II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 463 

To amend part B of title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

Act of 1965 to promote effective STEM teaching and learning. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 2, 2011 

Mr. BEGICH (for himself, Mr. CARPER, and Mr. LIEBERMAN) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend part B of title II of the Elementary and Secondary 

Education Act of 1965 to promote effective STEM teaching and learning. 

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 ‘‘Effective STEM 

5 Teaching and Learning Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. EFFECTIVE STEM TEACHING AND LEARNING. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part B of title II of the Elemen8 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

9 6661 et seq.) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘PART B—EFFECTIVE STEM TEACHING AND 

2 LEARNING 

3 ‘‘SEC. 2201. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

4 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary 

5 shall use funds made available to carry out this part for 

6 a fiscal year to award grants, on a competitive basis, to 

7 State educational agencies or to State educational agen8 cies in partnership with appropriate outside entities (such 

9 as nonprofit organizations and institutions of higher edu10 cation) in States that have adopted and are implementing 

11 high-quality mathematics standards (and additional 

12 standards, such as science standards, at the discretion of 

13 the Secretary) that build toward college and career readi14 ness, to carry out activities in order to improve the teach15 ing and learning in— 

16 ‘‘(1) mathematics or science, or both, in pre17 school through grade 12; and 

18 ‘‘(2) at the discretion of the State educational 

19 agency, technology or engineering or both in pre20 school through grade 12. 

21 ‘‘(b) LENGTH OF GRANTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Grants awarded under sub23 section (a) shall be for not more than 3 years. 

24 ‘‘(2) EXTENSION.—The Secretary may extend a 

25 grant awarded under subsection (a) for an additional 

26 2 years if the grantee— 


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1 ‘‘(A) is achieving the intended outcomes of 

2 the grant; and 

3 ‘‘(B) shows improvement against baseline 

4 measures on performance indicators established 

5 by the Secretary. 

6 ‘‘(c) STATE CAPACITY-BUILDING GRANTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may reserve 

8 not more than 5 percent of the amount appropriated 

9 to carry out this part for any fiscal year to make ca10 pacity-building grants, on a competitive basis, to 

11 State educational agencies that do not otherwise re12 ceive a grant under this part. 

13 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—A State educational agency 

14 that receives a capacity-building grant under para15 graph (1) may use the grant funds to carry out 1 

16 or more of the activities described in subsections (b) 

17 and (c) of section 2203, which may include cooper18 ating with industry, museums, institutions of higher 

19 education, philanthropic organizations, community20 based organizations, or other community partners 

21 with STEM expertise, to become more competitive 

22 for a grant under subsection (a) in future years. 

23 ‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—In this part, the term ‘STEM’ 

24 means the subject or subjects in which the grantee chooses 

25 to carry out activities consistent with subsection (a). 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 2202. APPLICATION. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State educational agency 

3 that desires to receive a grant under section 2201(a), shall 

4 submit an application at such time, in such manner, and 

5 containing such information as the Secretary may reason6 ably require. At a minimum, each application shall include 

7 or describe— 

8 ‘‘(1) for an applicant that proposes to carry out 

9 mathematics activities, an assurance that the State 

10 has adopted high-quality mathematics standards 

11 that build toward college and career readiness, and 

12 a description of the State’s plan for implementing 

13 those standards; 

14 ‘‘(2) for an applicant that proposes to carry out 

15 science activities, an assurance that the State has 

16 adopted high-quality science standards that build to17 ward college and career readiness, and a description 

18 of the State’s plan for implementing those stand19 ards; 

20 ‘‘(3) how the State’s plan to implement stand21 ards in mathematics or science, or both, will help en22 sure comparability of content and access to high23 quality instruction in the content area of those 

24 standards among all local educational agencies and 

25 public schools in the State, particularly in high-pov26 erty local educational agencies and schools; 


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1 ‘‘(4) the State educational agency’s goals for 

2 improving student outcomes in STEM throughout 

3 the State for all students, including students with 

4 disabilities and English language learners, and in5 cluding a description of a clear and credible path 

6 that the State educational agency will take to 

7 achieve these goals with the support of the local edu8 cational agencies in the State; 

9 ‘‘(5) the data that the State has considered or 

10 will consider in developing or updating the com11 prehensive preschool through grade 12 STEM plan 

12 that the State shall develop or update with the 

13 State’s grant under this section, which shall include 

14 data from a needs assessment that the State has 

15 conducted prior to applying for funds under this 

16 part and that the State uses— 

17 ‘‘(A) to determine its current approach to 

18 STEM instruction; 

19 ‘‘(B) to support its plan, consistent with 

20 section 2201(a), to carry out activities to im21 prove teaching and learning; and 

22 ‘‘(C) to support struggling schools; 

23 ‘‘(6) how the State educational agency will 

24 carry out the required State-level activities described 

25 in section 2203(b), which may include cooperating 


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1 with industry, museums, institutions of higher edu2 cation, philanthropic organizations, community3 based organizations, or other community partners 

4 with STEM expertise, and how the State will align 

5 those activities with the comprehensive preschool 

6 through grade 12 STEM plan that the State will de7 velop (or update) and implement with the State’s 

8 grant; 

9 ‘‘(7) how the State educational agency will use 

10 evidence to inform and continuously improve the de11 sign and implementation of its activities and why the 

12 State educational agency expects those activities to 

13 improve student achievement, including the achieve14 ment of groups of students who are low-performing 

15 or underrepresented in STEM fields; 

16 ‘‘(8) how the State will run a rigorous, high17 quality subgrant competition, including how it will— 

18 ‘‘(A) review and judge— 

19 ‘‘(i) the evidence supporting the cur20 ricula and materials that local educational 

21 agencies propose to use; 

22 ‘‘(ii) the record of local educational 

23 agencies in implementing and improving 

24 student achievement through other STEM 

25 initiatives; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the local educational agencies’ 

2 capacity to implement successfully their 

3 proposals; and 

4 ‘‘(B) give priority to local educational 

5 agencies whose applications are supported by 

6 the strongest available evidence; 

7 ‘‘(9) how the State educational agency will en8 sure that subgrants that it awards under this part 

9 will adequately address the needs of students with 

10 disabilities and English language learners; 

11 ‘‘(10) how the State educational agency will use 

12 the grant to leverage other Federal and State funds 

13 in order to maximize the impact of the grant, and 

14 how it will support local educational agencies in inte15 grating these funds with other Federal, State, and 

16 local funds to support high-quality STEM instruc17 tion, including how it will implement a coherent 

18 strategy to coordinate activities with rigorous and 

19 challenging instruction for STEM career and tech20 nical education through funds the applicant receives 

21 under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical 

22 Education Act of 2006; 

23 ‘‘(11) how the State educational agency will le24 verage the use of technology to engage students in 

25 STEM, strengthen teaching and learning of STEM, 


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1 and improve the learning opportunities in under2 served areas; 

3 ‘‘(12) how the State educational agency will 

4 evaluate the State’s progress in improving achieve5 ment in the relevant STEM subject or subjects, for 

6 students, schools, or local educational agencies, par7 ticularly those that are underperforming, such as 

8 STEM-specific strategies for turning around persist9 ently low-performing schools; 

10 ‘‘(13) how the State educational agency will dis11 seminate information on project outcomes in formats 

12 that are easily understood by, and accessible to, the 

13 public, and how the State educational agency will 

14 make the information useful to parents, educators, 

15 researchers, and other experts; 

16 ‘‘(14) the role of any entities with which the 

17 State educational agency proposes to partner in car18 rying out its proposed activities; 

19 ‘‘(15) if the State educational agency plans to 

20 make subgrants consistent with section 2203(d), the 

21 rationale for doing so, including a description of— 

22 ‘‘(A) how the State educational agency will 

23 ensure the alignment of the activities under24 taken by subgrantees with State standards and, 


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1 as appropriate, with the components of high2 quality STEM instruction; and 

3 ‘‘(B) the State educational agency’s plan 

4 for conducting the subgrant competition, in5 cluding a description of how the State edu6 cational agency will ensure either that the ac7 tivities conducted by the subgrantee are evi8 dence-based, or that the subgrantee has a plan 

9 to rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of those 

10 activities; and 

11 ‘‘(16) if the State has received a Race to the 

12 Top grant (under the American Recovery and Rein13 vestment Act of 2009) and, in competing for that 

14 grant, received a competitive preference priority for 

15 STEM education, how the State educational agency 

16 will coordinate the activities it will carry out under 

17 this part with the STEM activities carried out under 

18 its Race to the Top grant. 

19 ‘‘(b) PRIORITIES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) REQUIRED PRIORITY.—In awarding grants 

21 under this section, the Secretary shall give a com22 petitive priority to any State educational agency that 

23 demonstrates, in its application, that the State has 

24 adopted and is implementing a set of high-quality 

25 mathematics standards (and additional standards, 


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1 such as science standards, at the discretion of the 

2 Secretary) for kindergarten through grade 12 that 

3 build toward college and career readiness, and are 

4 common to a significant number of States. 

5 ‘‘(2) OPTIONAL PRIORITY.—The Secretary may 

6 give a competitive priority to any State educational 

7 agency that has a robust, statewide partnership or 

8 network that brings together industry, museums, in9 stitutions of higher education, philanthropic organi10 zations, community-based organizations, or other 

11 community partners with STEM expertise, to in12 crease student learning, engagement, and achieve13 ment in STEM. 

14 ‘‘(c) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In reviewing an applica15 tion under this part, the Secretary shall take into consid16 eration— 

17 ‘‘(1) the quality of the application, including the 

18 State educational agency’s plan for making publicly 

19 available findings, results (including interim results), 

20 and outcomes of the project in a timely manner and 

21 in formats that are easily understood and accessible; 

22 ‘‘(2) the extent to which the State educational 

23 agency has demonstrated a process for giving pri24 ority to applicants that have plans that are evidenceVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:33 Mar 03, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S463.IS S463

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1 based or that have a plan in place to evaluate rigor2 ously the effectiveness of their projects; 

3 ‘‘(3) the quality of the applicant’s plan to co4 operate with industry experts, museums, institutions 

5 of higher education, research centers, or other com6 munity partners with STEM expertise, in— 

7 ‘‘(A) preparing and assisting teachers in 

8 effectively integrating STEM content across 

9 grades and disciplines; 

10 ‘‘(B) providing effective and relevant in11 struction; and 

12 ‘‘(C) offering applied learning opportuni13 ties for all students; and 

14 ‘‘(4) the quality of the applicant’s plan for pre15 paring more students for advanced study and ca16 reers in STEM, including by addressing the needs 

17 of, and barriers faced by, student groups that are 

18 underrepresented in STEM, including women and 

19 girls, underrepresented minorities, students with dis20 abilities, and English language learners. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 2203. STATE USE OF FUNDS. 

22 ‘‘(a) STATE-LEVEL ACTIVITIES.—A State edu23 cational agency that receives a grant under section 

24 2201(a) shall reserve not more than 20 percent of the 


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1 funds it receives under this part for State level activities 

2 as described in subsections (b) and (c). 

3 ‘‘(b) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—A State educational 

4 agency that receives a grant under section 2201(a) shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) develop or update, implement, and con6 tinuously improve a comprehensive State STEM 

7 plan (which may be a component or modification of 

8 the consolidated plan submitted by the State under 

9 section 9302) for preschool through grade 12 that— 

10 ‘‘(A) aligns policies, resources, and prac11 tices; 

12 ‘‘(B) contains clear instructional goals; and 

13 ‘‘(C) sets high expectations for all students 

14 and student subgroups; 

15 ‘‘(2) align the use of Federal and State funds 

16 and programs within the State educational agency 

17 and in local educational agencies in the State, in18 cluding funds under title I, part A of title II, title 

19 III, and title VII, and, as appropriate, under the In20 dividuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Carl 

21 D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 

22 2006, and the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

23 Act, to support a coherent approach to funding and 

24 implementing high-quality STEM instruction in 


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1 high-need local educational agencies and high-need 

2 schools; 

3 ‘‘(3) develop or update a process, or use an ex4 isting process, to review and judge the evidence base 

5 for the curricula and materials that local educational 

6 agencies propose to use in implementing their sub7 grants and in determining whether the curricula and 

8 materials are aligned with State standards, and 

9 make the process and results of any such review 

10 publicly available; 

11 ‘‘(4) administer a rigorous competition for sub12 grants that is informed by the review process de13 scribed in paragraph (3), and using the results of 

14 that process to inform the competition; 

15 ‘‘(5) collect and report, in formats that are eas16 ily understood and accessible to the public, data on 

17 the implementation and outcomes of the program, 

18 including student course enrollment and student 

19 achievement outcomes disaggregated in accordance 

20 with section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v) for use by parents, 

21 teachers, schools, local educational agencies, re22 searchers, and State leaders for program improve23 ment and to evaluate program effectiveness; 

24 ‘‘(6) promote and support the implementation 

25 of effective subgrant activities in local educational 


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1 agencies and schools that do not receive, or are not 

2 served by, subgrants; 

3 ‘‘(7) provide technical assistance and support, 

4 such as through the development or sharing of infor5 mation, models, technology-based tools, or training 

6 to subgrantees (and, at the State educational agen7 cy’s discretion, to other local educational agencies) 

8 to enable the subgrantees and other agencies to im9 plement a high-quality STEM program, as described 

10 in section 2204(e), and improve student achievement 

11 in core academic subjects; and 

12 ‘‘(8) coordinate, as needed, with other relevant 

13 State agencies (including the State agency for higher 

14 education and the State entity responsible for pro15 fessional standards and licensure of teachers and 

16 principals) to— 

17 ‘‘(A) carry out activities to improve the 

18 State’s teacher licensure and certification re19 quirements and preservice teacher preparation, 

20 by focusing on subject matter competency and 

21 reducing unnecessary barriers to entering the 

22 teaching profession while ensuring that teachers 

23 have the knowledge and skills appropriate for 

24 the grade levels the teachers teach; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) improve the State’s principal licen2 sure and certification requirements and 

3 preservice principal preparation by developing 

4 principals who are prepared to lead schools and 

5 ensure effective instruction across subject areas 

6 for a well-rounded education, including in math7 ematics and science. 

8 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—A State educational 

9 agency may, either on its own or in a consortium with 

10 other State educational agencies, use any funds reserved 

11 under subsection (a) but not used for activities under sub12 section (b), to— 

13 ‘‘(1) recruit and prepare individuals with 

14 STEM expertise to teach in high-need schools, in15 cluding through the use of— 

16 ‘‘(A) alternative pathways to licensure or 

17 certification programs; 

18 ‘‘(B) recruiting STEM majors within an 

19 institution of higher education; 

20 ‘‘(C) funding undergraduate or graduate 

21 STEM internships in preschool through grade 

22 12 classrooms; and 

23 ‘‘(D) funding online STEM courses and 

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1 pertise across multiple locations, including 

2 areas of STEM teacher shortages; 

3 ‘‘(2) develop instructional systems that pro4 vide— 

5 ‘‘(A) a systematic and coherent combina6 tion of instructional materials; 

7 ‘‘(B) embedded formative and interim as8 sessments; 

9 ‘‘(C) professional development; 

10 ‘‘(D) information on student learning; and 

11 ‘‘(E) academic interventions that are based 

12 on cognitive science and content area knowledge 

13 and that are aligned with college- and career14 ready standards; 

15 ‘‘(3) develop and implement innovative uses of 

16 technology that show promise for improving out17 comes in classroom instruction, teacher and leader 

18 effectiveness, and student achievement; and 

19 ‘‘(4) carry out activities related to any of the 

20 other subjects in section 2201(a) that the State, 

21 consistent with section 2202(a)(6), is not already 

22 carrying out under this section. 

23 ‘‘(d) EXCEPTION.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may permit 

25 a State that receives a grant under section 2201(a), 


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1 at the State’s request, to use not more than 20 per2 cent of the grant funds amount not reserved under 

3 subsection (a) to make subgrants to eligible entities 

4 (as defined under section 2204(a)(2)) under this 

5 subsection. 

6 ‘‘(2) NOT SUBJECT TO SECTION 2204.—Sub7 grants awarded under this subsection shall not be 

8 subject to the requirements of section 2204, with the 

9 exception of the requirements of paragraphs (1) and 

10 (2) of section 2204(b). 

11 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.—In order to receive a 

12 subgrant under this subsection, an eligible entity 

13 shall submit an application to the State educational 

14 agency at such time, in such form, and including 

15 such information as the State educational agency 

16 may prescribe. At a minimum, the application shall 

17 include— 

18 ‘‘(A) a description of the applicant’s dis19 trict-wide plan for developing and implementing 

20 a high-quality plan or strategy to improve 

21 STEM education and for using subgrant funds 

22 to support the implementation of that plan or 

23 strategy; 

24 ‘‘(B) a description of the activities the en25 tity proposes to carry out, including an explaVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:33 Mar 03, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S463.IS S463

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1 nation of how those activities align with the 

2 State’s STEM standards and of how they would 

3 incorporate the components of high-quality 

4 STEM instruction; 

5 ‘‘(C) the rationale underlying the proposed 

6 model practice, strategy, or program in improv7 ing teaching practice as well as student achieve8 ment, especially with high-need student popu9 lations, which shall include either— 

10 ‘‘(i) a description of how the proposed 

11 practice, strategy, or program is evidence12 based; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) a rationale based on research 

14 findings that the proposed practice, strat15 egy, or program will improve student 

16 achievement; and 

17 ‘‘(D) the plan for evaluating the impact of 

18 the model practice, strategy, or program and 

19 disseminating information from that evaluation. 

20 ‘‘(4) ACTIVITIES.—Subgrants awarded under 

21 this subsection may carry out activities that are not 

22 required of the State under subsection (b), but 

23 that— 

24 ‘‘(A) align with the State’s STEM stand25 ards; 


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1 ‘‘(B) incorporate 1 or more of the compo2 nents of high-quality STEM instruction; and 

3 ‘‘(C) are evidence-based or for which the 

4 subgrantee has a plan in place to rigorously 

5 evaluate their effectiveness. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 2204. STEM EDUCATION SUBGRANTS. 

7 ‘‘(a) SUBGRANT AUTHORIZATION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency 

9 that receives a grant under section 2201(a) shall, 

10 from funds the State receives under this part that 

11 are not reserved under section 2203(a) or used pur12 suant to section 2203(d), make STEM education 

13 subgrants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities. 

14 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—In this section, the 

15 term ‘eligible entity’ means— 

16 ‘‘(A) a high-need local educational agency; 

17 ‘‘(B) a consortium of high-need local edu18 cational agencies; 

19 ‘‘(C) a partnership of 1 or more high-need 

20 local educational agencies with 1 or more insti21 tutions of higher education or 1 or more non22 profit organizations, or both; or 

23 ‘‘(D) an educational service agency pro24 posing to serve high-need local educational 

25 agencies. 


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1 ‘‘(b) CRITERIA.—Subgrants under this section shall 

2 be— 

3 ‘‘(1) used to carry out projects in high-need 

4 schools; 

5 ‘‘(2) of sufficient size to support projects that 

6 can influence classroom instruction in a significant 

7 number or percentage of classrooms in the high-need 

8 schools that the subgrantee would serve; and 

9 ‘‘(3) used to carry out the activities listed under 

10 subsection (e), unless the Secretary has permitted 

11 the State to do otherwise. 

12 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—In order to re13 ceive a subgrant under this section, an eligible entity shall 

14 submit an application to the State educational agency at 

15 such time, in such form, and including such information 

16 as the State educational agency may prescribe. At a min17 imum, the application shall include— 

18 ‘‘(1) a description of the applicant’s district19 wide plan for developing and implementing a com20 prehensive high-quality STEM program for all 

21 schools and students in the participating local edu22 cational agencies and for using subgrant funds to 

23 support the implementation of that plan; 

24 ‘‘(2) a description of how the applicant’s dis25 trict-wide plan aligns with the State’s STEM plan 


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1 for preschool through grade 12 and the State’s goals 

2 for improving student outcomes; 

3 ‘‘(3) a description of the applicant’s record in 

4 implementing and improving student achievement 

5 for all subgroups of students served through other 

6 STEM initiatives; 

7 ‘‘(4) a description of how the proposed activities 

8 are informed by a needs assessment described in the 

9 application and designed to support effective teach10 ing and to improve student achievement for the low11 est-performing subgroups; 

12 ‘‘(5) a description of the evidence base for the 

13 proposed activities; 

14 ‘‘(6) a description of how the activities will in15 clude and be accessible to all students, including stu16 dents with disabilities and English language learn17 ers; and 

18 ‘‘(7) a description of how the applicant’s selec19 tion of schools and the grade spans it plans to serve 

20 with funds under this part would support successful 

21 achievement of the objectives described in the appli22 cation and the STEM plan required under para23 graph (1). 

24 ‘‘(d) PRIORITIES.—In awarding subgrants under this 

25 section, a State educational agency shall give priority to— 


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1 ‘‘(1) entities that propose a coherent strategy to 

2 improve STEM instruction that aligns activities 

3 under the subgrant with literacy instruction sup4 ported with other Federal funds under title I, part 

5 A of title II, title III, and title VII, and, as appro6 priate, the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

7 Act and the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical 

8 Education Act of 2006 and State and local funds; 

9 ‘‘(2) entities that propose to develop 1 or more 

10 robust partnerships with at least 1 entity, such as 

11 a locally situated business, college or university, or 

12 nonprofit organization, that has expertise, or a 

13 workforce with knowledge, in STEM fields or in edu14 cation in STEM subjects; 

15 ‘‘(3) entities that propose to implement activi16 ties in schools with the highest levels of need and ca17 pacity for improvement; 

18 ‘‘(4) entities that have a plan for sustaining the 

19 strategy described in paragraph (1) after the end of 

20 the subgrant; and 

21 ‘‘(5) entities whose proposals are supported by 

22 the strongest available evidence. 

23 ‘‘(e) LOCAL ACTIVITIES.— 

24 ‘‘(1) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—Each recipient of 

25 a subgrant under this section shall implement a 


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1 high-quality, evidence-based, comprehensive, and co2 herent STEM program that includes each of the fol3 lowing aligned components: 

4 ‘‘(A) Effective professional development 

5 (as defined in section 9101) in STEM for 

6 teachers and school leaders, which may include 

7 professional development focused on subject 

8 matter competency and on ensuring that teach9 ers have the knowledge and skills appropriate 

10 for the grade levels that they teach. 

11 ‘‘(B) High-quality curriculum and instruc12 tional materials that are aligned with State 

13 standards and that incorporate the components 

14 of high-quality STEM instruction, and incor15 porate technology, as appropriate, and prin16 ciples of universal design for learning to sup17 port students with diverse learning needs, in18 cluding students with disabilities and English 

19 language learners. 

20 ‘‘(C) Coherent, high-quality assessment 

21 systems that are aligned with State standards 

22 and assessments and that include— 

23 ‘‘(i) valid and reliable diagnostic and 

24 progress-monitoring measures, to the ex25 tent available; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the systematic use of the assess2 ment data to inform and modify instruc3 tion, interventions, and continuous pro4 gram improvement; 

5 ‘‘(iii) appropriate accommodations 

6 necessary to ensure that all students, in7 cluding students with disabilities and 

8 English language learners, are reliably and 

9 accurately assessed; and 

10 ‘‘(iv) interventions to ensure that all 

11 students, including both struggling stu12 dents and students who master the mate13 rial ahead of their peers, are served appro14 priately. 

15 ‘‘(D) Monitoring of program implementa16 tion and outcomes, including the effectiveness 

17 of professional development, and activities that 

18 track implementation and outcomes at the local 

19 educational agency, school, classroom, and stu20 dent levels, so as to inform continuous improve21 ment. 

22 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—A 

23 recipient of a subgrant under this section may carry 

24 out additional activities, consistent with its plan 

25 under subsection (c)(1), including— 


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1 ‘‘(A) providing technical assistance and 

2 support to high-need schools to enable the 

3 schools to implement a high-quality, comprehen4 sive STEM program; 

5 ‘‘(B) developing partnerships with organi6 zations with STEM expertise to assist the local 

7 educational agency in increasing student learn8 ing, engagement, and achievement in STEM; 

9 ‘‘(C) creating mechanisms to promote the 

10 adoption of effective practices and ensure that 

11 those practices are sustained; 

12 ‘‘(D) integrating evidence-based, effective 

13 STEM programs and comprehensive STEM ini14 tiatives into the teaching of other core academic 

15 subjects; 

16 ‘‘(E) activities to support family engage17 ment in STEM education; and 

18 ‘‘(F) developing and implementing innova19 tive uses of technology that show promise for 

20 improving outcomes in classroom instruction, 

21 teacher and leader effectiveness, and student 

22 achievement. 

23 ‘‘(f) LENGTH OF GRANTS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subgrants awarded under 

25 this section shall be for not more than 3 years. 


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1 ‘‘(2) EXTENSION.—The State educational agen2 cy may extend a subgrant under this section for an 

3 additional 2 years if the subgrantee— 

4 ‘‘(A) is achieving the intended outcomes of 

5 the subgrant; and 

6 ‘‘(B) shows improvement against baseline 

7 measures on performance indicators established 

8 by the Secretary.’’. 

9 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

10 section 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

11 of 1965 is amended by striking the items relating to part 

12 B of title II and inserting the following: 

‘‘PART B—EFFECTIVE STEM TEACHING AND LEARNING

‘‘Sec. 2201. Program authorized. 

‘‘Sec. 2202. Application. 

‘‘Sec. 2203. State use of funds. 

‘‘Sec. 2204. STEM education subgrants.’’. 

Æ 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS