I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4161 

To encourage and further research on the engagement of underrepresented 

youth in the STEM fields. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 6, 2014 

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (for herself and Ms. GRANGER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

Technology 

A BILL 

To encourage and further research on the engagement of 

underrepresented youth in the STEM fields. 

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 ‘‘21st Century STEM 

5 for Underrepresented Students Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STEM FOR UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS. 

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

8 Science Foundation shall establish a program to provide 

9 grants on a merit-reviewed, competitive basis for research 

10 on programming that engages underrepresented students 


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1 in grades kindergarten through 8 in STEM in order to 

2 prepare these groups to pursue undergraduate and grad3 uate degrees or careers in STEM. 

4 (b) USE OF FUNDS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Grants awarded under this 

6 section shall be used toward research to advance the 

7 engagement of underrepresented students grades 

8 kindergarten through 8 in STEM through providing 

9 before-school, after-school, out-of-school, or summer 

10 activities, including programs (if applicable to the 

11 target population) provided in a single-gender envi12 ronment, that are designed to encourage interest, 

13 engagement, and skills development of underrep14 resented students in STEM. Such research shall be 

15 conducted in learning environments that actively 

16 provide programming to underrepresented students 

17 in grades kindergarten through 8 in STEM. 

18 (2) PERMITTED ACTIVITIES.—Such activities 

19 may include— 

20 (A) the provision of programming de21 scribed in subsection (a) for the purpose of re22 search; 

23 (B) the use of a variety of engagement 

24 methods including cooperative and hands-on 

25 learning; 


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1 (C) exposure of underrepresented youth to 

2 role models in the fields of STEM and near3 peer mentors; 

4 (D) training of informal learning educators 

5 and youth-serving professionals using evidence6 based methods consistent with the target stu7 dent population being served; 

8 (E) education of students on the relevance 

9 and significance of STEM careers, provision of 

10 academic advice and assistance, and activities 

11 designed to help students make real-world con12 nections to STEM content activities; 

13 (F) the attendance of underrepresented 

14 youth at events, competitions, and academic 

15 programs to provide content expertise and en16 courage career exposure in STEM; 

17 (G) activities designed to engage parents of 

18 underrepresented youth; 

19 (H) innovative strategies to engage under20 represented youth, such as using leadership 

21 skill outcome measures to encourage youth with 

22 the confidence to pursue STEM coursework and 

23 academic study; 

24 (I) coordination with STEM-rich environ25 ments, including other nonprofit, nongovernVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:39 Mar 11, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4161.IH H4161

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1 mental organizations, classroom and out-of2 classroom settings, institutions of higher edu3 cation, vocational facilities, corporations, muse4 ums, or science centers; and 

5 (J) the acquisition of instructional mate6 rials or technology-based tools to conduct appli7 cable grant activity. 

8 (c) APPLICATION.—An applicant seeking funding 

9 under the section shall submit an application at such time, 

10 in such manner, and containing such information as may 

11 be required. The application shall include, at a minimum, 

12 the following: 

13 (1) A description of the target audience to be 

14 served by the program, including an explanation and 

15 justification for why the target group ought to be 

16 considered as underrepresented students in one or 

17 more of the STEM fields. 

18 (2) A description of the process for recruitment 

19 and selection of students. 

20 (3) A description of how such research activity 

21 may inform programming that engages underrep22 resented students in grades kindergarten through 8 

23 in STEM. 


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1 (4) A description of how such research activity 

2 may inform programming that promotes student 

3 academic achievement in STEM. 

4 (5) An evaluation plan that includes, at a min5 imum, the use of outcome-oriented measures to de6 termine the impact and efficacy of programming 

7 being researched. 

8 (d) AWARDS.—In awarding grants under this section, 

9 the Director shall give priority to applicants which, for the 

10 purpose of grant activity, include or partner with a non11 profit, nongovernmental organization that has extensive 

12 experience and expertise in increasing the participation of 

13 underrepresented students in STEM. 

14 (e) EVALUATIONS.—Each applicant that receives 

15 funds under this section shall provide, at the conclusion 

16 of every year during which the funds are received, an eval17 uation in a form prescribed by the Director. This evalua18 tion shall include both formative and summative evalua19 tion. 

20 (f) ACCOUNTABILITY AND DISSEMINATION.— 

21 (1) EVALUATION REQUIRED.—Not later than 3 

22 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

23 Director shall evaluate the program established 

24 under this section. In addition to evaluating the ef25 fectiveness of the program, such evaluation shall— 


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1 (A) use a common set of benchmarks and 

2 assessment tools to identify best practices and 

3 materials developed or demonstrated by the re4 search; and 

5 (B) to the extent practicable, combine the 

6 research resulting from the grant activity with 

7 the current research on serving underrep8 resented students in grades kindergarten 

9 through 8. 

10 (2) REPORT ON EVALUATIONS.—Not later than 

11 180 days after the completion of the evaluation 

12 under paragraph (1), the Director shall submit to 

13 Congress and make widely available to the public a 

14 report that includes— 

15 (A) the results of the evaluation; and 

16 (B) any recommendations for administra17 tive and legislative action that could optimize 

18 the effectiveness of the program. 

19 (g) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this section, the 

20 Director shall consult, cooperate, and coordinate, to en21 hance program effectiveness and to avoid duplication, with 

22 the programs and policies of other relevant Federal agen23 cies. 

Æ 


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