I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2253 

To establish within the Department of Education the Innovation Inspiration 

school grant program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 21, 2011 

Mr. BASS of New Hampshire introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To establish within the Department of Education the Innovation Inspiration school grant program, 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. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress makes the following findings: 

5 (1) According to the National Science Board’s 

6 2008 Science and Engineering Indicators, only 5 

7 percent of American college graduates major in engi8 neering, compared with 13 percent of European stu9 dents and 20 percent of students in Asia. 


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1 (2) Although United States fourth graders 

2 score well against international competition, United 

3 States students fall near the bottom or dead last by 

4 12th grade in mathematics and science, respectively. 

5 (3) Admissions requirements for undergraduate 

6 engineering schools include a solid background in 

7 mathematics (algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and 

8 calculus) and science (biology, chemistry, and phys9 ics), in addition to courses in English, social studies, 

10 and humanities. 

11 (4) According to the Bureau of Labor Statis12 tics, overall engineering employment is expected to 

13 grow by 11 percent over the 2008 through 2018 dec14 ade, and, as a group, engineers earn some of the 

15 highest average starting salaries among individuals 

16 holding bachelor’s degrees. 

17 (5) According to the Department of Labor, en18 gineers should be creative, inquisitive, analytical, 

19 and detail-oriented. Engineers should be able to 

20 work as part of a team and to communicate well, 

21 both orally and in writing. Communication abilities 

22 are becoming increasingly important as engineers 

23 interact more frequently with specialists in a wide 

24 range of fields outside engineering. 


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1 (6) Exposure to project- and problem-based 

2 learning, in a competitive team environment, gives 

3 9th through 12th graders the skills the students 

4 need to be successful in engineering programs of 

5 study and engineering careers. 

6 (7) According to Brandeis University’s Center 

7 for Youth and Communities, participants in FIRST 

8 Robotics (a nonprofit organization that inspires 

9 young people to be science and technology leaders by 

10 engaging the young people in mentor-based pro11 grams)— 

12 (A) are more likely to attend college full13 time than nonparticipants (88 percent versus 

14 53 percent); 

15 (B) are nearly 2 times as likely to major 

16 in a science or engineering field; and 

17 (C) are more than 3 times as likely to have 

18 majored specifically in engineering. 

19 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this Act: 

21 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti22 ty’’ means— 

23 (A) a local educational agency; or 

24 (B) if a local educational agency chooses 

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1 ondary school served by the nonapplying local 

2 educational agency. 

3 (2) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

4 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 

5 the term in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec6 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

7 (3) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘‘poverty line’’ 

8 has the meaning given the term in section 9101 of 

9 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

10 1965. 

11 (4) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec12 ondary school’’ has the meaning given the term in 

13 section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu14 cation Act of 1965. 

15 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

16 the Secretary of Education. 

17 (6) STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ means science, 

18 technology, engineering, or mathematics. 

19 SEC. 3. INNOVATIVE INSPIRATION SCHOOL GRANT PRO20 GRAM. 

21 (a) GOALS OF PROGRAM.—The goals of the Innova22 tion Inspiration grant program are— 

23 (1) to provide opportunities for eligible entities 

24 to support non-traditional STEM education teaching 

25 methods; 


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1 (2) to support the participation of students in 

2 nonprofit robotics or STEM competitions; 

3 (3) to foster innovation and broaden interest in 

4 and access to careers in the STEM fields by invest5 ing in programs supported by teachers and profes6 sional mentors who receive hands-on training and 

7 ongoing communications that strengthen the inter8 actions of the teachers and mentors with— 

9 (A) students on competitive robotics or 

10 STEM teams; and 

11 (B) other students in the STEM class12 rooms and communities of the teachers and 

13 mentors; and 

14 (4) to encourage the collaboration among stu15 dents, engineers, and professional mentors to design, 

16 build, program, and compete in challenges with so17 phisticated robots. 

18 (b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized 

20 to award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible 

21 entities to enable the eligible entities— 

22 (A) to promote STEM in secondary 

23 schools; 


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1 (B) to support the participation of sec2 ondary school students in robotics or STEM 

3 competitions; and 

4 (C) to broaden secondary school students’ 

5 access to careers in STEM. 

6 (2) DURATION.—The Secretary shall award 

7 each grant under this Act for a period of not more 

8 than 5 years. 

9 (3) AMOUNTS.—The Secretary shall award a 

10 grant under this Act in an amount that is sufficient 

11 to carry out the goals of this Act. 

12 (c) APPLICATION.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity desiring 

14 a grant under this Act shall submit an application 

15 to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 

16 containing such information as the Secretary may 

17 reasonably require. 

18 (2) CONTENTS.—The application shall, at a 

19 minimum, include a description of how the eligible 

20 entity will— 

21 (A) carry out each of the elements of a ro22 botics or STEM competition described in sub23 paragraphs (B) through (F) of subsection 

24 (d)(1); 


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1 (B) establish robotics or STEM competi2 tion programs to inspire students in grades 9 

3 through 12 to become innovators in STEM; 

4 (C) identify and recruit mentors for the 

5 programs described in subparagraph (B) and 

6 the participants in the programs; 

7 (D) support teachers who lead the pro8 grams and participants in the programs 

9 through stipends or other incentives; 

10 (E) recruit young women and individuals 

11 from populations traditionally underrepresented 

12 in the STEM fields to participate in the pro13 grams; 

14 (F) identify public and private partners 

15 that can support the programs with cash or in16 kind contributions; 

17 (G) plan for sustaining the programs fi18 nancially beyond the grant period; and 

19 (H) evaluate the grant project and the re20 sults of the grant project among participating 

21 students, including— 

22 (i) comparing students who partici23 pate in the grant project to similar stu24 dents who do not so participate; and 

25 (ii) evaluating— 


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1 (I) secondary school graduation 

2 rates; 

3 (II) college-going rates; 

4 (III) the number of students tak5 ing advanced STEM related secondary 

6 school classes; and 

7 (IV) the ability of students par8 ticipating in the grant project to part9 ner with professional mentors. 

10 (3) PREFERENCE.—In developing the criteria 

11 for grant awards under this Act, the Secretary shall 

12 give preference to an application that addresses the 

13 needs of— 

14 (A) a rural or urban school; 

15 (B) a low-performing school or school dis16 trict; or 

17 (C) a local educational agency or school 

18 that serves— 

19 (i) not fewer than 10,000 children 

20 from families with incomes below the pov21 erty line; or 

22 (ii) a student population not less than 

23 20 percent of whom are from families with 

24 incomes below the poverty line. 

25 (d) USES OF FUNDS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity that re2 ceives a grant under this Act may use the grant 

3 funds for the following: 

4 (A) STEM EDUCATION AND CAREER AC5 TIVITIES.—Promotion of STEM education and 

6 career activities. 

7 (B) PURCHASE OF PARTS.—The purchase 

8 of parts required to support participation in 

9 team robotics or STEM competitions. 

10 (C) TEACHER INCENTIVES AND STI11 PENDS.—Incentives and stipends for teachers 

12 involved in robotics or STEM competitions. 

13 (D) SUPPORT AND EXPENSES.—Support 

14 and expenses for participation in regional and 

15 national robotics or STEM competitions. 

16 (E) ADDITIONAL MATERIALS AND SUP17 PORT.—Additional materials and support, such 

18 as equipment, facility use, and other expenses, 

19 directly associated with robotics or STEM com20 petitions. 

21 (F) EVALUATION.—Carrying out the eval22 uation described in subsection (c)(2)(H). 

23 (2) NONPROFIT COMPETITIONS.—Grant funds 

24 made available under this Act for robotics or STEM 


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1 competitions shall only be used to support participa2 tion in nonprofit robotics or STEM competitions. 

3 (3) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Each eligible en4 tity that receives a grant under this Act may use not 

5 more than 2 percent of the grant funds for adminis6 trative costs related to the administration of the 

7 project supported by the grant. 

8 (e) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

10 each eligible entity that receives a grant under this 

11 Act shall secure, toward the cost of the activities as12 sisted under the grant, from non-Federal sources, an 

13 amount equal to 50 percent of the grant. The non14 Federal contribution may be provided in cash or in 

15 kind. 

16 (2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive all or 

17 part of the matching requirement described in para18 graph (1) for an eligible entity if the Secretary de19 termines that applying the matching requirement 

20 would result in a serious financial hardship or a fi21 nancial inability to carry out the goals of the grant 

22 project. 

23 (f) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant funds 

24 provided to an eligible entity under this Act shall be used 


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1 to supplement, and not supplant, funds that would other2 wise be used for activities authorized under this Act. 

3 (g) SECRETARY’S ACTIVITIES.— 

4 (1) COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH PRO5 GRAM.—From amounts appropriated to carry out 

6 this Act for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall estab7 lish a communications and outreach program to pub8 licize— 

9 (A) non-traditional teaching methods appli10 cable to STEM; and 

11 (B) the availability and application proce12 dure for the grant program established by this 

13 Act. 

14 (2) GRANT EVALUATION PROGRAM.—The Sec15 retary shall establish an evaluation program to de16 termine the efficacy of the grant program estab17 lished by this Act, which shall include assessing the 

18 impact, of student participation in the grant project 

19 assisted under this Act, on future course-taking and 

20 postsecondary study, by comparing students so par21 ticipating to similar students who do not so partici22 pate. 

23 (3) STEM EVALUATION PROGRAM.— 

24 (A) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall 

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1 grams to determine whether there are any du2 plicative programs. 

3 (B) REPORTS.—Upon completing the eval4 uation— 

5 (i) the Secretary shall submit to Con6 gress, a report on the results of the evalua7 tion, including recommendations on con8 solidating existing, duplicative Federal 

9 STEM education programs; and 

10 (ii) the Director of the Office of Man11 agement and Budget shall submit to Con12 gress, a report on the savings resulting 

13 from carrying out the Secretary’s rec14 ommendations under clause (i). 

15 (h) FUNDING.—This Act shall be revenue neutral. 

Æ 


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