I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1288 

To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a grant program for 

early childhood STEM activities. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 1, 2017 

Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire (for herself, Mr. GARAMENDI, Ms. CLARK of 

Massachusetts, Mr. GRIJALVA, and Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New 

York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a grant 

program for early childhood STEM activities. 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Early STEM Achieve5 ment Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Numerous studies have highlighted the 

9 long-term academic benefits of high-quality early 


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1 childhood education and care. The Learning Policy 

2 Institute, for example, reported in 2015 that North 

3 Carolina students who participated in early child4 hood programs received higher scores on third-grade 

5 standardized math assessments than their peers who 

6 did not participate. Similarly, Michigan children who 

7 attended early learning programs had better kinder8 garten readiness and better reading and math pro9 ficiency relative to their peers who did not have ac10 cess to such programs. 

11 (2) Studies have also shown lower high-school 

12 dropout rates among children who participate in 

13 early childhood education programs relative to their 

14 peers who did not, showing that the positive results 

15 of quality early education programs continue for 

16 many years. 

17 (3) Beyond academic benefits, researchers have 

18 shown positive economic impacts of early childhood 

19 programs. In 2015, a National Bureau of Economic 

20 Research study reported that each dollar invested in 

21 early childhood returns approximately seven dollars, 

22 in terms of workforce development. The Federal Re23 serve has also called for increased access to early 

24 childhood education, pointing to the potential for fu25 ture economic development. 


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1 (4) There has been a growing need for STEM 

2 workers that is projected to continue. The Bureau of 

3 Labor Statistics estimated in 2012 that STEM occu4 pations will grow at a faster rate than other profes5 sions, noting also that the median annual salary for 

6 STEM workers is higher than for other professions. 

7 (5) Beginning STEM education as early as pos8 sible is key to future success in these fields, both in 

9 school and potentially in the workforce. To that end, 

10 businesses in the STEM fields like National Grid 

11 have sought through corporate citizenship programs 

12 to connect with and inspire young learners. 

13 (6) Studies have shown that simple, age-appro14 priate activities, like building a tower of blocks or 

15 spinning a mobile in a crib, can help encourage 

16 STEM learning. As a White House blog post on the 

17 importance of early STEM noted, ‘‘Research indi18 cates that as early as infancy, young children start 

19 developing and testing hypotheses for how the world 

20 around them works.’’. 

21 (7) A 2014 study from the University of Cali22 fornia-Berkeley Center for the Study of Child Care 

23 Employment found that many early childhood prac24 titioners feel poorly equipped to teach early STEM 


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1 skills, making professional development and training 

2 opportunities critical. 

3 SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM. 

4 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From the amounts ap5 propriated to carry out this Act, the Secretary of Edu6 cation shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligi7 ble entities to assist early childhood education programs 

8 in carrying out early childhood STEM programs/activities. 

9 (b) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this Act, 

10 the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities de11 scribed in subsection (e)(2)(D). 

12 (c) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity desiring to re13 ceive a grant under this section shall submit an application 

14 to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con15 taining such information as the Secretary may request. 

16 (d) USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 

17 a grant under this section shall use the grant to carry 

18 out not less than one of the following: 

19 (1) Professional development relating to early 

20 childhood STEM activities for teachers of early 

21 childhood programs. 

22 (2) Materials and equipment necessary to carry 

23 out such early childhood STEM activities. 

24 (3) Establishing partnerships between the eligi25 ble entity and an institution of higher education to 


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1 provide training in early childhood STEM activities 

2 for teachers of early childhood programs. 

3 (4) The provision of professional development 

4 programs for teachers of early childhood program by 

5 institutions of higher education. 

6 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

7 (1) EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAM.—A program 

8 providing education and childcare to children from 

9 birth through 5 years of age. 

10 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti11 ty’’ means— 

12 (A) a local educational agency providing an 

13 early childhood program; 

14 (B) an educational service agency serving 

15 more than one such local educational agency; 

16 (C) a nonprofit organization that provides 

17 early childhood education and care; or 

18 (D) an institution of higher education in 

19 partnership with an early childhood program to 

20 create training in early childhood STEM activi21 ties for teachers of such early childhood pro22 grams. 

23 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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


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1 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

2 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

3 (4) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘educational 

4 service agency’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, and 

5 ‘‘Secretary’’ have the meanings given the terms in 

6 section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu7 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

8 (5) STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ means science 

9 (including computer science), technology, engineer10 ing, and mathematics. 

Æ 


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