II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1270 

To direct the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to 

carry out programs and activities to ensure that Federal science agencies 

and institutions of higher education receiving Federal research and development funding are fully engaging their entire talent pool, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 25, 2017 

Mr. SCHUMER (for Ms. HIRONO (for herself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Mr. 

MERKLEY)) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To direct the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to carry out programs and activities to 

ensure that Federal science agencies and institutions of 

higher education receiving Federal research and development funding are fully engaging their entire talent pool, 

and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘STEM Opportunities Act of 2017’’. 


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1 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

2 (1) Many reports over the past decade have 

3 found that it is critical to our Nation’s economic 

4 leadership and global competitiveness that we edu5 cate and train more scientists and engineers. 

6 (2) Research shows that women and minorities 

7 who are interested in STEM careers are dispropor8 tionately lost at nearly every educational transition. 

9 (3) The National Center for Science and Engi10 neering Statistics at the National Science Founda11 tion collects, compiles, and publishes data on the de12 mographics of STEM degrees and STEM jobs in the 

13 United States. 

14 (4) Women now earn nearly 37 percent of all 

15 STEM bachelor’s degrees, but major variations per16 sist among fields. In 2015, women earned only 19 

17 percent of all bachelor’s degrees awarded in engi18 neering and 18 percent in computer sciences. Based 

19 on Bureau of Labor Statistics data, jobs in com20 puting occupations are expected to account for nearly 2 21 ⁄3 of the projected annual growth of newly cre22 ated STEM job openings from 2014 to 2024. 

23 (5) In 2015, underrepresented minority groups 

24 comprised 39 percent of the college-age population 

25 of the United States, but only 17 percent of stuVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Jun 02, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1270.IS S1270

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1 dents earning bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields. 

2 The Higher Education Research Institute at the 

3 University of California, Los Angeles, found that, 

4 while freshmen from underrepresented minority 

5 groups express an interest in pursuing a STEM un6 dergraduate degree at the same rate as all other 

7 freshmen, only 22.1 percent of Latino students, 18.4 

8 percent of African-American students, and 18.8 per9 cent of Native American students studying in STEM 

10 fields complete their degree within 5 years, com11 pared to approximately 33 percent and 42 percent 5- 

12 year completion rate for White and Asian students, 

13 respectively. 

14 (6) In some STEM fields, including the com15 puter sciences, women persist at about the same rate 

16 through doctorate degrees. In other fields, including 

17 the physical sciences and mathematics, their num18 bers decrease by as much as 1 in 3. Overall, women 

19 earned 39 percent of STEM doctorate degrees in 

20 2014. The number of minority students earning 

21 STEM doctorate degrees drops by nearly 40 percent. 

22 Students from underrepresented minority groups ac23 counted for only 10.5 percent of STEM doctorate 

24 degrees awarded in 2014. 


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1 (7) The representation of women in STEM 

2 drops significantly again at the faculty level. Overall, 

3 women hold only 23 percent of all tenured and ten4 ure-track positions and 24 percent of full professor 

5 positions in STEM fields in our Nation’s universities 

6 and 4-year colleges. Black and Hispanic faculty to7 gether hold about 6.4 percent of all tenured and ten8 ure-track positions and 7 percent of full professor 

9 positions. Many of the numbers in the American In10 dian or Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian or 

11 Other Pacific Islander categories for different fac12 ulty ranks were too small for the National Science 

13 Foundation to report publicly without potentially 

14 compromising confidential information about the in15 dividuals being surveyed. 

16 (8) The representation of women is especially 

17 low at our Nation’s top research universities. Even 

18 in the biological sciences, in which women now earn 

19 more than 50 percent of the doctorates and passed 

20 the 25 percent level 37 years ago, women make up 

21 only 25 percent of the full professors at the 100 or 

22 so most research-intensive universities. In the phys23 ical sciences and mathematics, they make up only 11 

24 percent of these senior positions, in computer 

25 sciences only 10 percent, and across engineering 


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1 fields only 7 percent. The data suggest that approxi2 mately 6 percent of all tenure-track STEM faculty 

3 members at the most research intensive universities 

4 are from underrepresented minority groups, but in 

5 some fields the numbers are too small to report pub6 licly. 

7 (9) By 2050 underrepresented minorities will 

8 comprise 52 percent of the college-age population of 

9 the United States. If the percentage of female stu10 dents and students from underrepresented minority 

11 groups earning bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields 

12 does not significantly increase, the United States 

13 will face an acute shortfall in the overall number of 

14 students who earn degrees in STEM fields just as 

15 United States companies are increasingly seeking 

16 students with those skills. With this impending 

17 shortfall, the United States will almost certainly lose 

18 its competitive edge in the 21st century global econ19 omy. 

20 (10) According to a recent Association for 

21 Women in Science survey of more than 4,000 sci22 entists across the globe, 70 percent of whom were 

23 men, STEM researchers face significant challenges 

24 in work-life integration. Researchers in the United 

25 States were among the most likely to experience a 


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1 conflict between work and their personal life at least 

2 weekly. One-third of researchers surveyed said that 

3 ensuring good work-life integration has negatively 

4 impacted their careers, and, of researchers intending 

5 to leave their current job within the next year, 9 

6 percent indicated it was because they were unable to 

7 balance work and life demands. 

8 (11) Female students and students from under9 represented minority groups at institutions of higher 

10 education who see few others ‘‘like themselves’’ 

11 among faculty and student populations often do not 

12 experience the social integration that is necessary for 

13 success in all disciplines, including STEM. 

14 (12) A substantial body of evidence establishes 

15 that most people hold implicit biases. Decades of 

16 cognitive psychology research reveal that most peo17 ple carry prejudices of which they are unaware but 

18 that nonetheless play a large role in evaluations of 

19 people and their work. Unintentional biases and out20 moded institutional structures are hindering the ac21 cess and advancement of women and minorities in 

22 science and engineering. 

23 (13) Workshops held to educate faculty about 

24 unintentional biases have demonstrated success in 

25 raising awareness of such biases. 


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1 (14) In 2012 the National Aeronautics and 

2 Space Administration’s Office of Diversity and 

3 Equal Opportunity completed a report specifically 

4 designed to help NASA grant recipients identify why 

5 the dearth of women in STEM fields continues and 

6 to ensure that it is not due to discrimination. The 

7 report provides guidance to institutions of higher 

8 education on how to conduct meaningful self-evalua9 tions of campus culture and policies. This report and 

10 its guidance are equally applicable to all institutions 

11 of higher education receiving significant Federal re12 search funding. 

13 (15) The Federal Government provides more 

14 than 60 percent of research funding at institutions 

15 of higher education and, through its grant-making 

16 policies, has had significant influence on institution 

17 of higher education policies, including policies re18 lated to institutional culture and structure. 

19 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director, acting through the 

21 Federal science agencies, shall carry out programs and ac22 tivities with the purpose of ensuring that Federal science 

23 agencies and institutions of higher education receiving 

24 Federal research and development funding are fully en25 gaging their entire talent pool. 


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1 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol2 lows: 

3 (1) To promote research on and increase under4 standing of the participation and trajectories of 

5 women and underrepresented minorities in STEM 

6 careers at institutions of higher education and Fed7 eral science agencies, including Federal laboratories. 

8 (2) To raise awareness within Federal science 

9 agencies, including Federal laboratories, and institu10 tions of higher education about cultural and institu11 tional barriers limiting the recruitment, retention, 

12 promotion, and other indicators of participation and 

13 achievement of women and underrepresented minori14 ties in academic and Government STEM research 

15 careers at all levels. 

16 (3) To identify, disseminate, and implement 

17 best practices at Federal science agencies, including 

18 Federal laboratories, and at institutions of higher 

19 education to remove or reduce cultural and institu20 tional barriers limiting the recruitment, retention, 

21 and success of women and underrepresented minori22 ties in academic and Government STEM research 

23 careers. 

24 (4) To provide grants to institutions of higher 

25 education to recruit, retain, and advance STEM facVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Jun 02, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1270.IS S1270

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1 ulty members from underrepresented minority 

2 groups and to implement or expand reforms in un3 dergraduate STEM education in order to increase 

4 the number of students from underrepresented mi5 nority groups receiving degrees in these fields. 

6 SEC. 3. FEDERAL SCIENCE AGENCY POLICIES FOR CARE7 GIVERS. 

8 (a) OSTP GUIDANCE.—Not later than 6 months 

9 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall 

10 provide guidance to Federal science agencies to establish 

11 policies that— 

12 (1) apply to all— 

13 (A) intramural and extramural research 

14 awards; and 

15 (B) primary investigators who have 

16 caregiving responsibilities, including care for a 

17 newborn or newly adopted child and care for an 

18 immediate family member who is sick or dis19 abled; and 

20 (2) provide— 

21 (A) flexibility in timing for the initiation of 

22 approved research awards; 

23 (B) no-cost extensions of research awards; 


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1 (C) grant supplements as appropriate to 

2 research awards for research technicians or 

3 equivalent to sustain research activities; and 

4 (D) any other appropriate accommodations 

5 at the discretion of the director of each agency. 

6 (b) UNIFORMITY OF GUIDANCE.—In providing such 

7 guidance, the Director shall encourage uniformity and 

8 consistency in the policies across all agencies. 

9 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICIES.—Consistent with 

10 the guidance provided under this section, Federal science 

11 agencies shall maintain or develop and implement policies 

12 for caregivers and shall broadly disseminate such policies 

13 to current and potential grantees. 

14 (d) DATA ON USAGE.—Federal science agencies 

15 shall— 

16 (1) collect data on the usage of the policies 

17 under subsection (c), by gender, at both institutions 

18 of higher education and Federal laboratories; and 

19 (2) report such data on an annual basis to the 

20 Director in such form as required by the Director. 

21 SEC. 4. COLLECTION AND REPORTING OF DATA ON FED22 ERAL RESEARCH GRANTS. 

23 (a) COLLECTION OF DATA.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each Federal science agency 

25 shall collect standardized record-level annual inforVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Jun 02, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1270.IS S1270

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1 mation on demographics, primary field, award type, 

2 review rating (as practicable), budget request, fund3 ing outcome, and awarded budget for all applications 

4 for merit-reviewed research and development grants 

5 to institutions of higher education and Federal lab6 oratories supported by that agency. 

7 (2) UNIFORMITY AND STANDARDIZATION.—The 

8 Director shall establish a policy to ensure uniformity 

9 and standardization of the data collection required 

10 under paragraph (1). 

11 (3) RECORD-LEVEL DATA.— 

12 (A) REQUIREMENT.—On an annual basis, 

13 beginning with the deadline under subpara14 graph (C), each Federal science agency shall 

15 submit to the Director of the National Science 

16 Foundation record-level data collected under 

17 paragraph (1) in the form required by such Di18 rector. 

19 (B) PREVIOUS DATA.—As part of the first 

20 submission under subparagraph (A), each Fed21 eral science agency, to the extent practicable, 

22 shall also submit comparable record-level data 

23 for the 5 years preceding the deadline under 

24 subparagraph (C). 


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1 (C) DEADLINE.—The deadline under this 

2 paragraph is a date that is not later than 2 

3 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 (b) REPORTING OF DATA.—The Director of the Na5 tional Science Foundation shall publish statistical sum6 mary data collected under this section, disaggregated and 

7 cross-tabulated by race, ethnicity, gender, age, and years 

8 since completion of doctoral degree, including in conjunc9 tion with the National Science Foundation’s report re10 quired by section 37 of the Science and Engineering Equal 

11 Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 1885d; Public Law 96– 

12 516). 

13 SEC. 5. POLICIES FOR REVIEW OF FEDERAL RESEARCH 

14 GRANTS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director, in collaboration 

16 with the interagency working group on inclusion in 

17 STEM, shall identify information and best practices useful 

18 for educating program officers and members of standing 

19 peer review committees at Federal science agencies 

20 about— 

21 (1) research on implicit bias based on gender, 

22 race, or ethnicity; and 

23 (2) methods to minimize the effect of such bias 

24 in the review of extramural and intramural Federal 

25 research grants. 


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1 (b) GUIDANCE TO ALL FEDERAL SCIENCE AGEN2 CIES.—The Director shall disseminate the information 

3 and best practices identified in subsection (a) to all Fed4 eral science agencies and provide guidance as necessary 

5 on policies to implement such practices within each agen6 cy. 

7 (c) PILOT PROGRAM AT FEDERAL SCIENCE AGEN8 CIES.—In consultation with the National Science Founda9 tion and consistent with guidance provided in subsection 

10 (b), each Federal science agency shall implement a 2-year 

11 pilot orientation activity for program officers and mem12 bers of standing review committees to educate reviewers 

13 and mitigate the effects of implicit bias in the review of 

14 extramural and intramural Federal research grants. 

15 (d) ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICIES.—Drawing upon 

16 lessons learned from the pilot activity in subsection (c), 

17 Federal science agencies shall maintain or develop and im18 plement policies and practices to minimize the effects of 

19 implicit bias in the review of extramural and intramural 

20 Federal research grants. 

21 (e) ASSESSMENT OF POLICIES.—Federal science 

22 agencies shall regularly assess and amend as necessary the 

23 policies and practices in subsection (d) to ensure effective 

24 measures are in place to minimize the impact of implicit 

25 bias on the grant review process. 


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1 (f) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 4 years 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall 

3 report to Congress on what steps all Federal science agen4 cies have taken to implement policies and practices to min5 imize the effects of bias in the review of extramural and 

6 intramural Federal research grants. 

7 SEC. 6. COLLECTION OF DATA ON DEMOGRAPHICS OF FAC8 ULTY. 

9 (a) COLLECTION OF DATA.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

11 the date of enactment of this Act, and at least every 

12 5 years thereafter, the Director of the National 

13 Science Foundation shall carry out a survey to col14 lect institution-level data on the demographics of 

15 STEM faculty, by broad fields of STEM, at dif16 ferent types of institutions of higher education. 

17 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—To the extent prac18 ticable, the Director of the National Science Foun19 dation shall consider, by gender, race, ethnicity, citi20 zenship status, age, and years since completion of 

21 doctoral degree— 

22 (A) the number and percentage of faculty; 

23 (B) the number and percentage of faculty 

24 at each rank; 


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1 (C) the number and percentage of faculty 

2 who are in nontenure-track positions, including 

3 teaching and research; 

4 (D) the number and percentage of faculty 

5 who are reviewed for promotion, including ten6 ure, and the percentage of that number who are 

7 promoted, including being awarded tenure; 

8 (E) faculty years in rank; 

9 (F) the number and percentage of faculty 

10 to leave tenure-track positions; 

11 (G) the number and percentage of faculty 

12 hired, by rank; and 

13 (H) the number and percentage of faculty 

14 in leadership positions. 

15 (b) EXISTING SURVEYS.—The Director of the Na16 tional Science Foundation— 

17 (1) may carry out the requirements under sub18 section (a) by collaborating with statistical centers 

19 at other Federal agencies to modify or expand, as 

20 necessary, existing Federal surveys of higher edu21 cation; or 

22 (2) may award a grant or contract to an insti23 tution of higher education or other nonprofit organi24 zation to design and carry out the requirements 

25 under subsection (a). 


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1 (c) REPORTING DATA.—The Director of the National 

2 Science Foundation shall publish statistical summary data 

3 collected under this section, including as part of the Na4 tional Science Foundation’s report required by section 37 

5 of the Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities Act 

6 (42 U.S.C. 1885d; Public Law 96–516). 

7 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the 

9 National Science Foundation $3,000,000 in each of fiscal 

10 years 2018 through 2020 to develop and carry out the 

11 initial survey required in subsection (a). 

12 SEC. 7. CULTURAL AND INSTITUTIONAL BARRIERS TO EX13 PANDING THE ACADEMIC AND FEDERAL 

14 STEM WORKFORCE. 

15 (a) BEST PRACTICES AT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER

16 EDUCATION.— 

17 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDANCE.—Not later 

18 than 6 months after the date of enactment of this 

19 Act, the Director of the National Science Founda20 tion shall develop written guidance for institutions of 

21 higher education on the best practices for— 

22 (A) conducting periodic campus culture 

23 surveys of STEM departments, with a par24 ticular focus on identifying any cultural or in25 stitutional barriers to or successful enablers for 


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1 the recruitment, retention, promotion, and 

2 other indicators of participation and achieve3 ment, of women and underrepresented minori4 ties in STEM degree programs and academic 

5 STEM careers; and 

6 (B) providing educational opportunities, in7 cluding workshops as described in subsection 

8 (c), for STEM faculty and administrators to 

9 learn about current research on implicit bias in 

10 recruitment, evaluation, and promotion of fac11 ulty in STEM and recruitment and evaluation 

12 of undergraduate and graduate students in 

13 STEM degree programs. 

14 (2) EXISTING GUIDANCE.—In developing the 

15 guidance in paragraph (1), the Director of the Na16 tional Science Foundation shall utilize guidance al17 ready developed by the National Aeronautics and 

18 Space Administration, the Department of Energy, 

19 and the Department of Education. 

20 (3) DISSEMINATION OF GUIDANCE.—The Direc21 tor of the National Science Foundation shall broadly 

22 disseminate the guidance developed in paragraph (1) 

23 to institutions of higher education that receive Fed24 eral research funding. 


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1 (4) REPORTS TO THE NATIONAL SCIENCE

2 FOUNDATION.—The Director of the National Science 

3 Foundation shall develop a policy that— 

4 (A) applies to, at a minimum, the institu5 tions classified under the Indiana University 

6 Center for Postsecondary Research Carnegie 

7 Classification on January 1, 2015, as a doc8 torate-granting university with a very high level 

9 of research activity; and 

10 (B) requires each institution identified in 

11 subparagraph (A), not later than 3 years after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act, to report to 

13 the Director of the National Science Founda14 tion on activities and policies developed and im15 plemented based on the guidance provided in 

16 paragraph (1). 

17 (b) BEST PRACTICES AT FEDERAL LABORA18 TORIES.— 

19 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDANCE.—Not later 

20 than 6 months after the date of enactment of this 

21 Act, the Director shall develop written guidance for 

22 Federal laboratories to develop and implement prac23 tices and policies to— 

24 (A) conduct periodic laboratory-wide cul25 ture surveys of research personnel at all levels, 


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1 with a particular focus on identifying any cul2 tural or institutional barriers to the recruit3 ment, retention, and success of women and 

4 underrepresented minorities in STEM careers 

5 at Federal laboratories; and 

6 (B) provide educational opportunities, in7 cluding workshops as described in subsection 

8 (c), for STEM research personnel to learn 

9 about current research in implicit bias in re10 cruitment, evaluation, and promotion of re11 search personnel at Federal laboratories. 

12 (2) ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICIES.—Consistent 

13 with the guidance provided in paragraph (1), Fed14 eral science agencies with Federal laboratories shall 

15 maintain or develop and implement policies for their 

16 respective Federal laboratories. 

17 (c) WORKSHOPS TO ADDRESS CULTURAL BARRIERS

18 TO EXPANDING THE ACADEMIC AND FEDERAL STEM 

19 WORKFORCE.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

21 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director, 

22 in consultation with the interagency working group 

23 on inclusion in STEM, shall recommend a uniform 

24 policy for Federal science agencies to carry out a 

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1 ment chairs at institutions of higher education, sen2 ior managers at Federal laboratories, and other fed3 erally funded researchers about methods that mini4 mize the effects of implicit bias in the career ad5 vancement, including hiring, tenure, promotion, and 

6 selection for any honor based in part on the recipi7 ent’s research record, of academic and Federal 

8 STEM researchers. 

9 (2) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—The Direc10 tor shall ensure that workshops supported under this 

11 subsection are coordinated across Federal science 

12 agencies and jointly supported as appropriate. 

13 (3) MINIMIZING COSTS.—To the extent prac14 ticable, workshops shall be held in conjunction with 

15 national or regional STEM disciplinary meetings to 

16 minimize costs associated with participant travel. 

17 (4) PRIORITY FIELDS FOR ACADEMIC PARTICI18 PANTS.—In considering the participation of STEM 

19 department chairs and other academic researchers, 

20 the Director shall prioritize workshops for the broad 

21 fields of STEM in which the national rate of rep22 resentation of women among tenured or tenure-track 

23 faculty or non-faculty researchers at doctorate24 granting institutions of higher education is less than 

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1 able from the National Center for Science and Engi2 neering Statistics. 

3 (5) ORGANIZATIONS ELIGIBLE TO CARRY OUT

4 WORKSHOPS.—Federal science agencies may carry 

5 out the program of workshops under this subsection 

6 by making grants to eligible organizations. In addi7 tion to any other organizations made eligible by the 

8 Federal science agencies, the following organizations 

9 are eligible for grants under this subsection: 

10 (A) Nonprofit scientific and professional 

11 societies and organizations that represent one 

12 or more STEM disciplines. 

13 (B) Nonprofit organizations that have the 

14 primary mission of advancing the participation 

15 of women or underrepresented minorities in 

16 STEM. 

17 (6) CHARACTERISTICS OF WORKSHOPS.—The 

18 workshops shall have the following characteristics: 

19 (A) Invitees to workshops shall include at 

20 least— 

21 (i) the chairs of departments in the 

22 relevant STEM discipline or disciplines 

23 from at least the top 50 institutions of 

24 higher education, as determined by the 

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1 ment funds obligated to each institution of 

2 higher education in the prior year based on 

3 data available from the National Science 

4 Foundation; and 

5 (ii) in the case of Federal laboratories, 

6 individuals with personnel management re7 sponsibilities comparable to those of an in8 stitution of higher education department 

9 chair. 

10 (B) Activities at the workshops shall in11 clude research presentations and interactive dis12 cussions or other activities that increase the 

13 awareness of the existence of implicit bias in re14 cruitment, hiring, tenure review, promotion, and 

15 other forms of formal recognition of individual 

16 achievement for faculty and other federally 

17 funded STEM researchers and shall provide 

18 strategies to overcome such bias. 

19 (C) Research presentations and other 

20 workshop programs, as appropriate, shall in21 clude a discussion of the unique challenges 

22 faced by underrepresented sub-groups, includ23 ing minority women, minority men, and first 

24 generation minority graduates in research. 


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1 (D) Workshop programs shall include in2 formation on best practices for mentoring un3 dergraduate and graduate women and under4 represented minority students. 

5 (7) DATA ON WORKSHOPS.—Any proposal for 

6 funding by an organization seeking to carry out a 

7 workshop under this subsection shall include a de8 scription of how such organization will— 

9 (A) collect data on the rates of attendance 

10 by invitees in workshops, including information 

11 on the home institution and department of 

12 attendees, and the rank of faculty attendees; 

13 (B) conduct attitudinal surveys on work14 shop attendees before and after the workshops; 

15 and 

16 (C) collect follow-up data on any relevant 

17 institutional policy or practice changes reported 

18 by attendees not later than one year after at19 tendance in such a workshop. 

20 (8) REPORT TO NSF.—Organizations receiving 

21 funding to carry out workshops under this sub22 section shall report the data required in paragraph 

23 (7) to the Director of the National Science Founda24 tion in such form as required by such Director. 


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1 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 4 years 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of 

3 the National Science Foundation shall submit a report to 

4 Congress that includes— 

5 (1) a summary and analysis of the types and 

6 frequency of activities and policies developed and 

7 carried out under subsection (a) based on the re8 ports submitted under paragraph (4) of such sub9 section; and 

10 (2) a description and evaluation of the status 

11 and effectiveness of the program of workshops re12 quired under subsection (c), including a summary of 

13 any data reported under paragraph (8) of such sub14 section. 

15 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

16 are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the 

17 National Science Foundation $2,000,000 in each of fiscal 

18 years 2018 through 2022 to carry out this section. 

19 SEC. 8. RESEARCH AND DISSEMINATION AT THE NATIONAL 

20 SCIENCE FOUNDATION. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

22 Science Foundation shall award research grants and carry 

23 out dissemination activities consistent with the purposes 

24 of this Act, including— 


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1 (1) research grants to analyze the record-level 

2 data collected under section 4 and section 6, con3 sistent with policies to ensure the privacy of individ4 uals identifiable by such data; 

5 (2) research grants to study best practices for 

6 work-life accommodation; 

7 (3) research grants to study the impact of poli8 cies and practices that are implemented under this 

9 Act or that are otherwise consistent with the pur10 poses of this Act; 

11 (4) collaboration with other Federal science 

12 agencies and professional associations to exchange 

13 best practices, harmonize work-life accommodation 

14 policies and practices, and overcome common bar15 riers to work-life accommodation; 

16 (5) collaboration with institutions of higher 

17 education in order to clarify and catalyze the adop18 tion of a coherent and consistent set of work-life ac19 commodation policies and practices; and 

20 (6) research grants to study the use of stand21 ardized graduate student admission exams and its 

22 impact on the recruitment, retention, and success of 

23 women, underrepresented minorities, and first gen24 eration graduates in graduate STEM degree pro25 grams. 


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1 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the 

3 National Science Foundation $5,000,000 in each of fiscal 

4 years 2018 through 2022 to carry out this section. 

5 SEC. 9. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

6 Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment 

7 of this Act, the Director shall submit a report to Congress 

8 that includes— 

9 (1) a description and evaluation of the status 

10 and usage of caregiver policies at all Federal science 

11 agencies, including any recommendations for revis12 ing or expanding such policies; 

13 (2) a description of any significant updates to 

14 the policies for review of Federal research grants re15 quired under section 5, and any evidence of the im16 pact of such policies on the review or awarding of 

17 Federal research grants; and 

18 (3) a description and evaluation of the status of 

19 Federal laboratory policies and practices required 

20 under section 7(b), including any recommendations 

21 for revising or expanding such policies. 


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1 SEC. 10. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION SUPPORT FOR 

2 INCREASING DIVERSITY AMONG STEM FAC3 ULTY AT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDU4 CATION. 

5 (a) GRANTS.—The Director of the National Science 

6 Foundation shall award grants to institutions of higher 

7 education (or consortia thereof) for the development of in8 novative reform efforts designed to increase the recruit9 ment, retention, and advancement of individuals from 

10 underrepresented minority groups in academic STEM ca11 reers. 

12 (b) MERIT REVIEW; COMPETITION.—Grants shall be 

13 awarded under this section on a merit-reviewed, competi14 tive basis. 

15 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Activities supported by grants 

16 under this section may include— 

17 (1) institutional assessment activities, such as 

18 data analyses and policy review, in order to identify 

19 and address specific issues in the recruitment, reten20 tion, and advancement of faculty members from 

21 underrepresented minority groups; 

22 (2) implementation of institution-wide improve23 ments in workload distribution, such that faculty 

24 members from underrepresented minority groups are 

25 not disadvantaged in the amount of time available to 

26 focus on research, publishing papers, and engaging 


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1 in other activities required to achieve tenure status 

2 and run a productive research program; 

3 (3) development and implementation of training 

4 courses for administrators and search committee 

5 members to ensure that candidates from underrep6 resented minority groups are not subject to implicit 

7 biases in the search and hiring process; 

8 (4) development and hosting of intra- or inter9 institutional workshops to propagate best practices 

10 in recruiting, retaining, and advancing faculty mem11 bers from underrepresented minority groups; 

12 (5) professional development opportunities for 

13 faculty members from underrepresented minority 

14 groups; 

15 (6) activities aimed at making undergraduate 

16 STEM students from underrepresented minority 

17 groups aware of opportunities for academic careers 

18 in STEM fields; 

19 (7) activities to identify and engage exceptional 

20 graduate students from underrepresented minority 

21 groups at various stages of their studies and to en22 courage them to enter academic careers; and 

23 (8) other activities consistent with subsection 

24 (a), as determined by the Director of the National 

25 Science Foundation. 


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1 (d) SELECTION PROCESS.— 

2 (1) APPLICATION.—An institution of higher 

3 education (or consortia thereof) seeking funding 

4 under this section shall submit an application to the 

5 Director of the National Science Foundation at such 

6 time, in such manner, and containing such informa7 tion and assurances as such Director may require. 

8 The application shall include, at a minimum, a de9 scription of— 

10 (A) the reform effort that is being pro11 posed for implementation by the institution of 

12 higher education; 

13 (B) any available evidence of specific dif14 ficulties in the recruitment, retention, and ad15 vancement of faculty members from underrep16 resented minority groups in STEM academic 

17 careers within the institution of higher edu18 cation submitting an application, and how the 

19 proposed reform effort would address such 

20 issues; 

21 (C) how the institution of higher education 

22 submitting an application plans to sustain the 

23 proposed reform effort beyond the duration of 

24 the grant; and 


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1 (D) how the success and effectiveness of 

2 the proposed reform effort will be evaluated and 

3 assessed in order to contribute to the national 

4 knowledge base about models for catalyzing in5 stitutional change. 

6 (2) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—In selecting 

7 grant recipients under this section, the Director of 

8 the National Science Foundation shall consider, at a 

9 minimum— 

10 (A) the likelihood of success in under11 taking the proposed reform effort at the institu12 tion of higher education submitting the applica13 tion, including the extent to which the adminis14 trators of the institution are committed to mak15 ing the proposed reform effort a priority; 

16 (B) the degree to which the proposed re17 form effort will contribute to change in institu18 tional culture and policy such that greater value 

19 is placed on the recruitment, retention, and ad20 vancement of faculty members from underrep21 resented minority groups; 

22 (C) the likelihood that the institution of 

23 higher education will sustain or expand the pro24 posed reform effort beyond the period of the 

25 grant; and 


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1 (D) the degree to which evaluation and as2 sessment plans are included in the design of the 

3 proposed reform effort. 

4 (3) GRANT DISTRIBUTION.—The Director of 

5 the National Science Foundation shall ensure, to the 

6 extent practicable, that grants awarded under this 

7 section are made to a variety of types of institutions 

8 of higher education. 

9 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the 

11 National Science Foundation $10,000,000 in each of fiscal 

12 years 2018 through 2022 to carry out this section. 

13 SEC. 11. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION SUPPORT FOR 

14 BROADENING PARTICIPATION IN UNDER15 GRADUATE STEM EDUCATION. 

16 (a) GRANTS.—The Director of the National Science 

17 Foundation shall award grants to institutions of higher 

18 education (or consortia thereof) to implement or expand 

19 research-based reforms in undergraduate STEM edu20 cation for the purpose of recruiting and retaining students 

21 from minority groups who are underrepresented in STEM 

22 fields, with a priority focus on natural science and engi23 neering fields. 


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1 (b) MERIT REVIEW; COMPETITION.—Grants shall be 

2 awarded under this section on a merit-reviewed, competi3 tive basis. 

4 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Activities supported by grants 

5 under this section may include— 

6 (1) implementation or expansion of innovative, 

7 research-based approaches to broaden participation 

8 of underrepresented minority groups in STEM 

9 fields; 

10 (2) implementation or expansion of bridge, co11 hort, tutoring, or mentoring programs designed to 

12 enhance the recruitment and retention of students 

13 from underrepresented minority groups in STEM 

14 fields; 

15 (3) implementation or expansion of outreach 

16 programs linking institutions of higher education 

17 and K–12 school systems in order to heighten 

18 awareness among pre-college students from under19 represented minority groups of opportunities in col20 lege-level STEM fields and STEM careers; 

21 (4) implementation or expansion of faculty de22 velopment programs focused on improving retention 

23 of undergraduate STEM students from underrep24 resented minority groups; 


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1 (5) implementation or expansion of mechanisms 

2 designed to recognize and reward faculty members 

3 who demonstrate a commitment to increasing the 

4 participation of students from underrepresented mi5 nority groups in STEM fields; 

6 (6) expansion of successful reforms aimed at in7 creasing the number of STEM students from under8 represented minority groups beyond a single course 

9 or group of courses to achieve reform within an en10 tire academic unit, or expansion of successful reform 

11 efforts beyond a single academic unit to other 

12 STEM academic units within an institution of high13 er education; 

14 (7) expansion of opportunities for students from 

15 underrepresented minority groups to conduct STEM 

16 research in industry, at Federal labs, and at inter17 national research institutions or research sites; 

18 (8) provision of stipends for students from 

19 underrepresented minority groups participating in 

20 research; 

21 (9) development of research collaborations be22 tween research-intensive universities and primarily 

23 undergraduate minority-serving institutions; 

24 (10) support for graduate students and post25 doctoral fellows from underrepresented minority 


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1 groups to participate in instructional or assessment 

2 activities at primarily undergraduate institutions, in3 cluding primarily undergraduate minority-serving in4 stitutions and 2-year institutions of higher edu5 cation; and 

6 (11) other activities consistent with subsection 

7 (a), as determined by the Director of the National 

8 Science Foundation. 

9 (d) SELECTION PROCESS.— 

10 (1) APPLICATION.—An institution of higher 

11 education (or consortia thereof) seeking a grant 

12 under this section shall submit an application to the 

13 Director of the National Science Foundation at such 

14 time, in such manner, and containing such informa15 tion and assurances as such Director may require. 

16 The application shall include, at a minimum— 

17 (A) a description of the proposed reform 

18 effort; 

19 (B) a description of the research findings 

20 that will serve as the basis for the proposed re21 form effort or, in the case of applications that 

22 propose an expansion of a previously imple23 mented reform, a description of the previously 

24 implemented reform effort, including data about 

25 the recruitment, retention, and academic 


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1 achievement of students from underrepresented 

2 minority groups; 

3 (C) evidence of an institutional commit4 ment to, and support for, the proposed reform 

5 effort, including a long-term commitment to im6 plement successful strategies from the current 

7 reform beyond the academic unit or units in8 cluded in the grant proposal; 

9 (D) a description of existing or planned in10 stitutional policies and practices regarding fac11 ulty hiring, promotion, tenure, and teaching as12 signment that reward faculty contributions to 

13 improving the education of students from 

14 underrepresented minority groups in STEM; 

15 and 

16 (E) how the success and effectiveness of 

17 the proposed reform effort will be evaluated and 

18 assessed in order to contribute to the national 

19 knowledge base about models for catalyzing in20 stitutional change. 

21 (2) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—In selecting 

22 grant recipients under this section, the Director of 

23 the National Science Foundation shall consider, at a 

24 minimum— 


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1 (A) the likelihood of success of the pro2 posed reform effort at the institution submit3 ting the application, including the extent to 

4 which the faculty, staff, and administrators of 

5 the institution are committed to making the 

6 proposed institutional reform a priority of the 

7 participating academic unit or units; 

8 (B) the degree to which the proposed re9 form effort will contribute to change in institu10 tional culture and policy such that greater value 

11 is placed on faculty engagement in the retention 

12 of students from underrepresented minority 

13 groups; 

14 (C) the likelihood that the institution will 

15 sustain or expand the proposed reform effort 

16 beyond the period of the grant; and 

17 (D) the degree to which evaluation and as18 sessment plans are included in the design of the 

19 proposed reform effort. 

20 (3) PRIORITY.—For applications that include 

21 an expansion of existing reforms beyond a single 

22 academic unit, the Director of the National Science 

23 Foundation shall give priority to applications for 

24 which a senior institutional administrator, such as a 


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1 dean or other administrator of equal or higher rank, 

2 serves as the principal investigator. 

3 (4) GRANT DISTRIBUTION.—The Director of 

4 the National Science Foundation shall ensure, to the 

5 extent practicable, that grants awarded under this 

6 section are made to a variety of types of institutions 

7 of higher education, including 2-year and minority8 serving institutions of higher education. 

9 (e) EDUCATION RESEARCH.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—All grants made under this 

11 section shall include an education research compo12 nent that will support the design and implementa13 tion of a system for data collection and evaluation 

14 of proposed reform efforts in order to build the 

15 knowledge base on promising models for increasing 

16 recruitment and retention of students from under17 represented minority groups in STEM education at 

18 the undergraduate level across a diverse set of insti19 tutions. 

20 (2) DISSEMINATION.—The Director of the Na21 tional Science Foundation shall coordinate with rel22 evant Federal agencies in disseminating the results 

23 of the research under this subsection to ensure that 

24 best practices in broadening participation in STEM 

25 education at the undergraduate level are made readVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Jun 02, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1270.IS S1270

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1 ily available to all institutions of higher education, 

2 other Federal agencies that support STEM pro3 grams, non-Federal funders of STEM education, 

4 and the general public. 

5 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

6 are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the 

7 National Science Foundation $15,000,000 in each of fiscal 

8 years 2018 through 2022 to carry out this section. 

9 SEC. 12. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

12 the Director of the Office of Science and Technology 

13 Policy (‘‘OSTP’’). 

14 (2) FEDERAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Fed15 eral laboratory’’ has the meaning given such term in 

16 section 4 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno17 vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3703). 

18 (3) FEDERAL SCIENCE AGENCY.—The term 

19 ‘‘Federal science agency’’ means any Federal agency 

20 with not less than $100,000,000 in research and de21 velopment expenditures in fiscal year 2016. 

22 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

23 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

24 meaning given such term in section 101(a) of the 

25 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 


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1 (5) INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP ON INCLU2 SION IN STEM.—The term ‘‘interagency working 

3 group on inclusion in STEM’’ means the interagency 

4 working group established by section 308 of the 

5 American Innovation and Competitiveness Act (42 

6 U.S.C. 6626). 

7 (6) STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ means the 

8 academic and professional disciplines of science, 

9 technology, engineering, and mathematics. 

Æ 


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