I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1660

To develop a demonstration program through the National Science Foundation to encourage interest in the fields of mathematics, science, and

information technology.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 1, 2001

Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas (for herself, Mr. FROST, Mr.

MCGOVERN, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mr. SANDLIN, Mr. HASTINGS of

Florida, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Mrs.

CHRISTENSEN, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Ms. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. LEE,

Mr. RANGEL, Mr. BACA, Mr. ETHERIDGE, Mr. OWENS, Mr. CUMMINGS,

Ms. WOOLSEY, and Ms. KILPATRICK) 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 program through the National

Science Foundation to encourage interest in the fields

of mathematics, science, and information technology.

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 2001’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress finds the following:

3 (1) Mathematics and science education is a vital

4 link to connect today’s students with the information

5 age and to the workplace of the 21st century.

6 (2) Today’s United States economy depends

7 more than ever on the talents of skilled, high-tech

8 workers.

9 (3) To sustain America’s preeminence, we must

10 take drastic steps to change the way we develop our

11 workforce.

12 (4) It is estimated that more than half of the

13 economic growth of the United States today results

14 directly from research and development in science

15 and technology.

16 (5) We must acknowledge that the effectiveness

17 of the United States in maintaining this economic

18 growth will be largely determined by the intellectual

19 capital of the United States.

20 (6) The education of America’s students is crit21 ical to developing this resource.

22 (7) American students consistently demonstrate

23 average and below average performance compared to

24 their international peers in their skills in mathe25 matics and science.
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1 (8) According to the 1999 edition of the Na2 tional Assessment of Educational Progress, also

3 known as the Nation’s Report Card, the trends in

4 mathematics and science are characterized by de5 clines in the 1970’s, followed by increases during the

6 1980’s and early 1990’s. However, performance has

7 remained unchanged since the early 1990’s. Several

8 findings of the Report Card deserve mention, includ9 ing the following:

10 (A) In 1999, the average science score for

11 17-year-olds was lower than the average score

12 in 1969 for the same age group.

13 (B) In 1999, the average science score for

14 13-year-olds was similar to the average score in

15 1970 for the same age group.

16 (C) In 1999, white students had higher av17 erage mathematics scores than their black and

18 Hispanic peers. Although the gap between white

19 and black students narrowed since 1973, there

20 is evidence that the gap may be widening since

21 1990.

22 (D) In 1999, males outperformed females

23 in science at ages 13 and 17.

24 (E) A greater percentage of 13-year-olds in

25 1999 than in 1986 reported that the content of
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1 their science class was general rather than fo2 cused on earth, physical, or life science.

3 (9) The National Commission on Mathematics

4 and Science Teaching for the 21st century also finds

5 that recent reports of the performance of our coun6 try’s students from both the Third International

7 Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the

8 National Assessment of Educational Progress

9 (NAEP) echo a dismal message of lackluster per10 formance, now 3 decades old. It is time the Nation

11 heeded it—before it is too late.

12 (10) In an age now driven by the relentless ne13 cessity of scientific and technological advancement,

14 the current preparation that students in the United

15 States receive in mathematics and science is, in a

16 word, unacceptable.

17 (11) Proficiency in mathematics, science, and

18 information technology is necessary to prepare

19 American students for participation in the 21st cen20 tury and to guarantee that the United States econ21 omy remains vibrant and competitive.

22 (12) Now is the time to set the stage for ad23 vancement in mathematics and science proficiency.

24 (13) The United States must expect more from

25 our educators and students.
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1 (14) In order to achieve this, it is important

2 that we show interest in economically disadvantaged

3 students who have not been provided with opportuni4 ties that will improve their knowledge of mathe5 matics, science, and information technology.

6 (15) Many economically disadvantaged students

7 in urban and rural America share a common need

8 to receive a quality education, but often their schools

9 lack the needed resources to prepare them for the

10 21st century global community.

11 (16) The schools and businesses serving these

12 communities are strategically positioned to form a

13 unique partnership with urban and rural students

14 that will increase their mathematics, science, and in15 formation technology proficiency for the benefit of

16 the Nation.

17 (17) If our Nation continues failing to prepare

18 citizens from all population groups for participation

19 in the new, technology-driven economy, our Nation

20 will risk losing its economic and intellectual pre21 eminence.

22 (18) America’s students must improve their

23 performance in mathematics and science if they are

24 to succeed in today’s world and if the United States
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1 is to stay competitive in an integrated global econ2 omy.

3 (19) It is clear that the most direct route to im4 proving mathematics and science achievement for all

5 students is better mathematics and science teaching.

6 SEC. 3. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

7 (a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—

9 (A) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Director shall

10 establish a demonstration program under which

11 the Director awards grants in accordance with

12 this Act to eligible local educational agencies.

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

14 agency that receives a grant under this Act may

15 use such grant funds to develop a program that

16 builds or expands mathematics, science, and in17 formation technology curricula, to purchase

18 equipment necessary to establish such program,

19 and to provide professional development to en20 hance teacher quality in those subject areas.

21 (2) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—The program

22 described in paragraph (1) shall—

23 (A) train teachers specifically in informa24 tion technology, mathematics, and science; and
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1 (B) provide students with a rich standards2 based course of study in mathematics, science,

3 and information technology.

4 (b) ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—A

5 local educational agency is eligible to receive a grant under

6 this Act if the agency—

7 (1) provides assurances that it has executed

8 conditional agreements with representatives of the

9 private sector to provide services and funds de10 scribed in subsection (c); and

11 (2) agrees to enter into an agreement with the

12 Director to comply with the requirements of this

13 Act.

14 (c) PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION.—The condi15 tional agreements referred to in subsection (b)(1) shall de16 scribe participation by the private sector, including—

17 (1) the donation of technology tools;

18 (2) the establishment of internship and men19 toring opportunities for students who participate in

20 the mathematics, science, and information tech21 nology program; and

22 (3) the donation of scholarship funds for se23 lected students to continue their study of mathe24 matics, science, and information technology.

25 (d) APPLICATION.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—To apply for a grant under

2 this section, each eligible local educational agency

3 shall submit an application to the Director in ac4 cordance with guidelines established by the Director

5 pursuant to paragraph (2).

6 (2) GUIDELINES.—

7 (A) REQUIREMENTS.—The guidelines re8 ferred to in paragraph (1) shall require, at a

9 minimum, that the application include—

10 (i) a description of proposed activities

11 consistent with the uses of funds and pro12 gram requirements under subsection

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

14 (ii) a description of the higher edu15 cation scholarship program, including cri16 teria for selection, duration of scholarship,

17 number of scholarships to be awarded each

18 year, and funding levels for scholarships;

19 and

20 (iii) evidence of private sector partici21 pation and financial support described in

22 subsection (c).

23 (B) GUIDELINE PUBLICATION.—The Di24 rector shall issue and publish such guidelines
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1 not later than 6 months after the date of the

2 enactment of this Act.

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

4 local educational agency to receive an award under

5 this section in accordance with subsection (e) and on

6 the basis of merit to be determined after conducting

7 a comprehensive review.

8 (e) PRIORITY.—The Director shall give special pri9 ority in awarding grants under this Act to eligible local

10 educational agencies that—

11 (1) demonstrate the greatest ability to obtain

12 commitments from representatives of the private sec13 tor to provide services and funds described under

14 subsection (c); and

15 (2) demonstrate the greatest economic need.

16 (f) MAXIMUM GRANT AWARD.—An award made to an

17 eligible local educational agency under this Act may not

18 exceed $300,000.

19 SEC. 4. STUDY AND REPORT.

20 (a) STUDY.—The Director shall initiate an evaluative

21 study of the effectiveness of the activities carried out

22 under this Act in improving student performance in math23 ematics, science, and information technology at the

24 precollege level and in stimulating student interest in pur25 suing undergraduate studies in these fields.
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1 (b) REPORT.—The Director shall report the findings

2 of the study to Congress not later than 4 years after the

3 award of the first scholarship. Such report shall include

4 the number of students receiving assistance under this Act

5 who graduate from an institution of higher education with

6 a major in mathematics, science, or information tech7 nology, and the number of students receiving assistance

8 under this Act who find employment in such fields.

9 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

10 For purposes of this Act—

11 (1) the term ‘‘conditional agreement’’ means an

12 arrangement between representatives of the private

13 sector and local educational agencies to provide cer14 tain services and funds, such as, but not limited to,

15 the donation of computer hardware and software,

16 the establishment of internship and mentoring op17 portunities for students who participate in mathe18 matics, science, and information technology pro19 grams, and the donation of scholarship funds for use

20 at institutions of higher education by eligible stu21 dents who have participated in the mathematics,

22 science, and information technology programs;

23 (2) the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of

24 the National Science Foundation;
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1 (3) the term ‘‘eligible student’’ means a student

2 enrolled in the 12th grade who—

3 (A) has participated in a mathematics,

4 science, and information technology program es5 tablished pursuant to this Act;

6 (B) has demonstrated a commitment to

7 pursue a career in information technology,

8 mathematics, science, or engineering; and

9 (C) has attained high academic standing

10 and maintains a grade point average of not less

11 than 2.7 on a 4.0 scale for the period from the

12 beginning of the 10th grade through the time

13 of application for a scholarship;

14 (4) the term ‘‘institution of higher education’’

15 has the same meaning given such term in section

16 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20

17 U.S.C. 1001); and

18 (5) the term ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the

19 same meaning given such term in section 14101 of

20 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

21 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801).

22 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

23 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na24 tional Science Foundation to carry out this Act
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1 $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2002 through

2 2006.

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