I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2710 

To stimulate collaboration with respect to, and provide for coordination and 

coherence of, the Nation’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education initiatives. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 4, 2009 

Mr. HONDA (for himself, Mr. CHANDLER, Mr. DOYLE, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of 

Texas, Mr. WU, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. 

GALLEGLY, Mr. HARE, Mr. HINOJOSA, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. 

LOEBSACK, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. LANGEVIN, 

Mr. MOORE of Kansas, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. HOLT, Mr. STARK, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. MILLER

of North Carolina, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. 

BLUMENAUER, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, 

Mr. SESTAK, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. HIRONO, Ms. SUTTON, 

Ms. SPEIER, Mr. GRAYSON, Mr. COHEN, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

of Texas, Mr. REYES, Mr. POLIS of Colorado, Mr. SIRES, Mr. PAYNE, 

Mr. BUTTERFIELD, and Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 

Labor, and in addition to the Committee on Science and Technology, 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 stimulate collaboration with respect to, and provide for 

coordination and coherence of, the Nation’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education initiatives. 


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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 ‘‘Enhancing Science, 

5 Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education Act 

6 of 2009’’. 

7 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

8 To coordinate Federal Science, Technology, Engi9 neering, and Mathematics (STEM) education efforts and 

10 foster cooperation between the States and Federal Govern11 ment by— 

12 (1) improving coherence of Federal STEM edu13 cation programs through the President’s Office of 

14 Science and Technology Policy; 

15 (2) coordinating STEM education initiatives at 

16 the Department of Education; 

17 (3) providing an incentive to States to align 

18 STEM education; and 

19 (4) improving the dissemination of STEM edu20 cation research, promising practices, and exemplary 

21 programs through the National STEM Education 

22 Resource Repository. 

23 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

24 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) To preserve the competitiveness of the 

2 United States in the global economy our Nation 

3 must continue to combine innovation with techno4 logical advances and scientific discovery. 

5 (2) In 2006, the Committee on Science, Engi6 neering, and Public Policy of the National Acad7 emies published ‘‘Rising Above the Gathering 

8 Storm’’ estimating that in the United States innova9 tions generated by the Science, Technology, Engi10 neering, and Math (STEM) fields account for more 

11 than half of the growth in gross domestic product 

12 (GDP). 

13 (3) According to the analysis conducted by the 

14 Association of American Universities in 2006, only 

15 15 percent of college graduates receive a diploma in 

16 engineering or the natural sciences in the United 

17 States as compared with 38 percent in South Korea, 

18 47 percent in France, and 67 percent in Singapore. 

19 (4) Every student deserves the opportunity to 

20 contribute to the long-term prosperity of the United 

21 States by acquiring skills that foster critical think22 ing, inventiveness, and innovation. 

23 (5) Highly qualified teachers are crucial to in24 stilling students with the values and skills necessary 

25 to preserve and improve innovation in the United 


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1 States and maintain our Nation’s leadership in the 

2 global knowledge economy. 

3 (6) Teacher preparation programs at institu4 tions of higher education will enhance the prepara5 tion they provide by incorporating promising prac6 tices and exemplary programs that foster student 

7 learning, problem solving skills, and inventiveness 

8 and by aligning STEM education preservice and in9 service training among States. 

10 (7) Women and minorities in the United States 

11 employed in STEM occupations are not represented 

12 in proportion to their numbers in the population or 

13 their enrollment in higher education; efforts must be 

14 made to increase diversity in the STEM workforce 

15 to improve the range of viewpoints and solutions 

16 available to address today’s challenges presented by 

17 a diverse and global marketplace. 

18 (8) Many of the Federal Agencies have well-es19 tablished programs designed to support and improve 

20 STEM education including the Environmental Pro21 tection Agency, Department of Agriculture, Depart22 ment of Commerce, Department of Defense, Depart23 ment of Education, Department of Energy, Depart24 ment of Health and Human Services, Department of 

25 the Interior, National Aeronautics and Space AdVerDate Nov 24 2008 06:34 Jun 06, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2710.IH H2710

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1 ministration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad2 ministration, National Science Foundation, the Na3 tional Institutes of Health, and the National Insti4 tute of Standards and Technology. 

5 (9) According to the Academic Competitiveness 

6 Council’s (ACC) recent report, in 2006 the United 

7 States sponsored 105 STEM education programs at 

8 a dozen different Federal Agencies. These programs 

9 devoted approximately $3,120,000,000 to STEM 

10 education activities spanning kindergarten through 

11 postgraduate education and outreach. It was shown 

12 that many of these Agencies do not share informa13 tion or work collaboratively on similar programs. 

14 The ACC found that ‘‘coordination among agencies 

15 could be improved to avoid, for example, grants to 

16 numerous projects that support the same sorts of 

17 interventions . . . there appears to be a lack of com18 munication among the agencies about the work they 

19 are funding and the results that are being generated 

20 . . . agencies are often uninformed by the results of 

21 earlier projects.’’. 

22 (10) Strengthening partnerships between the 

23 Federal and State governments, the private sector, 

24 nonprofit organizations, and the education commuVerDate Nov 24 2008 06:34 Jun 06, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2710.IH H2710

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1 nity will improve STEM education in our Nation’s 

2 schools. 

3 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) The term ‘‘STEM’’ means science, tech6 nology, engineering, and mathematics. 

7 (2) The term ‘‘OSTP’’ means the Office of 

8 Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Of9 fice of the President. 

10 (3) The term ‘‘NSERR’’ means the National 

11 STEM Education Resource Repository. 

12 (4) The term ‘‘Agencies’’ or ‘‘Agency’’ means 

13 the following Federal agencies: Environmental Pro14 tection Agency, Department of Agriculture, Depart15 ment of Commerce, Department of Defense, Depart16 ment of Education, Department of Energy, Depart17 ment of Health and Human Services, Department of 

18 Labor, Department of the Interior, National Aero19 nautics and Space Administration, National Oceanic 

20 and Atmospheric Administration, National Science 

21 Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and 

22 the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 

23 and other Federal agencies with STEM education 

24 programs. 


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1 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT WITHIN THE PRESIDENT’S OFFICE 

2 OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY A 

3 COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, EN4 GINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMITTEE.—The Presi6 dent shall establish, at the OSTP, a Committee on 

7 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Edu8 cation within the National Science and Technology Coun9 cil, which may be referred to as the Committee on STEM 

10 Education. 

11 (b) FUNCTION.—The function of the Committee es12 tablished under subsection (a) shall be— 

13 (1) to coordinate the efforts of all Federal 

14 Agencies that relate to STEM education from the 

15 prekindergarten level through the graduate level to 

16 avoid unnecessary duplication and ensure coherence 

17 among Federal STEM education programs; 

18 (2) to seek to improve the quality and quantity 

19 of the STEM workforce with consideration of in20 creasing participation of individuals identified in sec21 tion 33 or 34 of the Science and Engineering Equal 

22 Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 1885a or 1885b); and 

23 (3) to ensure that all efforts that relate to 

24 STEM education are coordinated through the Com25 mittee. 

26 (c) STRUCTURE AND OPERATION.— 


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1 (1) MEMBERSHIP.—The membership of the 

2 Committee shall include not less than 1 representa3 tive from each of the Federal Agencies and may in4 clude outside experts. 

5 (2) MEETINGS.—The Committee shall convene 

6 at least once quarterly. 

7 (3) STAFF.—The Committee shall be served 

8 by— 

9 (A) an Assistant Director selected by the 

10 members of the Committee with the approval of 

11 the Director of the OSTP; and 

12 (B) a professional staff of at least two. 

13 (d) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Committee shall have 

14 the following responsibilities: 

15 (1) Conducting an ongoing inventory and as16 sessment of the effectiveness and coherence of ef17 forts within Federal agencies that relate to STEM 

18 education. 

19 (2) Coordinating and facilitating the commu20 nication and cooperation among all Federal Agencies 

21 engaged in efforts that relate to STEM education. 

22 (3) Developing annual goals and objectives for 

23 improving STEM education throughout the Nation 

24 in collaboration with relevant Federal Agencies and 

25 organizations. 


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1 (4) Not later than 30 days after developing the 

2 goals and objectives under paragraph (3)— 

3 (A) disseminating the goals and objectives 

4 to each Federal Agency engaged in efforts that 

5 relate to STEM education; 

6 (B) communicating the goals and objec7 tives to the Committee on Health, Education, 

8 Labor, and Pensions and the Committee on 

9 Commerce, Justice, and Transportation of the 

10 Senate and the Committee on Education and 

11 Labor and the Committee on Science and Tech12 nology of the House of Representatives, and rel13 evant STEM education organizations; and 

14 (C) making the goals and objectives widely 

15 available to the public, particularly to stake16 holders that represent individuals identified in 

17 section 33 or 34 of the Science and Engineering 

18 Equal Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 1885a or 

19 1885b). 

20 (5) Annually evaluating the progress and suc21 cess of each Federal Agency at achieving the goals 

22 and objectives under paragraph (3). 

23 (6) Consulting with the State Consortium on 

24 STEM Education when developing Federal STEM 

25 education policy and budgets. 


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1 (7) Proposing a coordinated interagency budget 

2 for STEM Education to the Office of Management 

3 and Budget aligned with the goals established in 

4 paragraph (3). 

5 (8) Strengthening partnerships between the 

6 STEM education community, Federal, State, and 

7 local governments, and other countries. 

8 (9) Implementing the program for Semiannual 

9 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics 

10 Days as set forth in section 1004 of the America 

11 COMPETES Act (Public Law 110–69). 

12 (10) Hosting an annual meeting on the status 

13 of STEM education, including the role of education 

14 in meeting the recommendations of the report sub15 mitted by and as part of the National Science and 

16 Technology Summit required by section 1101 of the 

17 America COMPETES Act (Public Law 110–69; 121 

18 Stat. 574), in conjunction with— 

19 (A) the State Consortium on STEM Edu20 cation; 

21 (B) the Federal Agencies; 

22 (C) States, including the District of Co23 lumbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 

24 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is25 lands, American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin IsVerDate Nov 24 2008 06:34 Jun 06, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2710.IH H2710

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1 lands, and any other territory or possession of 

2 the United States; 

3 (D) businesses and industries; 

4 (E) institutions of higher education; 

5 (F) STEM education professions and 

6 teachers from prekindergarten through 

7 postbaccalaureate study; and 

8 (G) other relevant stakeholders in STEM 

9 education including stakeholders that represent 

10 individuals identified in section 33 or 34 of the 

11 Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities 

12 Act (42 U.S.C. 1885a or 1885b). 

13 (11) Issuing a biennial report to the Nation on 

14 the status of STEM education that— 

15 (A) specifies the efforts and outcomes of 

16 each Federal Agency in improving STEM edu17 cation; and 

18 (B) contains an analysis of the quality, 

19 scale, and effectiveness of the efforts of the 

20 Federal Government relating to improving 

21 STEM education and increasing participation 

22 of individuals identified in section 33 or 34 of 

23 the Science and Engineering Equal Opportuni24 ties Act (42 U.S.C. 1885a or 1885b). 


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1 (12) Developing, in consultation with the Sec2 retary of Labor, business and industry partners and 

3 other appropriate entities, a 5-year projection of the 

4 STEM workforce including a demographic break5 down of individuals identified in section 33 or 34 of 

6 the Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities 

7 Act (42 U.S.C. 1885a or 1885b). 

8 (e) REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

10 but notwithstanding any other provision of law, a 

11 person shall be not eligible to receive a grant from 

12 any Federal Agency for a project that relates to 

13 STEM education research unless the person dem14 onstrates that all reports, proceedings, data sets, on15 line modules, and other products of the project will 

16 be submitted by their authors for consideration to be 

17 included in the NSERR. 

18 (2) COPYRIGHT.—The Committee and the 

19 NSERR shall implement the public access policy 

20 under paragraph (1) in a manner consistent with 

21 copyright law. 

22 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

23 authorized to be appropriated $650,000 to carry out this 

24 section for fiscal year 2010 and each fiscal year thereafter. 


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1 SEC. 6. OFFICE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, 

2 AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION WITHIN THE 

3 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. 

4 (a) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—Section 202 of the De5 partment of Education Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3412) 

6 is amended in subsection (b)(1)— 

7 (1) in subparagraph (E) by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

8 the end; 

9 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as (G); 

10 and 

11 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(F) an Assistant Secretary for Science, 

14 Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics 

15 Education (who may be referred to as the As16 sistant Secretary for STEM Education); and’’. 

17 (b) OFFICE.—Title II of the Department of Edu18 cation Organization Act is amended by adding at the end 

19 the following: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 221. OFFICE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEER21 ING, AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION. 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There shall be in the Depart23 ment of Education an Office of Science, Technology, Engi24 neering, and Mathematics Education (which may be re25 ferred to as the Office of STEM Education), to be adminVerDate Nov 24 2008 06:34 Jun 06, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2710.IH H2710

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1 istered by the Assistant Secretary for STEM Education 

2 appointed under section 202(b). 

3 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Assistant Secretary of 

4 STEM Education, acting through the Office, shall have 

5 the following responsibilities: 

6 ‘‘(1) Coordinating and overseeing all STEM 

7 education efforts within the Department. 

8 ‘‘(2) Preparing the annual budget for all STEM 

9 education programs within the Department. 

10 ‘‘(3) Managing the following programs: Math 

11 and Science Partnerships, Math Now, Math Skills 

12 for Secondary Students, Minority Science and Engi13 neering Improvement, Teachers for a Competitive 

14 Tomorrow, Upward Bound Math-Science, and all 

15 other functions of the Department with a focus on 

16 STEM education, including where appropriate the 

17 National Science and Mathematics Access Retain 

18 Talent (SMART grants), the Teacher Education As19 sistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH 

20 grants), and the Academic Competitiveness grants. 

21 ‘‘(4) Consulting with other offices within the 

22 Department that have a STEM education focus, in23 cluding those managing the Carl D. Perkins Career 

24 and Technical Education grant programs. 


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1 ‘‘(5) Representing the Department as a member 

2 of the STEM Education Committee, established 

3 under section 5 of the Enhancing Science, Tech4 nology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education 

5 Act of 2009, and serving as the principal inter6 agency liaison for STEM education programs at the 

7 Department unless otherwise designated by the As8 sistant Secretary. 

9 ‘‘(6) Ensuring access to equal educational op10 portunity for every individual so as to increase, to 

11 the maximum extent possible, the participation and 

12 advancement of individuals identified in section 33 

13 or 34 of the Science and Engineering Equal Oppor14 tunities Act (42 U.S.C. 1885a or 1885b) in the 

15 STEM disciplines. 

16 ‘‘(7) Promoting the development and implemen17 tation of quality, scientifically valid STEM teacher 

18 preparation and to provide technical assistance to 

19 support STEM learning. 

20 ‘‘(8) Providing support to institutions of higher 

21 education and other institutions and organizations 

22 with effective informal STEM education programs to 

23 improve teacher preparation and teacher professional 

24 development by ensuring emphasis on promising 


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1 practices and exemplary programs in STEM edu2 cation. 

3 ‘‘(9) Providing support to local education agen4 cies or to mathematics and science partnerships in5 volving local education agencies, to implement effec6 tive STEM education instruction and exemplary pro7 grams that employ promising practices. 

8 ‘‘(10) Consulting regularly with the State Con9 sortium on STEM Education with regard to devel10 oping STEM education policy and providing tech11 nical support. 

12 ‘‘(11) Conducting a biennial symposium empha13 sizing engaging students in STEM disciplines that 

14 are identified in section 33 or 34 of the Science and 

15 Engineering Equal Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 

16 1885a or 1885b) inviting stakeholders that include, 

17 but are not limited to— 

18 ‘‘(A) expert STEM teachers; 

19 ‘‘(B) State Consortium on STEM Edu20 cation and additional States; 

21 ‘‘(C) business and industry partners; 

22 ‘‘(D) institutions of higher education; 

23 ‘‘(E) institutions and organizations with an 

24 informal STEM education focus; and 


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1 ‘‘(F) Federal Agencies with STEM edu2 cation programs. 

3 ‘‘(12) Providing periodic public statements on 

4 the status of STEM education in the Nation. 

5 ‘‘(13) Informing the Secretary, policymakers, 

6 the professional societies of STEM teaching profes7 sionals and STEM practitioners about the effective8 ness of STEM-related education research and pro9 grams operated within the Department. 

10 ‘‘(14) Sharing scientifically valid education re11 search and promising practices and exemplary pro12 grams with the National STEM Education Resource 

13 Repository.’’. 

14 (c) EVALUATION AND REPORT.—The Assistant Sec15 retary for STEM Education shall conduct an independent 

16 evaluation, through grant or by contract, of the STEM 

17 education programs administered by the Department, at 

18 least every 5 years, which shall include— 

19 (1) conducting an assessment of STEM edu20 cation activities within the Department by using the 

21 evaluations and reports of these programs to deter22 mine these programs’ impact on— 

23 (A) the quantity of students seeking 

24 STEM degrees disaggregated by subject area 

25 and according to section 33 or 34 of the 


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1 Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities 

2 Act (42 U.S.C. 1885a or 1885b); 

3 (B) student academic achievement with 

4 consideration of problem solving, critical think5 ing, collaboration, and other higher order think6 ing skills; 

7 (C) improving STEM teacher quality, 

8 quantity, and retention; and 

9 (D) improving promising teaching prac10 tices that show evidence of fostering student in11 novation; and 

12 (2) the preparation and submission of a report 

13 on the results of the evaluation described in para14 graph (1) to the Committee on Health, Education, 

15 Labor, and Pensions and the Committee on Science 

16 of the Senate, the Committee on Education and 

17 Labor and the Committee on Science and Tech18 nology of the House of Representatives and the 

19 Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and 

20 House of Representatives. 

21 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 are authorized to be appropriated $1,500,000 to carry out 

23 this section for fiscal year 2010 and such sums as may 

24 be necessary for each fiscal year thereafter. 


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1 SEC. 7. STATE CONSORTIUM ON SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, 

2 ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS EDU3 CATION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made available to 

5 carry out this section, the Secretary of Education, acting 

6 through the Office of STEM Education, shall award a 

7 grant to establish one voluntary State Consortium on 

8 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Edu9 cation (which may be referred to as the State Consortium 

10 on STEM Education). 

11 (b) PEER REVIEW AND SELECTION.—The Secretary 

12 shall— 

13 (1) establish a peer-review process to assist in 

14 the review and approval of the grant proposal under 

15 this section; 

16 (2) appoint individuals to participate in the 

17 peer-review process who are educators and experts in 

18 identifying, evaluating, and implementing effective 

19 STEM education programs and practices, including 

20 areas of teaching and learning, educational stand21 ards and assessments, professional development, cur22 riculum, increasing the participation of individuals 

23 identified in section 33 or 34 of the Science and En24 gineering Equal Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 10 

25 1885a or 1885b), English language learners, and 

26 special education including recognized exemplary 


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1 teachers and school administrators who have been 

2 recognized at the state or national level for exem3 plary work and/or contributions to the STEM edu4 cation field; 

5 (3) approve one grant from those submitted 

6 under this section not later than 120 days after the 

7 date of the submission unless the Secretary deter8 mines that the grant proposals submitted do not 

9 meet the requirements of this section; 

10 (4) if only one grant proposal is submitted, not 

11 decline to approve the grant proposal before— 

12 (A) offering the Consortium an oppor13 tunity to revise the Consortium proposal; and 

14 (B) providing the Consortium with tech15 nical assistance in order to submit a successful 

16 application; and 

17 (5) direct the Inspector General of the Depart18 ment to review the process used for screening the in19 dividuals appointed to the peer-review process so as 

20 to avoid both financial conflicts of interest and non21 financial interests that would impair objectivity in 

22 peer review, as well as the objectivity of process used 

23 in reviewing and awarding the grant under this sec24 tion, and report the findings to Congress. 

25 (c) AMOUNT OF GRANT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under 

2 paragraph (2), the grant awarded to the consortium 

3 under this section shall be not more than 

4 $20,000,000. 

5 (2) ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—For each fiscal year 

6 of the grant period, the Secretary of Education shall 

7 award to the consortium awarded a grant under this 

8 section $1,750,000 for each additional State that is 

9 a member of the consortium beyond the minimum 5 

10 States required under subsection (d). 

11 (d) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT.—To be eligible to 

12 receive a grant under this section, the consortium shall 

13 include at least 5 States considering the need to provide 

14 an equitable geographic representation of the United 

15 States, according to the regional divisions used by the Bu16 reau of the Census. 

17 (e) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—The consortium shall 

18 use the grant funds awarded under this section for the 

19 following purposes: 

20 (1) To establish the State Consortium on 

21 STEM Education. 

22 (2) To convene an Interstate Council on 

23 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics 

24 Education (which may be referred to as the Inter25 state Council on STEM Education) that includes a 


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1 diverse group of individuals representing a variety of 

2 perspectives on STEM education, the STEM dis3 ciplines, business, curriculum, assessments, English 

4 language learners, and special education, includ5 ing— 

6 (A) representatives from States that shall 

7 include not less one State Governor, one Chief 

8 State School Officer, and one representative of 

9 a State educational agency or their designee; 

10 (B) representatives from local educational 

11 agencies (LEAs) that shall include not less than 

12 one current school administrator, and three ex13 pert STEM educators that represent early 

14 childhood, elementary, middle, and secondary 

15 school perspectives; 

16 (C) not less than 4 representatives from 

17 STEM education and the STEM fields at insti18 tutions of higher education that include commu19 nity colleges, and public and private four-year 

20 institutions of higher education; 

21 (D) not less than one representative from 

22 a STEM education professional organization, 

23 such as but not limited to the National Science 

24 Teachers Association, the National Council for 

25 Teachers of Mathematics, those representing 


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1 engineering educators, career and technical edu2 cation, and organizations that represent under3 represented communities in STEM; and 

4 (E) not less than one representative from 

5 each of the following categories of relevant 

6 STEM related organizations: informal STEM 

7 education, business and industry, a STEM dis8 ciplinary or professional society, private or cor9 porate foundations, youth-serving organizations, 

10 and other relevant organizations. 

11 (3) To support at least one full-time staff mem12 ber for each State. 

13 (4) To share STEM education research, prom14 ising practices and exemplary programs, and pro15 grams through the NSERR. 

16 (f) FUNCTIONS.—The State Consortium on STEM 

17 Education— 

18 (1) shall establish small working groups com19 prised of members of the State Council on STEM 

20 Education and outside experts in appropriate fields 

21 consulting widely to address the functions outlined 

22 in this subsection; 

23 (2) shall identify points of weakness and 

24 strength among State STEM education efforts, 

25 prioritize strategies for addressing problem areas, 


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1 and communicate State needs to the STEM Edu2 cation Committee within the OSTP and the Assist3 ant Secretary for STEM Education; 

4 (3) if the Secretary determines that significant 

5 work in the areas described in subparagraphs (A) 

6 and (B) is not already underway— 

7 (A) shall develop rigorous common content 

8 standards in STEM education for grades pre9 kindergarten through grade 12 reflecting com10 mon elements between disciplines with consider11 ation of— 

12 (i) established international standards 

13 and 21st Century Skills; and 

14 (ii) the needs of English language 

15 learners and special education students; 

16 (B) shall develop innovative STEM assess17 ment practices that include a substantial pro18 portion of extended constructed response items, 

19 such as performance-based measures, that 

20 measure higher order thinking skills and under21 standing, application and transferability knowl22 edge, problem solving, analysis, and synthesis, 

23 and include administration through a variety of 

24 modalities, such as audio-visual and interactive 

25 technology; 


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1 (C) may establish and strengthen partner2 ships between two-year colleges and minority 

3 serving institutions and research institutions to 

4 provide STEM students at two-year colleges 

5 and minority serving institutions (MSIs) ex6 panded degree possibilities and opportunities to 

7 access research facilities and mentors including 

8 but not limited to— 

9 (i) conducting a needs assessment of 

10 how to enhance the flow of STEM students 

11 from two-year colleges and MSIs to re12 search institutions; and 

13 (ii) establishing articulation agree14 ments that shall address pathways and 

15 credit transfers between the institutions; 

16 and 

17 (D) may improve and align STEM 

18 preservice teacher training among the member 

19 States, including but not limited to developing 

20 common— 

21 (i) STEM preservice teacher training 

22 degree programs; 

23 (ii) STEM teacher credentials; and 

24 (iii) alternative pathways to STEM 

25 teacher certification; 


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1 (4) if the Secretary determines that significant 

2 work in the areas described in subparagraphs (A) 

3 and (B) of paragraph (3) is already underway, shall 

4 carry out the activities described in subparagraphs 

5 (D) and (E) of such paragraph; 

6 (5) shall develop and implement strategies to 

7 integrate STEM education into other subject areas, 

8 such as language arts, social studies, physical and 

9 health education, music and other performing arts, 

10 and environmental education; 

11 (6) shall identify and utilize, to the maximum 

12 extent possible, the expertise and resources of edu13 cators, institutions of higher education, business and 

14 industry, and Federal agencies in the development 

15 and implementation of functions outlined in this 

16 subsection; 

17 (7) shall develop strategies to increase the par18 ticipation and success of individuals identified in sec19 tion 33 or 34 of the Science and Engineering Equal 

20 Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 1885a or 1885b) in 

21 STEM fields with consideration of first generation 

22 students; 

23 (8) shall issue periodic reports on the status of 

24 STEM education in the States; 


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1 (9) shall make STEM education research, 

2 promising practices and exemplary programs, and 

3 effective STEM programs widely available through 

4 the NSERR; 

5 (10) may promote and develop curriculum tools 

6 and professional development for in-service teachers 

7 that foster innovation and inventiveness; 

8 (11) may evaluate the impact that STEM edu9 cation professional development organizations have 

10 on classroom instruction and student learning in 

11 member States; 

12 (12) may provide technical support to States 

13 who are members of the Consortium to establish or 

14 strengthen existing P–16 and/or P–20 Councils and 

15 to align secondary school graduation requirements 

16 with the demands of 21st century postsecondary 

17 education endeavors and support P–16 education 

18 data systems established by States and in section 

19 6401 of the America COMPETES Act (Public Law 

20 110–69; 121 Stat. 668; 20 U.S.C. 9871), and serve 

21 as a resource center for the STEM Education ef22 forts of P–16 and/or P–20 Councils; 

23 (13) may develop STEM Career Awareness 

24 Programs in collaboration with school guidance 

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1 force needs of the 21st century that may include 

2 mentoring programs and STEM professional out3 reach; and 

4 (14) may develop STEM-related workforce edu5 cation and training programs to enhance the skills 

6 of workers to meet the needs of business and indus7 try. 

8 (g) OUTSIDE FUNDS.—The State Consortium on 

9 STEM Education shall be permitted to accept and solicit 

10 outside funds. 

11 (h) EVALUATION AND REPORT.—The State Consor12 tium on STEM Education shall conduct periodic inde13 pendent evaluations, by grant or by contract, of the State 

14 Consortium on STEM Education’s effectiveness at accom15 plishing the functions outlined in subsection (f), which 

16 shall include— 

17 (1) an assessment of the impact of such activi18 ties on STEM teaching and learning; and 

19 (2) the preparation and submission of a report 

20 on the results of the evaluation described in para21 graph (1) to the Assistant Secretary of STEM Edu22 cation. 

23 (i) PROHIBITIONS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—In implementing this sec25 tion, the Secretary may not— 


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1 (A) endorse, approve, or sanction any 

2 STEM curriculum designed for use in any 

3 school; or 

4 (B) engage in oversight, technical assist5 ance, or activities that will require the adoption 

6 of a specific STEM program or instructional 

7 materials by a State, local educational agency, 

8 or school. 

9 SEC. 8. STEM EDUCATION RESOURCE ALLIANCE. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made available to 

11 carry out this section, the Secretary of Education, acting 

12 through the Office of STEM Education, shall make a 

13 grant to the National Science Digital Library to establish 

14 the STEM Education Resource Alliance. The STEM Edu15 cation Resource Alliance shall be composed of representa16 tives from each Agency and industry stakeholders. The 

17 STEM Education Resource Alliance shall have 2 co-chairs 

18 selected by the members of the Alliance. The co-chairs 

19 shall serve for a 3-year term. No individual may serve as 

20 a co-chair for more than 1 consecutive term. 

21 (b) USE OF GRANT AMOUNTS.—The National 

22 Science Digital Library shall use the grant funds to pro23 vide basic operational support to the STEM Education 

24 Resource Alliance, including maintenance, office space, 

25 equipment, personnel, and other operational costs. 


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1 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The STEM Education Re2 source Alliance shall have the following responsibilities: 

3 (1) Coordinating and organizing— 

4 (A) scientifically valid STEM education re5 search; 

6 (B) STEM education programs— 

7 (i) that demonstrate promising prac8 tices; or 

9 (ii) are exemplary, in terms of content 

10 or resources; and 

11 (C) STEM education resources. 

12 (2) Integrating existing STEM education collec13 tions, teacher professional development opportuni14 ties, and student programs available through the 

15 Federal Government, State initiatives, or national 

16 experts, including the Science Education Resource 

17 Center, Research from Institutions of Higher Edu18 cation, Regional Education Centers (labs, com19 prehensive centers, and technical assistance centers), 

20 Applied Math and Science Repository, and Edu21 cation Resources Information Center (ERIC). 

22 (3) Working with industry to develop a uniform 

23 format for submissions to the NSERR, such as sum24 maries, metadata, contact information for questions, 

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1 formation necessary to develop applications that en2 hance learning and teaching. 

3 (4) In collaboration with relevant STEM edu4 cation experts, developing criteria for inclusion in 

5 the NSERR of resources, research, promising prac6 tices, and exemplary programs, including require7 ments relating to evaluation by experts at the prin8 cipal originating agency. 

9 (5) Publishing, not later than 180 days after 

10 the date of the enactment of this Act, the criteria 

11 developed under paragraph (4). 

12 (6) Ensuring that STEM education resources, 

13 research, promising practices, and exemplary pro14 grams meeting the criteria developed under para15 graph (4) are included in the NSERR (to be 

16 digitally housed at a location determined by the 

17 Chief Information Officer of the United States) and 

18 made widely available at no cost in a useful format. 

19 (7) Working with the Office of Science and 

20 Technology Information at the Department of En21 ergy to ensure ‘‘www.scienceeduction.gov’’ serves as 

22 the central portal to STEM education resources and 

23 promising practices across the Federal Government. 

24 (8) Providing to the National Science Digital 

25 Library, not less than annually, updates of policies 


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1 and procedures to accommodate the requirements of 

2 new and emerging technologies. 

3 (d) OUTSIDE FUNDS.—The STEM Education Re4 source Alliance shall be permitted to accept and solicit out5 side funds. 

6 (e) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT NOT TO

7 APPLY.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 

8 App.) shall not apply to the STEM Education Resource 

9 Alliance. 

10 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

11 are authorized to be appropriated $1,500,000 to carry out 

12 this section for fiscal year 2010 and such sums as may 

13 be necessary for each fiscal year thereafter. 

Æ 


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