I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1343 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct 

the Secretary of Education to award grants for science, technology, 

engineering, and math education programs. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 21, 2013 

Ms. FUDGE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award 

grants for science, technology, engineering, and math 

education programs. 

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 ‘‘Project Ready STEM 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Employment projections forecast a 17 per2 cent growth in the STEM fields over the next dec3 ade. 

4 (2) Ninety-two percent of STEM occupations 

5 will require at least some post-secondary education. 

6 (3) While the number of degrees awarded in 

7 STEM fields has increased steadily since the 1960s, 

8 the overall share of STEM degrees awarded has ac9 tually shrunk in comparison to all degrees conferred. 

10 (4) Internationally, a larger proportion of all 

11 degrees awarded are in the STEM fields. While 16 

12 percent of degrees awarded in the United States are 

13 in STEM fields, nearly 50 percent of degrees award14 ed in China, 38 percent in South Korea, and 28 per15 cent in Germany are in STEM fields. 

16 (5) Minorities are seriously underrepresented in 

17 the science and engineering workforce in the United 

18 States, with just under 6 percent of Blacks and over 

19 5 percent of Hispanics participating in the STEM 

20 workforce. 

21 (6) Twenty-one percent of Black college stu22 dents enter college with STEM majors, but only 16 

23 percent actually receive a bachelor’s degree in a 

24 STEM major. 


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(7) Over 1 1 ⁄2 of Black students that enroll in a 

2 4-year university are interested in STEM, but are 

3 not proficient in math. 

4 (8) Since 1990, mathematic scores on the as5 sessments conducted by the National Assessment of 

6 Education Progress have increased for all students, 

7 but White students have average scores 27 points 

8 higher than Black and Hispanic students. 

9 (9) After school programs play an important 

10 role in addressing the achievement gap in under11 served communities. Studies demonstrate that 

12 STEM learning during the school day is necessary 

13 but not sufficient for life-long STEM literacy. 

14 (10) As many as 8,400,000 students are en15 rolled in after school programs. Ethnic minority chil16 dren are more likely than non-minority children to 

17 participate in after school programs. While 15 per18 cent of all students are enrolled in after school pro19 grams, 24 percent of Black students and 21 percent 

20 of Hispanic students are enrolled in such programs. 

21 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to prepare 

22 middle school and secondary school students to be ready 

23 for opportunities in the STEM fields in college and in ca24 reers through strong after school, summer, and weekend 

25 programs that focus on STEM education. 


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1 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO ESEA FOR STEM GRANTS. 

2 Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

3 Act of 1964 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et seq.) is amended— 

4 (1) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘AND STEM

5 GRANTS’’ after ‘‘PARTNERSHIPS’’; 

6 (2) by inserting after the heading of part B the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘Subpart 1—Math and Science Partnerships’’; 

9 and 

10 (3) by inserting after section 2203 the following 

11 new subpart: 

12 ‘‘Subpart 2—STEM Grants 

13 ‘‘SEC. 2211. PROJECT READY STEM GRANT PROGRAM. 

14 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary is authorized 

15 to award grants, to be known as ‘Project Ready STEM 

16 Program’ grants, to national and regional intermediaries 

17 to establish in-school, after school, summer, and weekend 

18 programs that focus on science, technology, engineering, 

19 and math (referred to in this section as ‘STEM’) edu20 cation. 

21 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—A national or regional inter22 mediary seeking a grant under this section shall submit 

23 an application to the Secretary at such time, in such form, 

24 and containing such information as the Secretary may rea25 sonably require, including the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) The amount requested and the proposed 

2 use of the funds. 

3 ‘‘(2) A description of how the national or re4 gional intermediary will require a community-based 

5 affiliate operating a Project Ready STEM Program 

6 to provide the following: 

7 ‘‘(A) A program description, including a 

8 description of— 

9 ‘‘(i) the project-based learning that 

10 the program will use and the applicability 

11 of such projects to students’ lives after 

12 graduation from secondary school; 

13 ‘‘(ii) the academic instruction, re14 search model, or curriculum that the pro15 gram will use; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) any service-learning opportuni17 ties that will be available to students. 

18 ‘‘(B) Evidence that the Project Ready 

19 STEM Program will primarily serve students 

20 who are traditionally underrepresented in 

21 STEM field careers. 

22 ‘‘(C) A description of the student recruit23 ment plan, student retention plan, and parental 

24 engagement plan. 


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1 ‘‘(D) A description of the professional de2 velopment and training that the community3 based affiliate will provide to its Project Ready 

4 STEM Program staff. 

5 ‘‘(E) A description of the community-based 

6 affiliate’s collaboration with an institution of 

7 higher education (as defined in section 101 of 

8 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

9 10001)). 

10 ‘‘(F) A description of how the community11 based affiliate will enable students who partici12 pate in the program to achieve the goals in sub13 section (c). 

14 ‘‘(c) GOALS.—The goals of the Project Ready STEM 

15 Programs are the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) To increase awareness of and exposure to 

17 current science content, scientific processes, and 

18 tools for students who are traditionally underrep19 resented in STEM field careers. 

20 ‘‘(2) To provide STEM learning that is con21 nected to workforce skills that are essential in the 

22 21st century. 

23 ‘‘(3) To increase on time grade promotion, the 

24 number of students who graduate high school, and 


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1 the number of students who pursue opportunities in 

2 STEM fields. 

3 ‘‘(4) To increase enrollment in and completion 

4 of more STEM related coursework in school for stu5 dents who are traditionally underrepresented in 

6 STEM field careers. 

7 ‘‘(5) To increase awareness of students who are 

8 traditionally underrepresented in STEM field ca9 reers of the opportunities after graduation from sec10 ondary school in STEM fields, including college ma11 jors in STEM and careers in STEM. 

12 ‘‘(6) For students to have the experience of 

13 interacting with staff who demonstrate a positive at14 titude toward STEM fields. 

15 ‘‘(7) To facilitate project-based learning and 

16 service-learning. 

17 ‘‘(d) ALLOCATION.—A national or regional inter18 mediary that receives a grant under this section shall re19 serve— 

20 ‘‘(1) not more than 25 percent to provide tech21 nical and administrative assistance to and collect 

22 data from its community-based affiliates to which it 

23 makes subgrants; 

24 ‘‘(2) not less than 50 percent for subgrants to 

25 community-based affiliates that have demonstrated 


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1 effectiveness in operating STEM programs in order 

2 for such affiliates to expand such STEM programs 

3 to reach more students who are traditionally under4 represented in STEM field careers; and 

5 ‘‘(3) not less than 25 percent for subgrants to 

6 community-based affiliates that do not operate 

7 STEM programs in order for such affiliates that 

8 seek to develop new STEM programs that are con9 sistent with the goals of this section to develop and 

10 establish such new STEM programs. 

11 ‘‘(e) SUBGRANTS TO COMMUNITY-BASED AFFILI12 ATES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION.—A community-based affil14 iate seeking a subgrant shall submit an application 

15 to its national or regional intermediary at such time, 

16 in such form, and containing such information as 

17 the national or regional intermediary may reasonably 

18 require. 

19 ‘‘(2) USES OF FUNDS.—A community-based af20 filiate that receives a subgrant under this section to 

21 operate a Project Ready STEM Program shall oper22 ate an in-school, after school, summer, or weekend 

23 program that focuses on STEM education and pri24 marily serves students who are traditionally underVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:43 Mar 28, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1343.IH H1343

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1 represented in STEM field careers. Such program 

2 shall include the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) Educational services that include— 

4 ‘‘(i) an initial assessment of students’ 

5 progress in math, science, and reading; 

6 ‘‘(ii) remediation and educational en7 richment services; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) helping students to improve 

9 their study skills. 

10 ‘‘(B) Project-based learning opportunities. 

11 ‘‘(C) Individualized instruction and track12 ing of student progress that is aligned with in13 school performance. 

14 ‘‘(3) COLLABORATION.—A community-based af15 filiate that receives a subgrant under this section 

16 shall collaborate with an institution of higher edu17 cation to provide the services described in paragraph 

18 (2). 

19 ‘‘(f) REPORTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) SECRETARY REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The 

21 Secretary shall submit a report annually to the Com22 mittee on Education and the Workforce in the 

23 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

24 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions in the Sen25 ate on the progress that national and regional interVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:43 Mar 28, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1343.IH H1343

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1 mediaries and their community-based affiliates oper2 ating Project Ready STEM Programs have made to3 ward achieving the goals in subsection (c). 

4 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL OR REGIONAL INTERMEDIARY

5 REPORT TO THE SECRETARY.—A national or re6 gional intermediary receiving a grant under this sec7 tion shall submit a report annually to the Secretary 

8 at such time, in such manner, and containing such 

9 information as the Secretary may require, including 

10 the progress that its community-based affiliates op11 erating Project Ready STEM Programs have made 

12 toward achieving the goals in subsection (c). 

13 ‘‘(3) COMMUNITY-BASED AFFILIATE REPORT TO

14 ITS NATIONAL OR REGIONAL INTERMEDIARY.—A 

15 community-based affiliate that receives a subgrant 

16 under this section shall submit a report annually to 

17 the national or regional intermediary that awarded 

18 such subgrant at such time, in such manner, and 

19 containing such information as the intermediary may 

20 require, including the progress its Project Ready 

21 STEM Program has made toward achieving the 

22 goals in subsection (c). 

23 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 ‘‘(1) COMMUNITY-BASED AFFILIATE.—The term 

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1 based organization (as defined in section 9101) that 

2 is an affiliate of a national or regional intermediary. 

3 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL INTERMEDIARY.—The term 

4 ‘national intermediary’ means a national private 

5 nonprofit organization that— 

6 ‘‘(A) has a network comprised of commu7 nity-based affiliates in not less than 50 urban 

8 communities; 

9 ‘‘(B) has demonstrated expertise and effec10 tiveness in overseeing programs to help middle 

11 school and secondary school students succeed, 

12 including programs to help such students be13 come college-ready and career-ready; and 

14 ‘‘(C) has operated in not less than 25 

15 States continuously for not less than 20 years. 

16 ‘‘(3) PROJECT-BASED LEARNING.—The term 

17 ‘project-based learning’ means learning through a 

18 broad project that includes instruction, substantive 

19 content, and reflection, with the goal that students 

20 who participate in the project will achieve a concrete 

21 goal or complete a project. 

22 ‘‘(4) REGIONAL INTERMEDIARY.—The term ‘re23 gional intermediary’ means a private nonprofit com24 munity-based organization that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) has a network comprised of commu2 nity-based affiliates in a prescribed region; and 

3 ‘‘(B) has demonstrated expertise and effec4 tiveness in conducting outreach and providing 

5 education activities to middle school and sec6 ondary school students. 

7 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

9 out this section— 

10 ‘‘(1) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2014; 

11 ‘‘(2) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2015; 

12 ‘‘(3) $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2016; and 

13 ‘‘(4) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2017.’’. 

Æ 


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