I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2528 

To direct the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to 

carry out programs and activities to ensure that Federal science agencies 

and institutions of higher education receiving Federal research and development funding are fully engaging their entire talent pool, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 7, 2019 

Ms. JOHNSON of Texas (for herself and Mr. LUCAS) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

A BILL 

To direct the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to carry out programs and activities to 

ensure that Federal science agencies and institutions of 

higher education receiving Federal research and development funding are fully engaging their entire talent pool, 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS; FINDINGS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘STEM Opportunities Act of 2019’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; findings. 

Sec. 2. Purposes. 

Sec. 3. Federal science agency policies for caregivers. 

Sec. 4. Collection and reporting of data on Federal research grants. 

Sec. 5. Policies for review of Federal research grants. 

Sec. 6. Collection of data on demographics of faculty. 

Sec. 7. Cultural and institutional barriers to expanding the academic and Federal STEM workforce. 

Sec. 8. Research and dissemination at the National Science Foundation. 

Sec. 9. Research and related activities to expand STEM opportunities. 

Sec. 10. Tribal Colleges and Universities Program. 

Sec. 11. Report to Congress. 

Sec. 12. Merit review. 

Sec. 13. Definitions. 

3 (c) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

4 (1) Many reports over the past decade have 

5 found that it is critical to our Nation’s economic 

6 leadership and global competitiveness that the 

7 United States educates and trains more scientists 

8 and engineers. 

9 (2) Research shows that women and minorities 

10 who are interested in STEM careers are dispropor11 tionately lost at nearly every educational transition. 

12 (3) The National Center for Science and Engi13 neering Statistics at the National Science Founda14 tion collects, compiles, and publishes data on the de15 mographics of STEM degrees and STEM jobs in the 

16 United States. 

17 (4) Women now earn nearly 37 percent of all 

18 STEM bachelor’s degrees, but major variations per19 sist among fields. In 2017, women earned only 20 


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1 percent of all bachelor’s degrees awarded in engi2 neering and 19 percent of bachelor’s degrees award3 ed in computer sciences. Based on Bureau of Labor 

4 Statistics data, jobs in computing occupations are 

5 expected to account for nearly 60 percent of the pro6 jected annual growth of newly created STEM job 

7 openings from 2016 to 2026. 

8 (5) In 2017, underrepresented minority groups 

9 comprised 39 percent of the college-age population 

10 of the United States, but only 18 percent of stu11 dents who earned bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields. 

12 The Higher Education Research Institute at the 

13 University of California, Los Angeles, found that, 

14 while freshmen from underrepresented minority 

15 groups express an interest in pursuing a STEM un16 dergraduate degree at the same rate as all other 

17 freshmen, only 22.1 percent of Latino students, 18.4 

18 percent of African-American students, and 18.8 per19 cent of Native American students studying in STEM 

20 fields complete their degree within 5 years, com21 pared to approximately 33 percent of White students 

22 and 42 percent of Asian students who complete their 

23 degree within 5 years. 

24 (6) In some STEM fields, including the com25 puter sciences, women persist at about the same rate 


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1 through doctorate degrees. In other STEM fields, 

2 women persist through doctorate degrees at a lower 

3 rate. In mathematics, women earn just 26 percent of 

4 doctorate degrees compared with 42 percent of un5 dergraduate degrees. Overall, women earned 38 per6 cent of STEM doctorate degrees in 2016. The rate 

7 of minority students earning STEM doctorate de8 grees in physics is 9 percent, compared with 15 per9 cent for bachelor’s degree. Students from underrep10 resented minority groups accounted for only 11.5 

11 percent of STEM doctorate degrees awarded in 

12 2016. 

13 (7) The representation of women in STEM 

14 drops significantly from the doctorate degree level to 

15 the faculty level. Overall, women hold only 26 per16 cent of all tenured and tenure-track positions and 27 

17 percent of full professor positions in STEM fields in 

18 our Nation’s universities and 4-year colleges. Black 

19 and Hispanic faculty together hold about 6.8 percent 

20 of all tenured and tenure-track positions and 7.5 

21 percent of full professor positions. Many of the num22 bers in the American Indian or Alaskan Native and 

23 Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander cat24 egories for different faculty ranks were too small for 

25 the National Science Foundation to report publicly 


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1 without potentially compromising confidential infor2 mation about the individuals being surveyed. 

3 (8) The representation of women is especially 

4 low at our Nation’s top research universities. Even 

5 in the biological sciences, in which women now earn 

6 more than 50 percent of the doctorates and passed 

7 the 25 percent level 37 years ago, women make up 

8 only 25 percent of the full professors at the approxi9 mately 100 most research-intensive universities in 

10 the United States. In the physical sciences and 

11 mathematics, women make up only 11 percent of full 

12 professors, in computer sciences only 10 percent, 

13 and across engineering fields only 7 percent. The 

14 data suggest that approximately 6 percent of all ten15 ure-track STEM faculty members at the most re16 search-intensive universities are from underrep17 resented minority groups, but in some fields the 

18 numbers are too small to report publicly. 

19 (9) By 2050, underrepresented minorities will 

20 comprise 52 percent of the college-age population of 

21 the United States. If the percentage of female stu22 dents and students from underrepresented minority 

23 groups earning bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields 

24 does not significantly increase, the United States 

25 will face an acute shortfall in the overall number of 


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1 students who earn degrees in STEM fields just as 

2 United States companies are increasingly seeking 

3 students with those skills. With this impending 

4 shortfall, the United States will almost certainly lose 

5 its competitive edge in the 21st century global econ6 omy. 

7 (10) According to a 2014 Association for 

8 Women in Science survey of over 4,000 scientists 

9 across the globe, 70 percent of whom were men, 

10 STEM researchers face significant challenges in 

11 work-life integration. Researchers in the United 

12 States were among the most likely to experience a 

13 conflict between work and their personal life at least 

14 weekly. One-third of researchers surveyed said that 

15 ensuring good work-life integration has negatively 

16 impacted their careers, and, of researchers intending 

17 to leave their current job within the next year, 9 

18 percent indicated it was because they were unable to 

19 balance work and life demands. 

20 (11) Female students and students from under21 represented minority groups at institutions of higher 

22 education who see few others ‘‘like themselves’’ 

23 among faculty and student populations often do not 

24 experience the social integration that is necessary for 

25 success in all disciplines, including STEM. 


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1 (12) One in five children in the United States 

2 attend school in a rural community. The data shows 

3 that rural students are at a disadvantage with re4 spect to STEM readiness. Among STEM-interested 

5 students, 17 percent of students in rural high 

6 schools and 18 percent of students in town-located 

7 high schools meet the ACT STEM Benchmark, com8 pared with 33 percent of students in suburban high 

9 schools and 27 percent of students in urban high 

10 schools. 

11 (13) A substantial body of evidence establishes 

12 that most people hold implicit biases. Decades of 

13 cognitive psychology research reveal that most peo14 ple carry prejudices of which they are unaware but 

15 that nonetheless play a large role in evaluations of 

16 people and their work. Unintentional biases and out17 moded institutional structures are hindering the ac18 cess and advancement of women, minorities, and 

19 other groups historically underrepresented in STEM. 

20 (14) Workshops held to educate faculty about 

21 unintentional biases have demonstrated success in 

22 raising awareness of such biases. 

23 (15) In 2012, the Office of Diversity and Equal 

24 Opportunity of the National Aeronautics and Space 


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1 Administration (in this Act referred to as ‘‘NASA’’) 

2 completed a report that— 

3 (A) is specifically designed to help NASA 

4 grant recipients identify why the dearth of 

5 women in STEM fields continues and to ensure 

6 that it is not due to discrimination; and 

7 (B) provides guidance that is usable by all 

8 institutions of higher education receiving sig9 nificant Federal research funding on how to 

10 conduct meaningful self-evaluations of campus 

11 culture and policies. 

12 (16) The Federal Government provides 55 per13 cent of research funding at institutions of higher 

14 education and, through its grant-making policies, 

15 has had significant influence on institution of higher 

16 education policies, including policies related to insti17 tutional culture and structure. 

18 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

19 The purposes of this Act are as follows: 

20 (1) To ensure that Federal science agencies and 

21 institutions of higher education receiving Federal re22 search and development funding are fully engaging 

23 their entire talent pool. 

24 (2) To promote research on, and increase un25 derstanding of, the participation and trajectories of 


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1 women, minorities, and other groups historically 

2 underrepresented in STEM studies and careers, in3 cluding persons with disabilities and rural, poor, and 

4 tribal populations, at institutions of higher education 

5 and Federal science agencies, including Federal lab6 oratories. 

7 (3) To raise awareness within Federal science 

8 agencies, including Federal laboratories, and institu9 tions of higher education about cultural and institu10 tional barriers limiting the recruitment, retention, 

11 promotion, and other indicators of participation and 

12 achievement of women, minorities, and other groups 

13 historically underrepresented in academic and Gov14 ernment STEM research careers at all levels. 

15 (4) To identify, disseminate, and implement 

16 best practices at Federal science agencies, including 

17 Federal laboratories, and at institutions of higher 

18 education to remove or reduce cultural and institu19 tional barriers limiting the recruitment, retention, 

20 and success of women, minorities, and other groups 

21 historically underrepresented in academic and Gov22 ernment STEM research careers. 

23 (5) To provide grants to institutions of higher 

24 education to recruit, retain, and advance STEM fac25 ulty members from underrepresented minority 


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1 groups and to implement or expand reforms in un2 dergraduate STEM education in order to increase 

3 the number of students from underrepresented mi4 nority groups receiving degrees in these fields. 

5 SEC. 3. FEDERAL SCIENCE AGENCY POLICIES FOR CARE6 GIVERS. 

7 (a) OSTP GUIDANCE.—Not later than 6 months 

8 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall 

9 provide guidance to each Federal science agency to estab10 lish policies that— 

11 (1) apply to all— 

12 (A) intramural and extramural research 

13 awards granted by such agency; and 

14 (B) primary investigators of such research 

15 who have caregiving responsibilities, including 

16 care for a newborn or newly adopted child and 

17 care for an immediate family member who is 

18 sick or disabled; and 

19 (2) provide— 

20 (A) flexibility in timing for the initiation of 

21 approved research awards granted by such 

22 agency; 

23 (B) no-cost extensions of such research 

24 awards; 


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1 (C) grant supplements, as appropriate, to 

2 research awards for research technicians or 

3 equivalent positions to sustain research activi4 ties conducted under such awards; and 

5 (D) any other appropriate accommodations 

6 at the discretion of the director of each such 

7 agency. 

8 (b) UNIFORMITY OF GUIDANCE.—In providing guid9 ance under subsection (a), the Director shall encourage 

10 uniformity and consistency in the policies established pur11 suant to such guidance across all Federal science agencies. 

12 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICIES.—Consistent with 

13 the guidance under subsection (a), Federal science agen14 cies shall— 

15 (1) maintain or develop and implement policies 

16 for individuals described in paragraph (1)(B) of 

17 such subsection; and 

18 (2) broadly disseminate such policies to current 

19 and potential grantees. 

20 (d) DATA ON USAGE.—Federal science agencies 

21 shall— 

22 (1) collect data on the usage of the policies 

23 under subsection (c), by gender, at both institutions 

24 of higher education and Federal laboratories; and 


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1 (2) report such data on an annual basis to the 

2 Director in such form as required by the Director. 

3 SEC. 4. COLLECTION AND REPORTING OF DATA ON FED4 ERAL RESEARCH GRANTS. 

5 (a) COLLECTION OF DATA.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each Federal science agency 

7 shall collect, as practicable, with respect to all appli8 cations for merit-reviewed research and development 

9 grants to institutions of higher education and Fed10 eral laboratories supported by that agency, the 

11 standardized record-level annual information on de12 mographics, primary field, award type, institution 

13 type, review rating, budget request, funding out14 come, and awarded budget. 

15 (2) UNIFORMITY AND STANDARDIZATION.—The 

16 Director shall establish a policy to ensure uniformity 

17 and standardization of the data collection required 

18 under paragraph (1). 

19 (3) RECORD-LEVEL DATA.— 

20 (A) REQUIREMENT.—Beginning not later 

21 than 2 years after the date of the enactment of 

22 this Act, and on an annual basis thereafter, 

23 each Federal science agency shall submit to the 

24 Director of the National Science Foundation 


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1 record-level data collected under paragraph (1) 

2 in the form required by such Director. 

3 (B) PREVIOUS DATA.—As part of the first 

4 submission under subparagraph (A), each Fed5 eral science agency, to the extent practicable, 

6 shall also submit comparable record-level data 

7 for the 5 years preceding the date of such sub8 mission. 

9 (b) REPORTING OF DATA.—The Director of the Na10 tional Science Foundation shall publish statistical sum11 mary data collected under this section, disaggregated and 

12 cross-tabulated by race, ethnicity, gender, age, and years 

13 since completion of doctoral degree, including in conjunc14 tion with the National Science Foundation’s report re15 quired by section 37 of the Science and Technology Equal 

16 Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 1885d; Public Law 96– 

17 516). 

18 SEC. 5. POLICIES FOR REVIEW OF FEDERAL RESEARCH 

19 GRANTS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each Federal science agency shall 

21 implement the policy recommendations with respect to re22 ducing the impact of implicit bias at Federal science agen23 cies and grantee institutions as developed by the Office 

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1 tled ‘‘Reducing the Impact of Bias in the STEM Work2 force’’ and any subsequent updates. 

3 (b) PILOT ACTIVITY.—In consultation with the Na4 tional Science Foundation and consistent with policy rec5 ommendations referenced in subsection (a), each Federal 

6 science agency shall implement a 2-year pilot orientation 

7 activity for program officers and members of standing re8 view committees to educate reviewers on, and minimize the 

9 effects of, implicit bias in the review of extramural and 

10 intramural Federal research grants. 

11 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICIES.—Drawing upon 

12 lessons learned from the pilot activity under subsection 

13 (b), each Federal science agency shall maintain or develop 

14 and implement policies and practices to minimize the ef15 fects of implicit bias in the review of extramural and intra16 mural Federal research grants. 

17 (d) ASSESSMENT OF POLICIES.—Federal science 

18 agencies shall regularly assess, and amend as necessary, 

19 the policies and practices implemented pursuant to sub20 section (c) to ensure effective measures are in place to 

21 minimize the effects of implicit bias in the review of extra22 mural and intramural Federal research grants. 

23 SEC. 6. COLLECTION OF DATA ON DEMOGRAPHICS OF FAC24 ULTY. 

25 (a) COLLECTION OF DATA.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, and at least every 

3 5 years thereafter, the Director of the National 

4 Science Foundation shall carry out a survey to col5 lect institution-level data on the demographics of 

6 STEM faculty, by broad fields of STEM, at dif7 ferent types of institutions of higher education. 

8 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—To the extent prac9 ticable, the Director of the National Science Foun10 dation shall consider, by gender, race, ethnicity, citi11 zenship status, age, and years since completion of 

12 doctoral degree— 

13 (A) the number and percentage of faculty; 

14 (B) the number and percentage of faculty 

15 at each rank; 

16 (C) the number and percentage of faculty 

17 who are in nontenure-track positions, including 

18 teaching and research; 

19 (D) the number and percentage of faculty 

20 who are reviewed for promotion, including ten21 ure, and the percentage of that number who are 

22 promoted, including being awarded tenure; 

23 (E) faculty years in rank; 

24 (F) the number and percentage of faculty 

25 to leave tenure-track positions; 


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1 (G) the number and percentage of faculty 

2 hired, by rank; and 

3 (H) the number and percentage of faculty 

4 in leadership positions. 

5 (b) EXISTING SURVEYS.—The Director of the Na6 tional Science Foundation, may, in modifying or expand7 ing existing Federal surveys of higher education (as nec8 essary)— 

9 (1) take into account the considerations under 

10 subsection (a)(2) by collaborating with statistical 

11 centers at other Federal agencies; or 

12 (2) award a grant or contract to an institution 

13 of higher education or other nonprofit organization 

14 to take such considerations into account. 

15 (c) REPORTING DATA.—The Director of the National 

16 Science Foundation shall publish statistical summary data 

17 collected under this section, including as part of the Na18 tional Science Foundation’s report required by section 37 

19 of the Science and Technology Equal Opportunities Act 

20 (42 U.S.C. 1885d; Public Law 96–516). 

21 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the 

23 National Science Foundation $3,000,000 in each of fiscal 

24 years 2020 through 2022 to develop and carry out the 

25 initial survey required under subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 7. CULTURAL AND INSTITUTIONAL BARRIERS TO EX2 PANDING THE ACADEMIC AND FEDERAL 

3 STEM WORKFORCE. 

4 (a) BEST PRACTICES AT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER

5 EDUCATION AND FEDERAL LABORATORIES.— 

6 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDANCE.—Not later 

7 than 12 months after the date of enactment of this 

8 Act, the Director shall develop written guidance for 

9 institutions of higher education and Federal labora10 tories on the best practices for— 

11 (A) conducting periodic climate surveys of 

12 STEM departments and divisions, with a par13 ticular focus on identifying any cultural or in14 stitutional barriers to the recruitment, reten15 tion, or advancement of women, racial and eth16 nic minorities, and other groups historically 

17 underrepresented in STEM studies and careers; 

18 and 

19 (B) providing educational opportunities, in20 cluding workshops as described in subsection 

21 (b), for STEM faculty, research personnel, and 

22 administrators to learn about current research 

23 on implicit bias in recruitment, evaluation, and 

24 promotion of undergraduate and graduate stu25 dents and research personnel. 


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1 (2) EXISTING GUIDANCE.—In developing the 

2 guidance under paragraph (1), the Director shall 

3 utilize guidance already developed by Federal science 

4 agencies. 

5 (3) DISSEMINATION OF GUIDANCE.—Federal 

6 science agencies shall broadly disseminate the guid7 ance developed under paragraph (1) to institutions 

8 of higher education that receive Federal research 

9 funding and Federal laboratories. 

10 (4) ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICIES.—Consistent 

11 with the guidance developed under paragraph (1)— 

12 (A) the Director of the National Science 

13 Foundation shall develop a policy that— 

14 (i) applies to, at a minimum, each in15 stitution classified under the Indiana Uni16 versity Center for Postsecondary Research 

17 Carnegie Classification as a doctorate18 granting university with a very high level 

19 of research activity; and 

20 (ii) requires each such institution, not 

21 later than 3 years after the date of enact22 ment of this Act, to report to the Director 

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1 mented based on the guidance developed 

2 under paragraph (1); and 

3 (B) each Federal science agency with a 

4 Federal laboratory shall maintain or develop 

5 and implement practices and policies for the 

6 purposes described in paragraph (1) for such 

7 laboratory. 

8 (b) WORKSHOPS TO ADDRESS CULTURAL BARRIERS

9 TO EXPANDING THE ACADEMIC AND FEDERAL STEM 

10 WORKFORCE.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director, 

13 in consultation with the interagency working group 

14 on inclusion in STEM, shall recommend a uniform 

15 policy for Federal science agencies to carry out a 

16 program of workshops that educate STEM depart17 ment chairs at institutions of higher education, sen18 ior managers at Federal laboratories, and other fed19 erally funded researchers about methods that mini20 mize the effects of implicit bias in the career ad21 vancement, including hiring, tenure, promotion, and 

22 selection for any honor based in part on the recipi23 ent’s research record, of academic and Federal 

24 STEM researchers. 


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1 (2) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—The Direc2 tor shall ensure that workshops supported under this 

3 subsection are coordinated across Federal science 

4 agencies and jointly supported as appropriate. 

5 (3) MINIMIZING COSTS.—To the extent prac6 ticable, workshops shall be held in conjunction with 

7 national or regional STEM disciplinary meetings to 

8 minimize costs associated with participant travel. 

9 (4) PRIORITY FIELDS FOR ACADEMIC PARTICI10 PANTS.—In considering the participation of STEM 

11 department chairs and other academic researchers, 

12 the Director shall prioritize workshops for the broad 

13 fields of STEM in which the national rate of rep14 resentation of women among tenured or tenure-track 

15 faculty or nonfaculty researchers at doctorate-grant16 ing institutions of higher education is less than 25 

17 percent, according to the most recent data available 

18 from the National Center for Science and Engineer19 ing Statistics. 

20 (5) ORGANIZATIONS ELIGIBLE TO CARRY OUT

21 WORKSHOPS.—A Federal science agency may carry 

22 out the program of workshops under this subsection 

23 by making grants to organizations made eligible by 

24 the Federal science agency and any of the following 

25 organizations: 


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1 (A) Nonprofit scientific and professional 

2 societies and organizations that represent one 

3 or more STEM disciplines. 

4 (B) Nonprofit organizations that have the 

5 primary mission of advancing the participation 

6 of women, minorities, or other groups histori7 cally underrepresented in STEM. 

8 (6) CHARACTERISTICS OF WORKSHOPS.—The 

9 workshops shall have the following characteristics: 

10 (A) Invitees to workshops shall include at 

11 least— 

12 (i) the chairs of departments in the 

13 relevant STEM discipline or disciplines 

14 from at least the top 50 institutions of 

15 higher education, as determined by the 

16 amount of Federal research and develop17 ment funds obligated to each institution of 

18 higher education in the prior year based on 

19 data available from the National Science 

20 Foundation; and 

21 (ii) in the case of Federal laboratories, 

22 individuals with personnel management re23 sponsibilities comparable to those of an in24 stitution of higher education department 

25 chair. 


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1 (B) Activities at the workshops shall in2 clude research presentations and interactive dis3 cussions or other activities that increase the 

4 awareness of the existence of implicit bias in re5 cruitment, hiring, tenure review, promotion, and 

6 other forms of formal recognition of individual 

7 achievement for faculty and other federally 

8 funded STEM researchers and shall provide 

9 strategies to overcome such bias. 

10 (C) Research presentations and other 

11 workshop programs, as appropriate, shall in12 clude a discussion of the unique challenges 

13 faced by different underrepresented groups, in14 cluding minority women, minority men, persons 

15 from rural and underserved areas, persons with 

16 disabilities, and first generation graduates in 

17 research. 

18 (D) Workshop programs shall include in19 formation on best practices for mentoring un20 dergraduate and graduate women, minorities, 

21 and other students from groups historically 

22 underrepresented in STEM. 

23 (7) DATA ON WORKSHOPS.—Any proposal for 

24 funding by an organization seeking to carry out a 


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1 workshop under this subsection shall include a de2 scription of how such organization will— 

3 (A) collect data on the rates of attendance 

4 by invitees in workshops, including information 

5 on the home institution and department of 

6 attendees, and the rank of faculty attendees; 

7 (B) conduct attitudinal surveys on work8 shop attendees before and after the workshops; 

9 and 

10 (C) collect follow-up data on any relevant 

11 institutional policy or practice changes reported 

12 by attendees not later than one year after at13 tendance in such a workshop. 

14 (8) REPORT TO NSF.—Organizations receiving 

15 funding to carry out workshops under this sub16 section shall report the data required in paragraph 

17 (7) to the Director of the National Science Founda18 tion in such form as required by such Director. 

19 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 4 years 

20 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of 

21 the National Science Foundation shall submit a report to 

22 Congress that includes— 

23 (1) a summary and analysis of the types and 

24 frequency of activities and policies developed and 

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1 ports submitted under paragraph (4) of such sub2 section; and 

3 (2) a description and evaluation of the status 

4 and effectiveness of the program of workshops re5 quired under subsection (c), including a summary of 

6 any data reported under paragraph (8) of such sub7 section. 

8 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

9 are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the 

10 National Science Foundation $1,000,000 in each of fiscal 

11 years 2020 through 2024 to carry out this section. 

12 SEC. 8. RESEARCH AND DISSEMINATION AT THE NATIONAL 

13 SCIENCE FOUNDATION. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

15 Science Foundation shall award research grants and carry 

16 out dissemination activities consistent with the purposes 

17 of this Act, including— 

18 (1) research grants to analyze the record-level 

19 data collected under section 4 and section 6, con20 sistent with policies to ensure the privacy of individ21 uals identifiable by such data; 

22 (2) research grants to study best practices for 

23 work-life accommodation; 

24 (3) research grants to study the impact of poli25 cies and practices that are implemented under this 


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1 Act or that are otherwise consistent with the pur2 poses of this Act; 

3 (4) collaboration with other Federal science 

4 agencies and professional associations to exchange 

5 best practices, harmonize work-life accommodation 

6 policies and practices, and overcome common bar7 riers to work-life accommodation; 

8 (5) collaboration with institutions of higher 

9 education in order to clarify and catalyze the adop10 tion of a coherent and consistent set of work-life ac11 commodation policies and practices; and 

12 (6) research grants to study the use of stand13 ardized graduate student admission exams and its 

14 impact on the recruitment, retention, and success of 

15 women, underrepresented minorities, persons from 

16 rural areas, persons with disabilities, and first gen17 eration graduates in graduate STEM degree pro18 grams. 

19 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

20 are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the 

21 National Science Foundation $5,000,000 in each of fiscal 

22 years 2020 through 2024 to carry out this section. 


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1 SEC. 9. RESEARCH AND RELATED ACTIVITIES TO EXPAND 

2 STEM OPPORTUNITIES. 

3 (a) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION SUPPORT FOR

4 INCREASING DIVERSITY AMONG STEM FACULTY AT IN5 STITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—Section 305 of the 

6 American Innovation and Competitiveness Act (42 U.S.C. 

7 1862s–5) is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as 

9 subsections (g) and (h), respectively; and 

10 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(e) SUPPORT FOR INCREASING DIVERSITY AMONG

13 STEM FACULTY AT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDU14 CATION.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Foun16 dation shall award grants to institutions of higher 

17 education (or consortia thereof) for the development 

18 and assessment of innovative reform efforts designed 

19 to increase the recruitment, retention, and advance20 ment of individuals from underrepresented minority 

21 groups in academic STEM careers. 

22 ‘‘(2) MERIT REVIEW; COMPETITION.—Grants 

23 shall be awarded under this subsection on a merit24 reviewed, competitive basis. 

25 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—Activities supported by 

26 grants under this subsection may include— 


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1 ‘‘(A) institutional assessment activities, 

2 such as data analyses and policy review, in 

3 order to identify and address specific issues in 

4 the recruitment, retention, and advancement of 

5 faculty members from underrepresented minor6 ity groups; 

7 ‘‘(B) implementation of institution-wide 

8 improvements in workload distribution, such 

9 that faculty members from underrepresented 

10 minority groups are not disadvantaged in the 

11 amount of time available to focus on research, 

12 publishing papers, and engaging in other activi13 ties required to achieve tenure status and run 

14 a productive research program; 

15 ‘‘(C) development and implementation of 

16 training courses for administrators and search 

17 committee members to ensure that candidates 

18 from underrepresented minority groups are not 

19 subject to implicit biases in the search and hir20 ing process; 

21 ‘‘(D) development and hosting of intra- or 

22 inter-institutional workshops to propagate best 

23 practices in recruiting, retaining, and advancing 

24 faculty members from underrepresented minor25 ity groups; 


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1 ‘‘(E) professional development opportuni2 ties for faculty members from underrepresented 

3 minority groups; 

4 ‘‘(F) activities aimed at making under5 graduate STEM students from underrep6 resented minority groups aware of opportunities 

7 for academic careers in STEM fields; 

8 ‘‘(G) activities to identify and engage ex9 ceptional graduate students from underrep10 resented minority groups at various stages of 

11 their studies and to encourage them to enter 

12 academic careers; and 

13 ‘‘(H) other activities consistent with para14 graph (1), as determined by the Director of the 

15 Foundation. 

16 ‘‘(4) SELECTION PROCESS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) APPLICATION.—An institution of 

18 higher education (or a consortium of such insti19 tutions) seeking funding under this subsection 

20 shall submit an application to the Director of 

21 the Foundation at such time, in such manner, 

22 and containing such information and assur23 ances as such Director may require. The appli24 cation shall include, at a minimum, a descrip25 tion of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the reform effort that is being 

2 proposed for implementation by the insti3 tution of higher education; 

4 ‘‘(ii) any available evidence of specific 

5 difficulties in the recruitment, retention, 

6 and advancement of faculty members from 

7 underrepresented minority groups in 

8 STEM academic careers within the institu9 tion of higher education submitting an ap10 plication, and how the proposed reform ef11 fort would address such issues; 

12 ‘‘(iii) how the institution of higher 

13 education submitting an application plans 

14 to sustain the proposed reform effort be15 yond the duration of the grant; and 

16 ‘‘(iv) how the success and effective17 ness of the proposed reform effort will be 

18 evaluated and assessed in order to con19 tribute to the national knowledge base 

20 about models for catalyzing institutional 

21 change. 

22 ‘‘(B) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—In se23 lecting grant recipients under this subsection, 

24 the Director of the Foundation shall consider, 

25 at a minimum— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the likelihood of success in under2 taking the proposed reform effort at the 

3 institution of higher education submitting 

4 the application, including the extent to 

5 which the administrators of the institution 

6 are committed to making the proposed re7 form effort a priority; 

8 ‘‘(ii) the degree to which the proposed 

9 reform effort will contribute to change in 

10 institutional culture and policy such that 

11 greater value is placed on the recruitment, 

12 retention, and advancement of faculty 

13 members from underrepresented minority 

14 groups; 

15 ‘‘(iii) the likelihood that the institu16 tion of higher education will sustain or ex17 pand the proposed reform effort beyond 

18 the period of the grant; and 

19 ‘‘(iv) the degree to which evaluation 

20 and assessment plans are included in the 

21 design of the proposed reform effort. 

22 ‘‘(C) GRANT DISTRIBUTION.—The Director 

23 of the Foundation shall ensure, to the extent 

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1 tion are made to a variety of types of institu2 tions of higher education. 

3 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

4 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

5 this subsection $8,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

6 2020 through 2024.’’. 

7 (b) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION SUPPORT FOR

8 BROADENING PARTICIPATION IN UNDERGRADUATE

9 STEM EDUCATION.—Section 305 of the American Inno10 vation and Competitiveness Act (42 U.S.C. 1862s–5), as 

11 amended by subsection (b), is further amended by insert12 ing after subsection (e) the following: 

13 ‘‘(f) SUPPORT FOR BROADENING PARTICIPATION IN

14 UNDERGRADUATE STEM EDUCATION.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Foun16 dation shall award grants to institutions of higher 

17 education (or a consortium of such institutions) to 

18 implement or expand research-based reforms in un19 dergraduate STEM education for the purpose of re20 cruiting and retaining students from minority 

21 groups who are underrepresented in STEM fields. 

22 ‘‘(2) MERIT REVIEW; COMPETITION.—Grants 

23 shall be awarded under this subsection on a merit24 reviewed, competitive basis. 


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1 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—Activities supported by 

2 grants under this subsection may include— 

3 ‘‘(A) implementation or expansion of inno4 vative, research-based approaches to broaden 

5 participation of underrepresented minority 

6 groups in STEM fields; 

7 ‘‘(B) implementation or expansion of 

8 bridge, cohort, tutoring, or mentoring programs 

9 designed to enhance the recruitment and reten10 tion of students from underrepresented minor11 ity groups in STEM fields; 

12 ‘‘(C) implementation or expansion of out13 reach programs linking institutions of higher 

14 education and K–12 school systems in order to 

15 heighten awareness among pre-college students 

16 from underrepresented minority groups of op17 portunities in college-level STEM fields and 

18 STEM careers; 

19 ‘‘(D) implementation or expansion of fac20 ulty development programs focused on improv21 ing retention of undergraduate STEM students 

22 from underrepresented minority groups; 

23 ‘‘(E) implementation or expansion of 

24 mechanisms designed to recognize and reward 

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1 ment to increasing the participation of students 

2 from underrepresented minority groups in 

3 STEM fields; 

4 ‘‘(F) expansion of successful reforms 

5 aimed at increasing the number of STEM stu6 dents from underrepresented minority groups 

7 beyond a single course or group of courses to 

8 achieve reform within an entire academic unit, 

9 or expansion of successful reform efforts beyond 

10 a single academic unit to other STEM academic 

11 units within an institution of higher education; 

12 ‘‘(G) expansion of opportunities for stu13 dents from underrepresented minority groups to 

14 conduct STEM research in industry, at Federal 

15 labs, and at international research institutions 

16 or research sites; 

17 ‘‘(H) provision of stipends for students 

18 from underrepresented minority groups partici19 pating in research; 

20 ‘‘(I) development of research collaborations 

21 between research-intensive universities and pri22 marily undergraduate minority-serving institu23 tions; 

24 ‘‘(J) support for graduate students and 

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1 nority groups to participate in instructional or 

2 assessment activities at primarily under3 graduate institutions, including primarily un4 dergraduate minority-serving institutions and 

5 two-year institutions of higher education; and 

6 ‘‘(K) other activities consistent with para7 graph (1), as determined by the Director of the 

8 Foundation. 

9 ‘‘(4) SELECTION PROCESS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) APPLICATION.—An institution of 

11 higher education (or a consortia thereof) seek12 ing a grant under this subsection shall submit 

13 an application to the Director of the Founda14 tion at such time, in such manner, and con15 taining such information and assurances as 

16 such Director may require. The application 

17 shall include, at a minimum— 

18 ‘‘(i) a description of the proposed re19 form effort; 

20 ‘‘(ii) a description of the research 

21 findings that will serve as the basis for the 

22 proposed reform effort or, in the case of 

23 applications that propose an expansion of a 

24 previously implemented reform, a descrip25 tion of the previously implemented reform 


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1 effort, including data about the recruit2 ment, retention, and academic achievement 

3 of students from underrepresented minor4 ity groups; 

5 ‘‘(iii) evidence of an institutional com6 mitment to, and support for, the proposed 

7 reform effort, including a long-term com8 mitment to implement successful strategies 

9 from the current reform beyond the aca10 demic unit or units included in the grant 

11 proposal; 

12 ‘‘(iv) a description of existing or 

13 planned institutional policies and practices 

14 regarding faculty hiring, promotion, ten15 ure, and teaching assignment that reward 

16 faculty contributions to improving the edu17 cation of students from underrepresented 

18 minority groups in STEM; and 

19 ‘‘(v) how the success and effectiveness 

20 of the proposed reform effort will be evalu21 ated and assessed in order to contribute to 

22 the national knowledge base about models 

23 for catalyzing institutional change. 

24 ‘‘(B) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—In se25 lecting grant recipients under this subsection, 


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1 the Director of the Foundation shall consider, 

2 at a minimum— 

3 ‘‘(i) the likelihood of success of the 

4 proposed reform effort at the institution 

5 submitting the application, including the 

6 extent to which the faculty, staff, and ad7 ministrators of the institution are com8 mitted to making the proposed institu9 tional reform a priority of the participating 

10 academic unit or units; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the degree to which the proposed 

12 reform effort will contribute to change in 

13 institutional culture and policy such that 

14 greater value is placed on faculty engage15 ment in the retention of students from 

16 underrepresented minority groups; 

17 ‘‘(iii) the likelihood that the institu18 tion will sustain or expand the proposed 

19 reform effort beyond the period of the 

20 grant; and 

21 ‘‘(iv) the degree to which evaluation 

22 and assessment plans are included in the 

23 design of the proposed reform effort. 

24 ‘‘(C) GRANT DISTRIBUTION.—The Director 

25 of the Foundation shall ensure, to the extent 


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1 practicable, that grants awarded under this 

2 subsection are made to a variety of types of in3 stitutions of higher education, including two4 year and minority-serving institutions of higher 

5 education. 

6 ‘‘(5) EDUCATION RESEARCH.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—All grants made under 

8 this subsection shall include an education re9 search component that will support the design 

10 and implementation of a system for data collec11 tion and evaluation of proposed reform efforts 

12 in order to build the knowledge base on prom13 ising models for increasing recruitment and re14 tention of students from underrepresented mi15 nority groups in STEM education at the under16 graduate level across a diverse set of institu17 tions. 

18 ‘‘(B) DISSEMINATION.—The Director of 

19 the Foundation shall coordinate with relevant 

20 Federal agencies in disseminating the results of 

21 the research under this paragraph to ensure 

22 that best practices in broadening participation 

23 in STEM education at the undergraduate level 

24 are made readily available to all institutions of 

25 higher education, other Federal agencies that 


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1 support STEM programs, non-Federal funders 

2 of STEM education, and the general public. 

3 ‘‘(6) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

4 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

5 this subsection $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

6 2020 through 2024.’’. 

7 SEC. 10. TRIBAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES PROGRAM. 

8 (a) GRANTS TO BROADEN TRIBAL COLLEGE AND

9 UNIVERSITY STUDENT PARTICIPATION IN COMPUTER

10 SCIENCE.—Section 525 of the America COMPETES Re11 authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 1862p–13) is 

12 amended by inserting after subsection (c) the following: 

13 ‘‘(d) GRANTS TO BROADEN TRIBAL COLLEGE AND

14 UNIVERSITY STUDENT PARTICIPATION IN COMPUTER

15 SCIENCE.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director, as part of 

17 the program authorized under this section, shall 

18 award grants on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis 

19 to eligible entities to increase the participation of 

20 tribal populations in computer science and computa21 tional thinking education programs to enable stu22 dents to develop skills and competencies in coding, 

23 problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity and col24 laboration. 


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1 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—Grants awarded under this 

2 subsection shall support— 

3 ‘‘(A) research and development needed to 

4 bring computer science and computational 

5 thinking courses and degrees to tribal colleges 

6 and universities; 

7 ‘‘(B) research and development of instruc8 tional materials needed to integrate computer 

9 science and computational thinking into pro10 grams that are culturally relevant to students 

11 attending tribal colleges and universities; 

12 ‘‘(C) research, development and evaluation 

13 of distance education for computer science and 

14 computational thinking courses and degree pro15 grams for students attending tribal colleges and 

16 universities; and 

17 ‘‘(D) other activities consistent with the 

18 activities described in paragraphs (1) through 

19 (4) of subsection (b), as determined by the Di20 rector. 

21 ‘‘(3) PARTNERSHIPS.—A tribal college or uni22 versity seeking a grant under this subsection, or a 

23 consortia thereof, may partner with an institution of 

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1 onstrated expertise in academic program develop2 ment. 

3 ‘‘(4) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this sub4 section, the Director shall consult and cooperate 

5 with the programs and policies of other relevant 

6 Federal agencies to avoid duplication with and en7 hance the effectiveness of the program under this 

8 subsection. 

9 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

10 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Di11 rector of the Foundation $2,000,000 in each of fis12 cal years 2020 through 2024 to carry out this sub13 section.’’. 

14 (b) EVALUATION.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

16 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of 

17 the National Science Foundation shall evaluate the 

18 grant program authorized under section 525 of the 

19 America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 

20 (42 U.S.C. 1862p–13), as amended. 

21 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In conducting the evalua22 tion under paragraph (1), the Director shall— 

23 (A) use a common set of benchmarks and 

24 assessment tools to identify best practices and 

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1 search conducted pursuant to grants programs 

2 under section 525 of the America COMPETES 

3 Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 

4 1862p–13); 

5 (B) include an assessment of the effective6 ness of such grant programs in expanding ac7 cess to high quality STEM education, research, 

8 and outreach at tribal colleges and universities, 

9 as applicable; 

10 (C) assess the number of students who 

11 participated in such grant programs; and 

12 (D) assess the percentage of students par13 ticipating in such grant programs who success14 fully complete their education programs. 

15 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 

16 the date on which the evaluation under paragraph 

17 (1) is completed, the Director of the National 

18 Science Foundation shall submit to Congress and 

19 make available to the public, a report on the results 

20 of the evaluation, including any recommendations for 

21 legislative action that could optimize the effective22 ness of the grant program authorized under section 

23 525 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization 

24 Act of 2010, as amended by subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 11. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

2 Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, the Director shall submit a report to Congress 

4 that includes— 

5 (1) a description and evaluation of the status 

6 and usage of policies implemented pursuant to sec7 tion 3 at all Federal science agencies, including any 

8 recommendations for revising or expanding such 

9 policies; 

10 (2) with respect to efforts to minimize the ef11 fects of implicit bias in the review of extramural and 

12 intramural Federal research grants under section 

13 5— 

14 (A) what steps all Federal science agencies 

15 have taken to implement policies and practices 

16 to minimize such effects; 

17 (B) a description of any significant up18 dates to the policies for review of Federal re19 search grants required under such section; and 

20 (C) any evidence of the impact of such 

21 policies on the review or awarding of Federal 

22 research grants; and 

23 (3) a description and evaluation of the status of 

24 institution of higher education and Federal labora25 tory policies and practices required under section 


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1 7(a), including any recommendations for revising or 

2 expanding such policies. 

3 SEC. 12. MERIT REVIEW. 

4 Nothing in this Act shall be construed as altering any 

5 intellectual or broader impacts criteria at Federal science 

6 agencies for evaluating grant applications. 

7 SEC. 13. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

10 the Director of the Office of Science and Technology 

11 Policy. 

12 (2) FEDERAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Fed13 eral laboratory’’ has the meaning given such term in 

14 section 4 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno15 vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3703). 

16 (3) FEDERAL SCIENCE AGENCY.—The term 

17 ‘‘Federal science agency’’ means any Federal agency 

18 with at least $100,000,000 in research and develop19 ment expenditures in fiscal year 2018. 

20 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

22 meaning given such term in section 101(a) of the 

23 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

24 (5) INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP ON INCLU25 SION IN STEM.—The term ‘‘interagency working 


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1 group on inclusion in STEM’’ means the interagency 

2 working group established by section 308 of the 

3 American Innovation and Competitiveness Act (42 

4 U.S.C. 6626). 

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

6 technology, engineering, and mathematics, including 

7 computer science. 

Æ 


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