II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 716 

To establish within the Department of Education the Innovation Inspiration 

school grant program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 4, 2011 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself, Mr. BEGICH, Mr. KERRY, Mr. FRANKEN, Ms. 

KLOBUCHAR, Mr. COONS, and Mr. REID) introduced the following bill; 

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

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. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Innovation Inspiration 

5 School Grant Program Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

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

9 2010 Science and Engineering Indicators, only 5 


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1 percent of American college graduates major in engi2 neering. In Asia, about 20 percent of all bacca3 laureate degrees are in engineering and in China 

4 about 33 percent of baccalaureate degrees are in en5 gineering. 

6 (2) Although 4th graders in the United States 

7 score well against international competition, stu8 dents in the United States fall near the bottom or 

9 dead last by 12th grade in mathematics and science, 

10 respectively. 

11 (3) Admissions requirements for undergraduate 

12 engineering schools include a solid background in 

13 mathematics (algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and 

14 calculus) and science (biology, chemistry, and phys15 ics), in addition to courses in English, social studies, 

16 and humanities. 

17 (4) According to the Bureau of Labor Statis18 tics, overall engineering employment is expected to 

19 grow by 11 percent from 2008 through 2018, and, 

20 as a group, engineers earn some of the highest aver21 age starting salaries among individuals holding bac22 calaureate degrees. 

23 (5) According to the Department of Labor, en24 gineers should be creative, inquisitive, analytical, 

25 and detail-oriented. Engineers should be able to 


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

2 both orally and in writing. Communication abilities 

3 are becoming increasingly important as engineers 

4 interact more frequently with specialists in a wide 

5 range of fields outside engineering. 

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

7 learning, in a competitive team environment, gives 

8 9th through 12th graders the skills that they need 

9 to be successful in engineering programs of study 

10 and engineering careers. 

11 (7) According to Brandeis University’s Center 

12 for Youth and Communities, participants in FIRST 

13 Robotics (a nonprofit organization that inspires 

14 young people to be science and technology leaders by 

15 engaging the young people in mentor-based pro16 grams)— 

17 (A) are more likely than nonparticipants to 

18 attend an institution of higher education on a 

19 full-time basis (88 percent versus 53 percent); 

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

21 in a science or engineering field; and 

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

23 majored specifically in engineering. 

24 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act: 


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1 (1) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

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

3 the term in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec4 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

5 (2) LOW-INCOME STUDENT.—The term ‘‘low-in6 come student’’ means a student who is eligible for 

7 free or reduced price lunch under the Richard B. 

8 Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 

9 et seq.). 

10 (3) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec11 ondary school’’ has the meaning given the term in 

12 section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu13 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

14 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

15 the Secretary of Education. 

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

17 technology, engineering (including robotics), or 

18 mathematics. 

19 (6) NON-TRADITIONAL STEM TEACHING METH20 OD.—The term ‘‘non-traditional STEM teaching 

21 method’’ means a STEM education method or strat22 egy such as incorporating self-directed student learn23 ing, inquiry-based learning, cooperative learning in 

24 small groups, collaboration with mentors in the field 


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1 of study, and participation in STEM-related com2 petitions. 

3 SEC. 4. INNOVATIVE INSPIRATION SCHOOL GRANT PRO4 GRAM. 

5 (a) GOALS OF PROGRAM.—The goals of the Innova6 tion Inspiration grant program are— 

7 (1) to provide opportunities for local edu8 cational agencies to support non-traditional STEM 

9 education teaching methods; 

10 (2) to support the participation of students in 

11 nonprofit STEM competitions; 

12 (3) to foster innovation and broaden interest in, 

13 and access to, careers in the STEM fields by invest14 ing in programs supported by educators and profes15 sional mentors who receive hands-on training and 

16 ongoing communications that strengthen the inter17 actions of the educators and mentors with— 

18 (A) students who are involved in STEM 

19 activities; and 

20 (B) other students in the STEM class21 rooms and communities of such educators and 

22 mentors; and 

23 (4) to encourage collaboration among students, 

24 engineers, and professional mentors. 

25 (b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 


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

2 to award grants, on a competitive basis, to local edu3 cational agencies to enable the local educational 

4 agencies— 

5 (A) to promote STEM in secondary 

6 schools; 

7 (B) to support the participation of sec8 ondary school students in non-traditional 

9 STEM teaching methods; and 

10 (C) to broaden secondary school students’ 

11 access to careers in STEM. 

12 (2) DURATION.—The Secretary shall award 

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

14 than 5 years. 

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

16 grant under this Act in an amount that is sufficient 

17 to carry out the goals of this Act. 

18 (c) APPLICATION.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each local educational agen20 cy desiring a grant under this Act shall submit an 

21 application to the Secretary at such time, in such 

22 manner, and containing such information as the Sec23 retary may reasonably require. 


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

2 minimum, include a description of how the local edu3 cational agency will— 

4 (A) carry out STEM teaching programs 

5 that will use a non-traditional STEM teaching 

6 method; 

7 (B) identify and recruit partners and men8 tors— 

9 (i) to help carry out the programs de10 scribed in subparagraph (A); and 

11 (ii) to assist students who participate 

12 in such programs, including through tech13 nology-supported means; 

14 (C) support educators who lead such pro15 grams, and participants in such programs, 

16 through stipends or other incentives; 

17 (D) recruit young women and individuals 

18 from populations historically underrepresented 

19 in the STEM fields to participate in such pro20 grams; 

21 (E) identify public and private partners 

22 that can support such programs with cash or 

23 in-kind contributions; 

24 (F) plan for sustaining such programs fi25 nancially beyond the grant period; and 


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1 (G) evaluate the grant project and the re2 sults of the grant project among participating 

3 students, including— 

4 (i) comparing students who partici5 pate in the grant project to similar stu6 dents who do not participate; and 

7 (ii) evaluating— 

8 (I) secondary school graduation 

9 rates; 

10 (II) rates of attendance at insti11 tutions of higher education; 

12 (III) the number of students tak13 ing advanced STEM related secondary 

14 school classes; and 

15 (IV) the ability of students par16 ticipating in the grant project to part17 ner with professional mentors. 

18 (3) PREFERENCE.—In awarding grants under 

19 this section, the Secretary shall give priority to ap20 plications from local educational agencies that pro21 pose to carry out activities that target— 

22 (A) a rural or urban school; 

23 (B) a low-performing school or local edu24 cational agency; or 


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1 (C) a local educational agency or school 

2 that serves low-income students. 

3 (d) USES OF FUNDS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each local educational agen5 cy that receives a grant under this Act shall use the 

6 grant funds for any of the following: 

7 (A) STEM EDUCATION AND CAREER AC8 TIVITIES.—Promotion of STEM education and 

9 career activities. 

10 (B) PURCHASE OF PARTS.—The purchase 

11 of parts and supplies needed to support partici12 pation in non-traditional STEM teaching meth13 ods. 

14 (C) TEACHER INCENTIVES AND STI15 PENDS.—Incentives and stipends for teachers 

16 involved in non-traditional STEM teaching 

17 methods outside of their regular teaching du18 ties. 

19 (D) SUPPORT AND EXPENSES.—Support 

20 and expenses for student participation in re21 gional and national nonprofit STEM competi22 tions. 

23 (E) ADDITIONAL MATERIALS AND SUP24 PORT.—Additional materials and support, such 

25 as equipment, facility use, technology, 


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1 broadband access, and other expenses, directly 

2 associated with non-traditional STEM teaching 

3 and mentoring. 

4 (F) EVALUATION.—Carrying out the eval5 uation described in subsection (c)(2)(G). 

6 (G) OTHER ACTIVITIES.—Carrying out 

7 other activities that are related to the goals of 

8 the grant program, as described in subsection 

9 (a). 

10 (2) PROHIBITION.—A local educational agency 

11 shall not use grant funds awarded under this Act to 

12 participate in any STEM competition that is not a 

13 nonprofit competition. 

14 (3) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Each eligible en15 tity that receives a grant under this Act may use not 

16 more than 2 percent of the grant funds for costs re17 lated to the administration of the grant project. 

18 (e) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

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

20 each local educational agency that receives a grant 

21 under this Act shall secure, toward the cost of the 

22 activities assisted under the grant, from non-Federal 

23 sources, an amount equal to 50 percent of the grant. 

24 The non-Federal contribution may be provided in 

25 cash or in kind. 


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

2 part of the matching requirement described in para3 graph (1) for a local educational agency if the Sec4 retary determines that applying the matching re5 quirement would result in a serious financial hard6 ship or a financial inability to carry out the goals of 

7 the grant project. 

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

9 provided to a local educational agency under this Act shall 

10 be used to supplement, and not supplant, funds that would 

11 otherwise be used for activities authorized under this Act. 

12 (g) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall establish an 

13 evaluation program to determine the efficacy of the grant 

14 program established by this Act, which shall include com15 paring students participating in a grant project funded 

16 under this Act to similar students who do not so partici17 pate, in order to assess the impact of student participation 

18 on— 

19 (1) what courses a student takes in the future; 

20 and 

21 (2) a student’s postsecondary study. 

22 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

24 appropriated to carry out this Act such sums as may 


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1 be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2012 

2 through 2016. 

3 (2) LIMITATIONS.—Of the amounts appro4 priated under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, not 

5 more than 2 percent shall be used for the evaluation 

6 described under subsection (g). 

Æ 


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