II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 442 

To establish within the Department of Education the Innovation Inspiration 

school grant program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 10, 2015 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. FRANKEN, Mr. REID, Mrs. 

GILLIBRAND, Ms. STABENOW, and Mr. COONS) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To establish within the Department of Education the Innovation Inspiration school grant program, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Innovation Inspiration 

5 School Grant Program Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) According to the National Science Board’s 

9 2014 Science and Engineering Indicators, only 5 


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1 percent of college graduates in the United States 

2 major in engineering. In Asia, nearly 20 percent of 

3 all baccalaureate degrees are in engineering, and in 

4 China, 31 percent of baccalaureate degrees are in 

5 engineering. 

6 (2) Although 4th graders in the United States 

7 score well against international competition, stu8 dents in the United States fall near the bottom by 

9 12th grade in mathematics and science. 

10 (3) Admissions requirements for undergraduate 

11 engineering schools include a solid background in 

12 mathematics (algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and 

13 calculus) and science (biology, chemistry, and phys14 ics), in addition to courses in English, social studies, 

15 and humanities. 

16 (4) According to the Bureau of Labor Statis17 tics, overall architecture and engineering employ18 ment is expected to grow by more than 7 percent 

19 from 2012 through 2022, and, as a group, engineers 

20 earn some of the highest average starting salaries 

21 among individuals holding baccalaureate degrees. 

22 (5) According to the Department of Labor, en23 gineers should be creative, inquisitive, analytical, 

24 and detail-oriented. Engineers should be able to 

25 work as part of a team and to communicate well, 


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1 both orally and in writing. Communication abilities 

2 are becoming increasingly important as engineers 

3 interact more frequently with specialists in a wide 

4 range of fields outside engineering. 

5 (6) Exposure to project- and problem-based 

6 learning, in a competitive team environment, gives 

7 9th through 12th graders the skills that they need 

8 to be successful in engineering programs of study 

9 and engineering careers. 

10 (7) According to Brandeis University’s Center 

11 for Youth and Communities, participants in FIRST 

12 Robotics (a nonprofit organization that inspires 

13 young people to be science and technology leaders by 

14 engaging the young people in mentor-based pro15 grams)— 

16 (A) are more likely than nonparticipants to 

17 attend an institution of higher education on a 

18 full-time basis (88 percent versus 53 percent); 

19 (B) are nearly 2 times as likely to major 

20 in a science or engineering field; and 

21 (C) are more than 3 times as likely to have 

22 majored specifically in engineering. 

23 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this Act: 


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1 (1) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

2 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 

3 the term in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec4 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

5 (2) LOW-INCOME STUDENT.—The term ‘‘low-in6 come student’’ means a student who is eligible for 

7 a free or reduced price lunch under the Richard B. 

8 Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 

9 et seq.). 

10 (3) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec11 ondary school’’ has the meaning given the term in 

12 section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu13 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

14 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

15 the Secretary of Education. 

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

17 technology, engineering (including robotics), or 

18 mathematics, and includes the field of computer 

19 science. 

20 (6) NON-TRADITIONAL STEM TEACHING METH21 OD.—The term ‘‘non-traditional STEM teaching 

22 method’’ means a STEM education method or strat23 egy such as incorporating self-directed student learn24 ing, inquiry-based learning, cooperative learning in 

25 small groups, collaboration with mentors in the field 


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1 of study, and participation in STEM-related com2 petitions. 

3 SEC. 4. INNOVATIVE INSPIRATION SCHOOL GRANT PRO4 GRAM. 

5 (a) GOALS OF PROGRAM.—The goals of the Innova6 tion Inspiration grant program are— 

7 (1) to provide opportunities for local edu8 cational agencies to support non-traditional STEM 

9 teaching methods; 

10 (2) to support the participation of students in 

11 nonprofit STEM competitions; 

12 (3) to foster innovation and broaden interest in, 

13 and access to, careers in the STEM fields by invest14 ing in programs supported by educators and profes15 sional mentors who receive hands-on training and 

16 ongoing communications that strengthen the inter17 actions of the educators and mentors with— 

18 (A) students who are involved in STEM 

19 activities; and 

20 (B) other students in the STEM class21 rooms and communities of such educators and 

22 mentors; and 

23 (4) to encourage collaboration among students, 

24 engineers, and professional mentors. 

25 (b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized 

2 to award grants, on a competitive basis, to local edu3 cational agencies to enable the local educational 

4 agencies— 

5 (A) to promote STEM in secondary schools 

6 and after school programs; 

7 (B) to support the participation of sec8 ondary school students in non-traditional 

9 STEM teaching methods; and 

10 (C) to broaden secondary school students’ 

11 access to careers in STEM. 

12 (2) DURATION.—The Secretary shall award 

13 each grant under this Act for a period of not more 

14 than 5 years. 

15 (3) AMOUNTS.—The Secretary shall award a 

16 grant under this Act in an amount that is sufficient 

17 to carry out the goals of this Act. 

18 (c) APPLICATION.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each local educational agen20 cy desiring a grant under this Act shall submit an 

21 application to the Secretary at such time, in such 

22 manner, and containing such information as the Sec23 retary may reasonably require. 


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1 (2) CONTENTS.—The application shall, at a 

2 minimum, include a description of how the local edu3 cational agency will— 

4 (A) carry out STEM teaching programs 

5 that will use a non-traditional STEM teaching 

6 method; 

7 (B) identify and recruit partners and men8 tors— 

9 (i) to help carry out the programs de10 scribed in subparagraph (A); and 

11 (ii) to assist students who participate 

12 in such programs, including through tech13 nology-supported means; 

14 (C) support educators who lead such pro15 grams, and participants in such programs, 

16 through stipends or other incentives; 

17 (D) recruit young women and individuals 

18 from populations historically underrepresented 

19 in the STEM fields to participate in such pro20 grams; 

21 (E) identify public and private partners 

22 that can support such programs with cash or 

23 in-kind contributions; 

24 (F) plan for sustaining such programs fi25 nancially beyond the grant period; and 


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1 (G) evaluate the grant project and the re2 sults of the grant project among participating 

3 students, including— 

4 (i) comparing students who partici5 pate in the grant project to similar stu6 dents who do not participate; and 

7 (ii) evaluating— 

8 (I) secondary school graduation 

9 rates; 

10 (II) rates of attendance at insti11 tutions of higher education; 

12 (III) the number of students tak13 ing advanced STEM related secondary 

14 school classes; and 

15 (IV) the ability of students par16 ticipating in the grant project to part17 ner with professional mentors. 

18 (3) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

19 section, the Secretary shall give priority to applica20 tions from local educational agencies that propose to 

21 carry out activities that target— 

22 (A) a rural or urban school; 

23 (B) a low-performing school or local edu24 cational agency; or 


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1 (C) a local educational agency or school 

2 that serves low-income students. 

3 (d) USES OF FUNDS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each local educational agen5 cy that receives a grant under this Act shall use the 

6 grant funds for any of the following: 

7 (A) STEM EDUCATION AND CAREER AC8 TIVITIES.—Promotion of STEM education and 

9 career activities. 

10 (B) PURCHASE OF PARTS.—The purchase 

11 of parts and supplies needed to support partici12 pation in non-traditional STEM teaching meth13 ods. 

14 (C) TEACHER INCENTIVES AND STI15 PENDS.—Incentives and stipends for teachers 

16 involved in non-traditional STEM teaching 

17 methods outside of their regular teaching du18 ties. 

19 (D) SUPPORT AND EXPENSES.—Support 

20 and expenses for student participation in re21 gional and national nonprofit STEM competi22 tions. 

23 (E) ADDITIONAL MATERIALS AND SUP24 PORT.—Additional materials and support, such 

25 as equipment, facility use, technology, broadVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:49 Feb 18, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S442.IS S442

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1 band access, and other expenses, directly associ2 ated with non-traditional STEM teaching and 

3 mentoring. 

4 (F) EVALUATION.—Carrying out the eval5 uation described in subsection (c)(2)(G). 

6 (G) OTHER ACTIVITIES.—Carrying out 

7 other activities that are related to the goals of 

8 the grant program, as described in subsection 

9 (a). 

10 (2) PROHIBITION.—A local educational agency 

11 shall not use grant funds awarded under this Act to 

12 participate in any STEM competition that is not a 

13 nonprofit competition. 

14 (3) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Each local edu15 cational agency that receives a grant under this Act 

16 may use not more than 2 percent of the grant funds 

17 for costs related to the administration of the grant 

18 project. 

19 (e) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

21 each local educational agency that receives a grant 

22 under this Act shall secure, toward the cost of the 

23 activities assisted under the grant, from non-Federal 

24 sources, an amount equal to 50 percent of the grant. 


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1 The non-Federal contribution may be provided in 

2 cash or in-kind. 

3 (2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive all or 

4 part of the matching requirement described in para5 graph (1) for a local educational agency if the Sec6 retary determines that applying the matching re7 quirement would result in a serious financial hard8 ship or a financial inability to carry out the goals of 

9 the grant project. 

10 (f) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant funds 

11 provided to a local educational agency under this Act shall 

12 be used to supplement, and not supplant, funds that would 

13 otherwise be used for activities authorized under this Act. 

14 (g) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall establish an 

15 evaluation program to determine the efficacy of the grant 

16 program established by this Act, which shall include com17 paring students participating in a grant project funded 

18 under this Act to similar students who do not so partici19 pate, in order to assess the impact of student participation 

20 on— 

21 (1) what courses a student takes in the future; 

22 and 

23 (2) a student’s postsecondary study. 

24 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

2 appropriated to carry out this Act such sums as may 

3 be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2016 

4 through 2020. 

5 (2) LIMITATIONS.—Of the amounts appro6 priated under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, not 

7 more than 2 percent shall be used for the evaluation 

8 described under subsection (g). 

Æ 


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