I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5519 
To improve and expand geographic literacy among kindergarten through grade 
12 students in the United States by improving professional development 
programs for kindergarten through grade 12 teachers offered through 
institutions of higher education. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 25, 2006 
Mr. WICKER (for himself, Mr. SHAYS, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, 
Mr. CASE, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. POMEROY, and Mr. MORAN of Kansas) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To improve and expand geographic literacy among kinder-
garten through grade 12 students in the United States 
by improving professional development programs for kin-
dergarten through grade 12 teachers offered through 
institutions of higher education. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Teaching Geography 
is Fundamental Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION. 
Title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1021 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘PART C—GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION 
‘‘SEC. 231. FINDINGS. 
‘‘Congress makes the following findings: 
‘‘(1) Geographic literacy is essential to a well- 
prepared citizenry in the 21st Century because geo-
graphic factors assume greater importance as the 
world’s economies, societies, and political structures 
grow more global in scale. 
‘‘(2) In a recent National Geographic–Roper 9- 
country survey of geographic literacy among young 
adults aged 18 through 24, Americans ranked sec-
ond to last. Only 13 percent of young adults ages 18 
through 24 in the United States were able to cor-
rectly identify Iraq on a map of Asia and the Middle 
East. 
‘‘(3) The economic stature and competitiveness 
of the United States requires increasingly sophisti-
cated levels of geographic knowledge and mastery of 
geographic tools. 
‘‘(4) United States Department of Labor data 
identifies geotechnology as one of the 3 fastest grow-
ing employment fields serving industries such as in-
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surance, banking, real estate, forestry, and agri-
culture as well as Federal, State, and local Govern-
ments. 
‘‘(5) The National Academy of Sciences urged 
creation of a national program to improve the geo-
graphic competence of the United States general 
population and the school age population. 
‘‘(6) Geography is defined as a ‘core academic 
subject’ within the No Child Left Behind Act of 
2001. 
‘‘(7) A recent National Geographic Society sur-
vey found that all 50 States and the District of Co-
lumbia recognize geography in their curricula or con-
tent standards, and an increasing number require 
geography for graduation and include geography in 
mandated statewide assessments. 
‘‘(8) Seven of 10 educators responding to a Na-
tional Geographic survey felt their professional de-
velopment opportunities in geography were inad-
equate and half believed their schools had inad-
equate basic materials for teaching geography. 
‘‘(9) The National Geographic Society has 
spent over 15 years pioneering an extraordinarily ef-
fective national program for improving the teaching 
of 
geography 
by 
engaging 
university 
faculty 
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geographers and highly trained teachers in State Ge-
ographic Alliances dedicated to providing high qual-
ity professional development opportunities for kin-
dergarten through grade 12 teachers. 
‘‘(10) More than 60 colleges and universities in 
all 50 States have received grants from the National 
Geographic Society to support State Geographic Alli-
ances and their professional development programs. 
Alliance-trained kindergarten through grade 12 
teachers and their higher education partners conduct 
workshops, develop localized teaching materials, and 
facilitate communication among thousands of teach-
ers whose responsibilities include teaching of geog-
raphy in various formats and grade levels. 
‘‘(11) A study by Mid-continent Research for 
Education and Learning that assessed student aca-
demic achievement in geography on the National As-
sessment of Educational Progress showed that stu-
dents taught by Alliance-trained teachers out-
performed other students by almost 10 percent. 
‘‘SEC. 232. PURPOSES AND OBJECTIVES. 
‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this part is to pro-
mote geographic literacy and improved understanding of 
global cultures among kindergarten through grade 12 stu-
dents by expanding programs that employ the geographic 
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knowledge and expertise of faculty members in institutions 
of higher education for the benefit of kindergarten 
through grade 12 teachers and to otherwise advance geo-
graphic literacy. 
‘‘(b) OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of this part are 
the following: 
‘‘(1) To increase students knowledge of, and 
achievement in, standards-based geography to enable 
the students to become better informed and more 
productive citizens. 
‘‘(2) To increase the number of highly qualified 
teachers of United States and world geography and 
to enable the teachers to improve student mastery of 
geographic principles and practical applications of 
those principles. 
‘‘(3) To encourage geographic education re-
search, to develop and disseminate effective instruc-
tional materials, and to promote replication of best 
practices and exemplary programs that foster geo-
graphic literacy. 
‘‘(4) To assist States in measuring the impact 
of education in geography. 
‘‘(5) To leverage and expand private and public 
support for geography education partnerships at na-
tional, State, and local levels. 
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