible 

10 for a grant under this section, a high-need local edu11 cational agency shall submit to the Director a plan, 

12 developed in consultation with teachers, science ad13 ministrators, scientists, education researchers, and 

14 other individuals with expertise in laboratory science 

15 and classroom instruction, for carrying out the pro16 gram under this section. Such plan shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) describe how the proposed laboratory 

18 improvements and instrumentation are con19 sistent with State mathematics and science aca20 demic achievement standards; 

21 ‘‘(B) describe how the proposed laboratory 

22 improvement and instrumentation are part of a 

23 comprehensive program to enhance the quality 

24 of mathematics, science, engineering, and techVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:34 Jun 15, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3510.IS S3510

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1 nology instruction, including a description of 

2 how the laboratory experiences— 

3 ‘‘(i) are designed to produce clear 

4 learning outcomes; 

5 ‘‘(ii) are sequenced to complement the 

6 classroom science instruction; 

7 ‘‘(iii) are designed to integrate science 

8 learning with science content; and 

9 ‘‘(iv) will incorporate ongoing student 

10 reflection and discussion; 

11 ‘‘(C) describe professional development and 

12 training activities for teachers and school per13 sonnel who will be working in the laboratory fa14 cilities; 

15 ‘‘(D) provide assurances that all safety re16 quirements as required by State or local ordi17 nance or by the Director will be met; 

18 ‘‘(E) describe how the laboratory and in19 strumentation will be maintained after the pe20 riod of financial assistance provided under the 

21 grant; and 

22 ‘‘(F) describe how assessment methods will 

23 be used to expand the available research lit24 erature regarding the effect of laboratory 


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1 science on student understanding of scientific 

2 concepts and student achievement. 

3 ‘‘(6) USES OF FUNDS.—Grants awarded under 

4 this section— 

5 ‘‘(A) shall be used to supplement and not 

6 supplant existing programs or activities; and 

7 ‘‘(B) shall be used for activities that draw 

8 upon the expertise of all partners to improve 

9 secondary science education by improving lab10 oratories and providing instrumentation as part 

11 of a comprehensive program to enhance the 

12 quality of mathematics, science, engineering, 

13 and technology instruction at the secondary 

14 school level in a manner that is consistent with 

15 State mathematics and science student aca16 demic achievement standards, including— 

17 ‘‘(i) development of a plan for labora18 tory improvement and instrumentation 

19 that is consistent with State mathematics 

20 and science academic achievement stand21 ards; 

22 ‘‘(ii) purchase, rental, or leasing of 

23 equipment, instrumentation, and other sci24 entific educational materials; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) maintenance, renovation, and 

2 improvement of laboratory facilities; 

3 ‘‘(iv) professional development and 

4 training for teachers; 

5 ‘‘(v) development of curricula and in6 structional programs designed to integrate 

7 the laboratory experience with classroom 

8 instruction; 

9 ‘‘(vi) training in laboratory safety for 

10 a school personnel; 

11 ‘‘(vii) design and implementation of 

12 hands-on laboratory experiences to encour13 age the interest of individuals identified in 

14 section 33 or 34 of the Science and Engi15 neering Equal Opportunities Act (42 

16 U.S.C. 1885a and 1885b) in mathematics, 

17 science, engineering, and technology and 

18 help prepare such individuals to pursue 

19 postsecondary studies in these fields; 

20 ‘‘(viii) development of tools to evaluate 

21 activities funded under this subsection; and 

22 ‘‘(ix) any other activities the Director 

23 determines will accomplish the goals of this 

24 subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(7) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.—Grants 

2 awarded under this section shall not be used for con3 struction of new facilities. 

4 ‘‘(b) SELECTION PROCESS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION.—A high-need local edu6 cational agency seeking a grant under this section 

7 shall submit an application to the Director at such 

8 time, in such manner, and containing such informa9 tion as the Director may require. The application 

10 shall include, at a minimum— 

11 ‘‘(A) a description of the partnership en12 tered into under subsection (a)(2) and the role 

13 that each member will play in implementing the 

14 proposal; 

15 ‘‘(B) the plan described in subsection 

16 (a)(5); 

17 ‘‘(C) a description of each of the activities 

18 to be carried out using amounts from the grant, 

19 together with— 

20 ‘‘(i) a description of how such activi21 ties will be aligned with State mathematics 

22 and science student academic achievement 

23 standards and with other activities that 

24 promote student achievement in mathe25 matics and science; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a description of how such activi2 ties will be based on a review of relevant 

3 research, including best practices; 

4 ‘‘(iii) a description of why such activi5 ties are expected to improve student per6 formance and strengthen the quality of 

7 mathematics and science instruction; 

8 ‘‘(iv) a description of any activities 

9 that will encourage the interest of individ10 uals identified in section 33 or 34 of the 

11 Science and Engineering Equal Opportuni12 ties Act (42 U.S.C. 1885a and 1885b) in 

13 mathematics, science, engineering, and 

14 technology and how such activities will help 

15 prepare such individuals to pursue postsec16 ondary studies in these fields; and 

17 ‘‘(v) a description of how changes in 

18 student achievement will be assessed; 

19 ‘‘(D) a description of how the partnership 

20 will assess its success; and 

21 ‘‘(E) a description of how programmatic 

22 assessments will be made available to the larger 

23 research community. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—In evaluating 

2 the applications submitted under paragraph (1), the 

3 Director shall consider, at a minimum— 

4 ‘‘(A) the ability of the partnership to carry 

5 out effectively the proposed programs; 

6 ‘‘(B) the degree to which activities carried 

7 out by the partnership are based on relevant re8 search, including best practices, and are likely 

9 to result in increased student achievement; 

10 ‘‘(C) the degree to which such activities 

11 are aligned with State mathematics and science 

12 student academic achievement standards; 

13 ‘‘(D) the likelihood that the partnership 

14 will demonstrate activities that can be widely 

15 implemented as part of larger scale reform ef16 forts; and 

17 ‘‘(E) the extent to which the activities will 

18 encourage the interest of individuals identified 

19 in section 33 or 34 of the Science and Engi20 neering Equal Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 

21 1885a and 1885b) in mathematics, science, en22 gineering, and technology and will help prepare 

23 such individuals to pursue postsecondary stud24 ies in these fields. 

25 ‘‘(c) ACCOUNTABILITY AND DISSEMINATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) ASSESSMENT REQUIRED.—The Director 

2 shall evaluate the program established under this 

3 section. At a minimum, such evaluation shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) use a common set of benchmarks and 

5 assessment tools to identify best practices and 

6 materials developed and demonstrated by the 

7 partnerships; and 

8 ‘‘(B) to the extent practicable, compare the 

9 effectiveness of practices and materials devel10 oped and demonstrated by the partnerships au11 thorized under this section with those of part12 nerships funded by other State or Federal agen13 cies. 

14 ‘‘(2) DISSEMINATION.— 

15 ‘‘(A) DISSEMINATION OF RESULTS.—The 

16 Director shall make the results of the evalua17 tion required under paragraph (1) available to 

18 the public and shall provide such results to the 

19 Committee on Science and the Committee on 

20 Education and the Workforce of the House of 

21 Representatives, and to the Committee on Com22 merce, Science, and Transportation and the 

23 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

24 Pensions of the Senate. 


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1 ‘‘(B) DISSEMINATION OF MATERIALS.— 

2 The Director shall make widely available to the 

3 public materials developed under the program 

4 established under this section that are dem5 onstrated to be effective. 

6 ‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND COORDINA7 TION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—At the request 

9 of a high-need local educational agency, the Director 

10 shall provide the agency with technical assistance in 

11 meeting any requirements of this section, including 

12 providing advice from experts on how to develop— 

13 ‘‘(A) a quality application for a grant; and 

14 ‘‘(B) quality activities from funds received 

15 from a grant under this section. 

16 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL MEETING.—The Director, in con17 sultation with the Secretary of Education, shall con18 vene an annual meeting of the high-need local edu19 cational agencies that are recipients of a grant 

20 under this section to foster greater national collabo21 ration. 

22 ‘‘(3) REPORT ON COORDINATION.—The Direc23 tor, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, 

24 shall provide to the Committee on Science and the 

25 Committee on Education and the Workforce of the 


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1 House of Representatives, and to the Committee on 

2 Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

3 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen4 sions of the Senate, an annual report describing how 

5 the program authorized under this section has been 

6 and will be coordinated with the program authorized 

7 under part B of title II of the Elementary and Sec8 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et 

9 seq.). The report required by this paragraph shall be 

10 submitted concurrently with the President’s annual 

11 budget request. 

12 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 ‘‘(1) HIGH-NEED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN14 CY.—The term ‘high-need local educational agency’ 

15 includes a local educational agency eligible to receive 

16 a grant under the Rural and Low-Income School 

17 Program authorized by section 6221 of the Elemen18 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

19 U.S.C. 7351). 

20 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘Na21 tional Laboratory’ has the meaning given the term 

22 in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

23 U.S.C. 15801).’’. 

Æ 


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