II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 969 

To award planning grants and implementation grants to State educational 

agencies to enable the State educational agencies to complete comprehensive planning to carry out activities designed to integrate engineering 

education into K–12 instruction and curriculum and to provide evaluation 

grants to measure efficacy of K–12 engineering education. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 12, 2011 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Ms. 

STABENOW, and Mr. BEGICH) introduced the following bill; which was 

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

and Pensions 

A BILL 

To award planning grants and implementation grants to 

State educational agencies to enable the State educational agencies to complete comprehensive planning to 

carry out activities designed to integrate engineering education into K–12 instruction and curriculum and to provide evaluation grants to measure efficacy of K–12 engineering education. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Engineering Education 

for Innovation Act’’ or the ‘‘E2 3 for Innovation Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) There is a national concern that the Na7 tion’s preeminence in science and innovation is erod8 ing. According to the National Science Board’s 2010 

9 Science and Engineering Indicators, only 5 percent 

10 of college graduates in the United States major in 

11 engineering, compared with 12 percent of European 

12 students and 20 percent of those in Asia. The report 

13 also notes that the performance of elementary and 

14 secondary school students in the United States lags 

15 behind many nations on international assessments of 

16 mathematics and science. 

17 (2) While women earn 58 percent of all bach18 elor’s degrees, they constitute only 18.5 percent of 

19 bachelor’s degrees awarded in engineering. 

20 (3) African-Americans earn only 4.6 percent of 

21 bachelor’s degrees awarded in engineering and His22 panics earn only 7.2 percent. 

23 (4) The introduction of engineering education 

24 has the potential to improve student learning and 

25 achievement in science and mathematics, increase 

26 awareness about what engineers do and of engineerVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:49 May 18, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S969.IS S969

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1 ing as a potential career, and boost students’ tech2 nology and engineering literacy, according to a new 

3 report, ‘‘Engineering in K–12 Education’’ from the 

4 National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the 

5 National Research Council (NRC). 

6 (5) The report described in paragraph (4) also 

7 identifies the following 3 core principles for K–12 

8 engineering education: 

9 (A) Emphasize engineering design process. 

10 (B) Incorporate important and develop11 mentally appropriate mathematics, science, and 

12 technology knowledge and skills. 

13 (C) Promote engineering habits of mind in14 cluding systems thinking, creativity, collabora15 tion, communication, and attention to ethical 

16 considerations. 

17 (6) While exposure to formal engineering edu18 cation has increased dramatically over the past 15 

19 years, reaching several million K–12 students, most 

20 students in the United States have never experienced 

21 an engineering course or lesson. 

22 (7) There is also a lack of diversity in these ex23 isting K–12 engineering education opportunities. 

24 The number of girls and underrepresented minorities 

25 participating in K–12 engineering education does 


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1 not correspond to their proportion of the general 

2 population. 

3 (8) The President’s Council of Advisors on 

4 Science and Technology (PCAST) report Prepare 

5 and Inspire: K–12 Science, Technology, Engineer6 ing, and Math (STEM) Education for America’s Fu7 ture recommends that the Nation focus on preparing 

8 all students, including girls and minorities underrep9 resented in STEM fields, in order to meet the na10 tional need for a STEM-capable citizenry and a 

11 STEM-proficient workforce. The report also notes 

12 that achieving the Nation’s goals for K–12 STEM 

13 education will require partnerships with State and 

14 local governments and with the private and philan15 thropic sectors. 

16 (9) Only a handful of States have integrated 

17 engineering into their core academic K–12 stand18 ards. 

19 (10) K–12 engineering education in the United 

20 States is supported by a relatively small number of 

21 curricular and teacher professional development pro22 grams. 

23 (11) While science, technology, engineering, and 

24 mathematics education is viewed as a national edu25 cation policy, often the implementation of policies 


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1 and initiatives focuses exclusively on mathematics 

2 and science and overlooks the engineering and tech3 nology education components. 

4 (12) Schools, policy makers, and other stake5 holders often narrowly refer to the term ‘‘techno6 logically literate’’ as the ability to use educational 

7 technologies. Although educational technology is im8 portant, it is far from the only type of technology we 

9 depend on in a modern society. In 2006, the Na10 tional Academy of Engineering and the National Re11 search Council’s report, ‘‘Technically Speaking’’, 

12 outlined a broader view of ‘‘technological literacy’’, 

13 one more consistent with how scientists, engineers, 

14 and technologists see the world. In this view, tech15 nology and engineering literacy includes— 

16 (A) knowledge of technology, the engineer17 ing design process, and impacts on society; 

18 (B) critical thinking and decisionmaking 

19 weighing benefits, risks, costs, and tradeoffs; 

20 and 

21 (C) capability to use a variety of tech22 nologies, apply the design process, fix simple 

23 technological problems, and obtain and under24 stand information about technological issues. 


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1 (13) The Standards for Technological Literacy, 

2 developed by the International Technology and Engi3 neering Education Association and passed by a for4 mal review by the National Academy of Engineering 

5 and the National Research Council, closely align 

6 with the Academies’ concept of technology and engi7 neering literacy in paragraph (11). 

8 (14) To support an innovation economy and 

9 maintain our country’s vitality and security, we 

10 must expand students’ understanding of technology 

11 and engineering and widen the pipeline to careers in 

12 these fields so that a diverse array of talented stu13 dents can pursue them. 

14 (15) The Federal Government has an interest 

15 in expanding K–12 engineering and technology edu16 cation. The National Assessment of Educational 

17 Progress (NAEP) Science 2009 assessment included 

18 items testing student’s technological design skills. 

19 The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) 

20 will administer a NAEP Technology and Engineer21 ing Literacy probe assessment in 2014 that will as22 sess student knowledge in engineering design and 

23 systems, information and communication technology, 

24 and technology and society. 


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1 (16) To further expand K–12 engineering edu2 cation, this Act seeks to support planning and imple3 menting grants for educational agencies to invest in 

4 programs and activities to integrate engineering edu5 cation into K–12 instruction and curriculum and to 

6 fund research on, and evaluation of, such efforts. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) ENGINEERING.—The term ‘‘engineering’’ 

10 means a systematic and often iterative approach to 

11 designing objects, processes, and systems to meet 

12 human needs and wants. 

13 (2) ESEA TERMS.—Except as otherwise pro14 vided in this Act, any term used in this Act that is 

15 defined in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec16 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801) 

17 shall have the meaning given the term in such sec18 tion. 

19 (3) HIGH-NEED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN20 CY.—The term ‘‘high-need local educational agency’’ 

21 means a local educational agency— 

22 (A)(i) that serves not fewer than 10,000 

23 children from families with incomes below the 

24 poverty line; or 


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1 (ii) for which not less than 20 percent of 

2 the children served by the agency are from fam3 ilies with incomes below the poverty line; and 

4 (B)(i) for which there is a high percentage 

5 of teachers not teaching in the academic sub6 jects or grade levels that the teachers were 

7 trained to teach; or 

8 (ii) for which there is a high percentage of 

9 teachers with emergency, provisional, or tem10 porary certification or licensing. 

11 (4) HIGH-NEED SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘high-need 

12 school’’ means a public K–12 school— 

13 (A) for which not less than 20 percent of 

14 the children served by the school are from fami15 lies with incomes below the poverty line; and 

16 (B)(i) for which there is a high percentage 

17 of teachers not teaching in the academic sub18 jects or grade levels that the teachers were 

19 trained to teach; or 

20 (ii) for which there is a high percentage of 

21 teachers with emergency, provisional, or tem22 porary certification or licensing. 

23 (5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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


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1 meaning given such term in section 102 of the High2 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 

3 (6) K–12.—The term ‘‘K–12’’ means kinder4 garten through grade 12. 

5 (7) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

6 ‘‘State educational agency’’ includes the State edu7 cational agency in a State in which the State edu8 cational agency is the sole educational agency for all 

9 public schools. 

10 (8) TECHNOLOGY.—The term ‘‘technology’’ 

11 means any modification of the natural world done to 

12 fulfill human needs or desires. 

13 (9) TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING LIT14 ERACY.—The term ‘‘technology and engineering lit15 eracy’’ means the capacity to use, understand, and 

16 evaluate technology and engineering as well as to 

17 understand technological principles and strategies 

18 needed to develop solutions and achieve goals. 

19 SEC. 4. PLANNING GRANTS. 

20 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education, 

22 in consultation with the Director of the National 

23 Science Foundation and other relevant heads of 

24 Federal agencies, is authorized to award planning 

25 grants to State educational agencies to enable such 


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1 agencies to complete comprehensive planning to 

2 carry out activities designed to integrate engineering 

3 education into K–12 instruction and curriculum. 

4 (2) GRANT PERIOD.—A planning grant awarded 

5 under this section shall be for a period of not more 

6 than 2 years. 

7 (3) NONRENEWABILITY.—The Secretary of 

8 Education shall not award a State educational agen9 cy more than 1 planning grant under this section. 

10 (4) RESERVATION FOR SMALL STATES.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

12 subparagraph (B), the Secretary of Education 

13 shall reserve not less than 15 percent of the 

14 funds appropriated to carry out this section for 

15 each fiscal year to award grants under this sec16 tion to States with populations of less than 

17 2,600,000 on the date of enactment of this Act. 

18 (B) WAIVER.—The Secretary of Education 

19 may waive the 15 percent requirement under 

20 subparagraph (A) after notifying Congress of 

21 such intention. 

22 (b) APPLICATION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each State educational 

24 agency desiring a planning grant under this section 

25 shall submit an application to the Secretary of EduVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:49 May 18, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S969.IS S969

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1 cation at such time, in such manner, and accom2 panied by such information as the Secretary of Edu3 cation may require. 

4 (2) APPLICATION CONTENTS.—Each application 

5 described in paragraph (1), at a minimum, shall— 

6 (A) include a description of how the State 

7 educational agency proposes to use the planning 

8 grant funds to develop a plan designed to inte9 grate engineering education into K–12 instruc10 tion and curriculum; 

11 (B) describe the roles and responsibilities 

12 of the partners, described in subsection (c), par13 ticipating in the planning under this section; 

14 (C) provide a budget for the use of the 

15 planning grant funds; and 

16 (D) provide such additional assurances and 

17 information as the Secretary of Education de18 termines to be necessary. 

19 (c) PARTNERSHIP.—A State educational agency re20 ceiving a planning grant under this section shall complete 

21 comprehensive planning to carry out activities designed to 

22 integrate engineering education into K–12 instruction and 

23 curriculum in coordination with partners, including the 

24 following: 


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1 (1) The Governor of the State or the designee 

2 of the Governor. 

3 (2) Not less than 1 faculty member from a 

4 school of engineering at an institution of higher edu5 cation located in the State. 

6 (3) Not less than 1 faculty member from a 

7 school of education at an institution of higher edu8 cation located in the State. 

9 (4) Not less than 1 public elementary school ad10 ministrator employed in the State. 

11 (5) Not less than 1 public elementary school 

12 teacher employed in the State. 

13 (6) Not less than 1 public secondary school ad14 ministrator employed in the State. 

15 (7) Not less than 1 public secondary school en16 gineering or technology teacher employed in the 

17 State. 

18 (8) Not less than 1 representative of the 

19 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics 

20 business community in the State. 

21 (9) Not less than 1 representative from an in22 formal science education center, if available, a non23 profit organization with a demonstrated history of 

24 developing innovative and effective engineering cur25 riculum, or an afterschool program provider. 


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1 (10) Not less than 1 representative from a pro2 fessional engineering society or an academy of 

3 science with a chapter or other presence in the 

4 State. 

5 (11) Any additional representatives identified 

6 by the State educational agency who possess an ex7 pertise in developing high-quality K–12 engineering 

8 education materials and resources. 

9 (d) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—A State educational 

10 agency receiving a planning grant under this section shall 

11 use the planning grant funds to carry out each of the fol12 lowing activities: 

13 (1) REVIEW.—The State educational agency 

14 shall review resources and programs across the State 

15 educational agency and its partners that are relevant 

16 to the objectives of the grant, and coordinate any 

17 new plans and resources under this section with 

18 such existing resources and programs. 

19 (2) PLAN.—The State educational agency shall 

20 develop an implementation plan to achieve the objec21 tive of integrating engineering education into K–12 

22 instruction and curriculum. The plan shall include a 

23 description of how the State educational agency will 

24 carry out the following: 


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1 (A) Set intermediate and long-term meas2 urable goals. 

3 (B) Develop and implement a coherent 

4 plan for achieving the goals, including the fol5 lowing core set of activities: 

6 (i) An analysis of the State’s existing 

7 K–12 content standards and assessments 

8 to determine— 

9 (I) the extent to which they ad10 dress the integration of engineering 

11 education into K–12 instruction and 

12 curriculum; and 

13 (II) the extent to which they 

14 align with workforce and postsec15 ondary expectations. 

16 (ii) An analysis of the State’s existing 

17 K–12 engineering education curricula, 

18 which shall include the development of a 

19 baseline analysis of key indicators that 

20 measure— 

21 (I) the number and diversity of 

22 students who are exposed to this cur23 ricula, including populations under24 represented in engineering fields, for 


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1 example, girls and underrepresented 

2 minorities; and 

3 (II) the effectiveness of the cur4 ricula at improving student learning, 

5 including— 

6 (aa) increasing under7 standing of engineering; 

8 (bb) increasing science, tech9 nology, engineering, and mathe10 matics career aspirations; 

11 (cc) increasing technology 

12 and engineering literacy skills; 

13 and 

14 (dd) increasing student 

15 achievement in science, tech16 nology, engineering, and mathe17 matics subjects for all students. 

18 (iii) An analysis of the State’s K–12 

19 engineering and technology education 

20 teaching workforce, which shall include the 

21 development of a baseline analysis of key 

22 indicators that measure— 

23 (I) the number of K–12 teachers 

24 who received any certificates or cre25 dentials in engineering or technology 


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1 education, including the number who 

2 received professional development in 

3 engineering education; 

4 (II) the number and types of pre5 service, induction, and professional 

6 development engineering and tech7 nology education programs; and 

8 (III) the effectiveness of the iden9 tified preservice, induction, and pro10 fessional development engineering and 

11 technology education programs as 

12 they relate to— 

13 (aa) increasing under14 standing of engineering; 

15 (bb) increasing science, tech16 nology, engineering, and mathe17 matics career aspirations; 

18 (cc) increasing technology 

19 and engineering literacy skills; 

20 and 

21 (dd) increasing student 

22 achievement in science, tech23 nology, engineering, and mathe24 matics subjects. 


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1 (C) Create a plan for ongoing collection 

2 and analysis of data on outcomes, including 

3 progress toward outcomes. 

4 (e) SPECIAL RULE.—In the event a State educational 

5 agency declines or does not submit an application under 

6 this section, the Secretary of Education shall provide for 

7 another entity or consortium, with the capacity to carry 

8 out the activities under this section, in partnership with 

9 the partners listed in subsection (c), in such State, to sub10 mit an application. 

11 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

13 such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 

14 2013 and 2014. 

15 SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS. 

16 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education, 

18 in consultation with the Director of the National 

19 Science Foundation and other relevant heads of 

20 Federal agencies, is authorized to award grants to 

21 State educational agencies to pay the Federal share 

22 of the cost of implementing innovative, integrative 

23 engineering education initiatives into K–12 instruc24 tion and curriculum. 


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1 (2) PARTNERSHIP.—A State educational agency 

2 receiving an implementation grant under this section 

3 may partner with such entities (including the enti4 ties listed in section 4(c)) that the State chooses in 

5 order to carry out the activities described in this sec6 tion. 

7 (b) MINIMUM AMOUNT.—The Secretary of Education 

8 shall award a grant under this section in an amount that 

9 is a comparably sufficient amount relative to the amounts 

10 appropriated to carry out this section. 

11 (c) DURATION AND RENEWAL.— 

12 (1) DURATION.—The Secretary of Education 

13 shall award grants under this section for not more 

14 than 2 years. 

15 (2) RENEWAL.—The Secretary of Education 

16 may renew a grant awarded under this section sub17 ject to the progress of the State educational agency 

18 in meeting the benchmarks described in subsection 

19 (i). 

20 (d) PRIORITY.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—In awarding grants under 

22 this section, the Secretary of Education shall give 

23 priority to State educational agencies that submit an 

24 application under subsection (e) that dem25 onstrates— 


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1 (A) satisfaction of the required activities or 

2 comparable activities under section 4(d), as de3 termined by the Secretary; 

4 (B) that a significant percentage of per5 sons served by the grant will be students from 

6 population underrepresented in engineering 

7 fields; and 

8 (C) that the State’s partners under sub9 section (a)(2) agree to pay a portion of the non10 Federal share costs, provided in cash or in-kind, 

11 of the programs and activities carried out under 

12 the grant. 

13 (2) SMALL STATE GUARANTEE.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—In each fiscal year in 

15 which a grant is awarded under this section, 

16 the Secretary of Education shall ensure that 

17 not less than 1 grant be awarded to a State 

18 with a population of less than 2,600,000 on the 

19 date of enactment of this Act. 

20 (B) WAIVER.—The Secretary of Education 

21 may waive the requirement under subparagraph 

22 (A) after notifying Congress of such intention. 

23 (e) APPLICATIONS.—A State educational agency that 

24 desires to receive a grant under this section shall submit 

25 an application to the Secretary of Education at such time, 


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1 in such manner, and containing such information as the 

2 Secretary of Education may require. Each such applica3 tion shall include a description of— 

4 (1) how the State educational agency will inte5 grate engineering education into K–12 instruction 

6 and curriculum through programs and activities de7 scribed in subsections (f) and (g); and 

8 (2) the benchmarks developed under subsection 

9 (i). 

10 (f) USES OF FUNDS.—A State educational agency 

11 that receives a grant under this section shall use the grant 

12 funds to pay the Federal share of carrying out the fol13 lowing programs and activities in collaboration with the 

14 State’s partners under subsection (a)(2): 

15 (1) Implementing challenging academic content 

16 standards, achievement standards, and curricula 

17 frameworks that include engineering. 

18 (2) Developing new or obtaining effective cur19 ricula in engineering education. 

20 (3) Designing and implementing engineering 

21 education assessment items and tools. 

22 (4) Developing or improving elementary and 

23 secondary teacher preservice, induction, and profes24 sional development engineering and technology edu25 cation programs, including those that lead to a cerVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:49 May 18, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S969.IS S969

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1 tificate or other credential in engineering or tech2 nology education. 

3 (5) Recruiting qualified teachers to provide en4 gineering education for high-need local educational 

5 agencies and high-need schools. 

6 (g) OTHER ALLOWABLE USES OF FUNDS.—In addi7 tion to carrying out the programs and activities described 

8 in subsection (f), a State educational agency that receives 

9 a grant under this section may use the grant funds for 

10 the following: 

11 (1) Establishing distance learning modules for 

12 teachers or students in engineering education. 

13 (2) Creating online engineering education tools 

14 that are widely accessible. 

15 (3) Investing in after-school engineering edu16 cation programs. 

17 (h) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of 

18 Education is authorized to reserve not more than 1 per19 cent of the amounts available to carry out this section to 

20 provide technical assistance, directly or by grant or con21 tract with nonprofit organizations with demonstrated ex22 pertise in designing, implementing, or evaluating relevant 

23 programs, in order to help State educational agencies pre24 pare for, qualify for, apply for, and maintain a grant 

25 under this section. 


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1 (i) BENCHMARKS.— 

2 (1) BENCHMARKS.—Each State educational 

3 agency desiring a grant under this section shall— 

4 (A) develop quantifiable benchmarks for 

5 the activities supported under the grant, which 

6 shall include increasing student achievement in 

7 science, technology, engineering, and mathe8 matics subjects, and may include— 

9 (i) increasing student knowledge and 

10 competency of grade-appropriate engineer11 ing design skills; 

12 (ii) increasing the number of students 

13 who are taught engineering education; 

14 (iii) increasing the number of edu15 cators who are prepared to teach engineer16 ing education; and 

17 (iv) increasing the number and diver18 sity of students who plan to enroll in post19 secondary engineering courses and pursue 

20 an engineering degree; and 

21 (B) submit, as part of the application 

22 under subsection (e), the benchmarks for ap23 proval to the Secretary of Education in order to 

24 receive grant funds under this section. 


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1 (2) REPORTS.—Each State educational agency 

2 receiving a grant under this section shall— 

3 (A) annually measure and report to the 

4 Secretary of Education the progress of the 

5 State educational agency in achieving the 

6 benchmarks developed under paragraph (1); 

7 and 

8 (B) collect and report data of those served 

9 by the grant relating to the student bench10 marks, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, 

11 disability status, migrant status, English pro12 ficiency, and status as economically disadvan13 taged, except that such disaggregation shall not 

14 be required in a case in which the number of 

15 students in a category is insufficient to yield 

16 statistically reliable information or the results 

17 would reveal personally identifiable information 

18 about an individual student. 

19 (3) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary of Education 

20 shall provide guidance regarding acceptable data 

21 sources and methodologies for— 

22 (A) establishing baselines and performance 

23 benchmarks; and 

24 (B) measuring progress by State edu25 cational agencies receiving such grants. 


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1 (j) NON-FEDERAL SHARE; SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUP2 PLANT.— 

3 (1) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—A State educational 

5 agency that receives a grant under this section 

6 shall provide the non-Federal share of the costs 

7 of the programs and activities described in sub8 sections (f) and (g) that are carried out under 

9 the grant. The amount of the non-Federal 

10 share under this section for a fiscal year shall 

11 be not less than 50 percent. The non-Federal 

12 share may be in cash or in-kind, and may be 

13 provided from local resources, contributions 

14 from private organizations, contributions from 

15 the State’s partners under subsection (a)(2), or 

16 a combination of such sources. 

17 (B) FINANCIAL HARDSHIP WAIVER.—The 

18 Secretary of Education may waive or reduce the 

19 non-Federal share of a State educational agen20 cy that has submitted an application for a 

21 grant under this section if the State educational 

22 agency demonstrates a need for such waiver or 

23 reduction due to extreme financial hardship. 

24 (2) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant 

25 funds provided under this section shall be used to 


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1 supplement, and not supplant, any other Federal or 

2 State funds otherwise available to carry out the ac3 tivities described in this section. 

4 (k) SPECIAL RULE.—In the event a State educational 

5 agency declines or does not submit an application under 

6 this section, the Secretary of Education shall provide for 

7 another entity or a consortium, with the capacity to carry 

8 out the activities under this section in such State, to sub9 mit an application. 

10 (l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

11 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

12 such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 

13 2014 and 2015. 

14 SEC. 6. RESEARCH AND EVALUATIONS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Institute of Education 

16 Sciences shall support, directly or through grants or con17 tracts, research on engineering education and evaluation 

18 of the grants awarded under this Act, including studies 

19 and evaluations that— 

20 (1) assess the effectiveness of the programs and 

21 activities carried out by each State educational agen22 cy receiving a grant under section 5 in— 

23 (A) improving student achievement in 

24 science, technology, engineering, and mathe25 matics subjects; 


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1 (B) improving student understanding of 

2 engineering; 

3 (C) enhancing technology and engineering 

4 literacy of students; 

5 (D) increasing numbers and diversity of 

6 students with science, technology, engineering, 

7 and mathematics career aspirations; and 

8 (E) increasing the supply of engineering 

9 and technology education teachers; 

10 (2) assess how the programs and activities car11 ried out by each State educational agency receiving 

12 a grant under section 5 can be replicated by a vari13 ety of State educational agencies and local edu14 cational agencies; 

15 (3) assess how the programs and activities car16 ried out by each State educational agency receiving 

17 a grant under section 5 lead to students developing 

18 engineering design ideas, practices and habits of 

19 mind over time, and the types of conditions nec20 essary to support these developments; 

21 (4) identify and assess how science inquiry and 

22 mathematical reasoning can be connected to engi23 neering design in K–12 curricula and teacher profes24 sional development; and 


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1 (5) include any other information or assess2 ments the Secretary of Education may require. 

3 (b) DISSEMINATION.—The Secretary of Education 

4 shall, based on the results of each evaluation completed 

5 under subsection (a), disseminate information and anal6 ysis to the public, and provide technical assistance to State 

7 educational agencies, on best practices and promising in8 novations in the field of K–12 engineering education. 

9 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

11 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2015. 

Æ 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS