I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1265

To develop a demonstration project through the National Science Foundation

to encourage interest in the fields of mathematics, science, and information technology.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 24, 1999

Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas (for herself, Mr. BROWN of California, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. SCOTT, Mrs. MEEK of Florida,

Ms. LEE, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Ms. CARSON, Mr. OWENS, Mr. JEFFERSON, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. HILLIARD, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas,

Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. WATT of North Carolina, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr.

FORD, Mr. RUSH, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Ms. WATERS, Mr. WYNN,

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PAYNE, Mr.

TRAFICANT, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. GORDON,

Mr. ETHERIDGE, Mr. LARSON, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. LAMPSON, Mr.

FROST, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. WEINER, Mr. TURNER, Mr. UDALL of

Coloardo, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. BENTSEN, Mr. SANDLIN, Mr. GREEN of

Texas, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. CLAY, Mr. BISHOP,

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mr. DIXON, Mr. FATTAH, and Ms.

MILLENDER-MCDONALD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, and in addition to the Committee

on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To develop a demonstration project through the National

Science Foundation to encourage interest in the fields

of mathematics, science, and information technology.
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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 ‘‘Mathematics and

5 Science Proficiency Partnership Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds the following:

8 (1) Mathematics and science education is a vital

9 link to connect today’s students with the information

10 age and to the workplace of tomorrow.

11 (2) American students consistently place below

12 their international peers when it comes to dem13 onstrating their skills in mathematics and science.

14 (3) Proficiency in mathematics, science, and in15 formation technology is necessary to prepare Amer16 ican students for participation in the 21st Century

17 and to guarantee that the United States economy re18 mains vibrant and competitive.

19 (4) Students in urban and rural America share

20 a common need to receive a quality education, but

21 often their schools lack the needed resources to lift

22 these students into the information age.

23 (5) The schools and businesses serving these

24 communities are strategically positioned to form a

25 unique partnership with urban and rural students
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1 that will increase their mathematics, science, and in2 formation technology proficiency for the benefit of

3 the Nation.

4 SEC. 3. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

5 (a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—

7 (A) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Director shall,

8 subject to appropriations, carry out a dem9 onstration project under which the Director

10 awards grants in accordance with this Act to 5

11 eligible local educational agencies in urban

12 areas and 5 eligible local educational agencies

13 in rural areas.

14 (B) USES OF FUNDS.—A local educational

15 agency that receives a grant under this Act may

16 use such grant funds to develop an information

17 technology program that builds or expands

18 mathematics, science, and information tech19 nology curricula, to purchase equipment nec20 essary to establish such program, and to pro21 vide teacher training in such fields.

22 (2) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—The program

23 described in paragraph (1) shall—

24 (A) train teachers specifically in informa25 tion technology, mathematics, and science; and
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1 (B) provide students with specialized train2 ing in mathematics, science, and information

3 technology.

4 (b) ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—For

5 purposes of this Act, a local educational agency is eligible

6 to receive a grant under this Act if the agency—

7 (1) is located in one of the localities which has

8 received an award from the National Science Foun9 dation under the Urban Systemic Initiative or the

10 Rural Systemic Initiative program;

11 (2) provides assurances that it has executed

12 conditional agreements with representatives of the

13 private sector to provide services and funds de14 scribed in subsection (c); and

15 (3) agrees to enter into an agreement with the

16 Director to comply with the requirements of this

17 Act.

18 (c) PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION.—The condi19 tional agreement referred to in subsection (b)(2) shall de20 scribe participation by the private sector, including—

21 (1) the donation of computer hardware and

22 software;

23 (2) the establishment of internship and men24 toring opportunities for students who participate in

25 the information technology program; and
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1 (3) the donation of scholarship funds for eligi2 ble students who have participated in the informa3 tion technology program.

4 (d) APPLICATION.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible local edu6 cational agency desiring a grant under this section

7 shall submit an application to the Director in ac8 cordance with guidelines established by the Director

9 pursuant to paragraph (2).

10 (2) GUIDELINES.—

11 (A) REQUIREMENTS.—The guidelines re12 ferred to in paragraph (1) shall require, at a

13 minimum, that the application include—

14 (i) a description of proposed activities

15 consistent with the uses of funds and pro16 gram requirements under subsection

17 (a)(1)(B) and (a)(2);

18 (ii) a description of the scholarship

19 program, including criteria for selection,

20 duration of scholarship, number of scholar21 ships to be awarded each year, and fund22 ing levels for scholarships; and

23 (iii) evidence of private sector partici24 pation and financial support to establish
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1 an internship, mentoring, and scholarship

2 program.

3 (B) GUIDELINE PUBLICATION.—The Di4 rector shall issue and publish such guidelines

5 not later than 6 months after the date of the

6 enactment of this Act.

7 (3) SELECTION.—The Director shall select a

8 local educational agency to receive an award under

9 this Act in accordance with subsection (e) and on

10 the basis of merit to be determined after conducting

11 a comprehensive review.

12 (e) PRIORITY.—The Director shall give special pri13 ority in awarding grants under this Act to eligible local

14 educational agencies that demonstrate the greatest ability

15 to obtain commitments from representatives of the private

16 sector to provide services and funds described under sub17 section (c).

18 SEC. 4. ASSESSMENT AND REPORTING.

19 (a) ASSESSMENT.—The Director shall assess the ef20 fectiveness of activities carried out under this Act. Such

21 assessment shall be included as part of the assessment and

22 reporting process used for the Urban and Rural Systemic

23 Initiatives programs.

24 (b) STUDY.—The Director shall initiate a longitu25 dinal study of eligible students selected for scholarships
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1 pursuant to this Act and shall report such findings to Con2 gress not later than 4 years after the award of the first

3 scholarship. Such report shall include the number of stu4 dents graduating from an institution of higher education

5 with a major in mathematics, science, or information tech6 nology and the number of students who find employment

7 in such fields.

8 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

9 Except as otherwise provided, for purposes of this

10 Act—

11 (1) the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of

12 the National Science Foundation;

13 (2) the term ‘‘eligible student’’ means a student

14 enrolled in the 12th grade who—

15 (A) would be a first-generation college stu16 dent;

17 (B) has participated in an information

18 technology program established pursuant to this

19 Act;

20 (C) has demonstrated a commitment to

21 pursue a career in information technology,

22 mathematics, science, or engineering; and

23 (D) has attained high academic standing

24 and maintains a grade point average of not less
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1 than 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for the last 2 years of

2 secondary school (11th and 12th grades); and

3 (3) the term ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the

4 same meaning given such term in section 14101 of

5 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

6 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801);

7 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro9 priated to the National Science Foundation to carry out

10 this Act, $3,000,000.

11 (b) MAXIMUM GRANT AWARD.—An award made to

12 an eligible local educational agency under this Act may

13 not exceed $300,000.

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