SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Rural STEM Edu-
cation Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The supply of STEM workers is not keeping 
pace with the rapidly evolving needs of the public 
and private sector, resulting in a deficit often re-
ferred to as a STEM skills shortage. 
(2) According to the Bureau of Labor Statis-
tics, the United States will need one million addi-
tional STEM professionals than it is on track to 
produce in the coming decade. 
(3) Many STEM occupations offer higher 
wages, more opportunities for advancement, and a 
higher degree of job security than non-STEM jobs. 
(4) The 60,000,000 individuals in the United 
States who live in rural settings are significantly 
under-represented in STEM. 
(5) According to the National Center for Edu-
cation Statistics, nine million students in the United 
States—nearly 20 percent of the total K–12 popu-
lation—attend rural schools, and for reasons rang-
ing from teacher quality to shortages of resources, 
these students often have fewer opportunities for
high-quality STEM learning than their peers in the 
Nation’s urban and suburban schools. 
(6) Rural areas represent one of the most 
promising, 
yet 
underutilized, 
opportunities 
for 
STEM education to impact workforce development 
and regional innovation, including agriculture. 
(7) The study of agriculture, food, and natural 
resources involves biology, engineering, physics, 
chemistry, math, geology, computer science, and 
other scientific fields. 
(8) Employment in computer and information 
technology occupations is projected to grow 11 per-
cent from 2019 to 2029. To help meet this demand, 
it is important rural students have the opportunity 
to acquire computing skills through exposure to com-
puter science learning in grades Pre-K through 12 
and in informal learning settings. 
(9) More than 293,000,000 individuals in the 
United States use high-speed broadband to work, 
learn, access healthcare, and operate their busi-
nesses, while 19,000,000 individuals in the United 
States still lack access to high-speed broadband. 
Rural areas are hardest hit, with over 26 percent of 
individuals in rural areas in the United States lack-
ing access to high-speed broadband compared to 1.7
percent of individuals in urban areas in the United 
States. 
SEC. 3. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION RURAL STEM AC-
TIVITIES. 
(a) PREPARING RURAL STEM EDUCATORS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall provide 
grants on a merit-reviewed, competitive basis to in-
stitutions of higher education or nonprofit organiza-
tions (or a consortium thereof) for research and de-
velopment to advance innovative approaches to sup-
port and sustain high-quality STEM teaching in 
rural schools. 
(2) USE OF FUNDS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Grants awarded under 
this section shall be used for the research and 
development activities referred to in paragraph 
(1), which may include— 
(i) engaging rural educators of stu-
dents in grades Pre-K through 12 in pro-
fessional learning opportunities to enhance 
STEM 
knowledge, 
including 
computer 
science, and develop best practices; 
(ii) supporting research on effective 
STEM teaching practices in rural settings, 
including the use of rubrics and mastery-
based grading practices to assess student 
performance 
when 
employing 
the 
transdisciplinary teaching approach for 
STEM disciplines; 
(iii) designing and developing pre- 
service and in-service training resources to 
assist such rural educators in adopting 
transdisciplinary teaching practices across 
STEM courses; 
(iv) coordinating with local partners 
to adapt STEM teaching practices to lever-
age local natural and community assets in 
order to support in-place learning in rural 
areas; 
(v) providing hands-on training and 
research opportunities for rural educators 
described in clause (i) at Federal Labora-
tories, institutions of higher education, or 
in industry; 
(vi) developing training and best prac-
tices for educators who teach multiple 
grade levels within a STEM discipline; 
(vii) designing and implementing pro-
fessional development courses and experi-
ences, including mentoring, for rural edu-
cators described in clause (i) that combine 
face-to-face and online experiences; and 
(viii) any other activity the Director 
determines will accomplish the goals of this 
subsection. 
(B) RURAL
STEM
COLLABORATIVE.—The 
Director may establish a pilot program of re-
gional cohorts in rural areas that will provide 
peer support, mentoring, and hands-on research 
experiences for rural STEM educators of stu-
dents in grades Pre-K through 12, in order to 
build an ecosystem of cooperation among edu-
cators, researchers, academia, and local indus-
try. 
(b) BROADENING PARTICIPATION OF RURAL STU-
DENTS IN STEM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall provide 
grants on a merit-reviewed, competitive basis to in-
stitutions of higher education or nonprofit organiza-
tions (or a consortium thereof) for— 
(A) research and development of program-
ming to identify the barriers rural students face 
in accessing high-quality STEM education; and 
(B) development of innovative solutions to 
improve the participation and advancement of
rural students in grades Pre-K through 12 in 
STEM studies. 
(2) USE OF FUNDS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Grants awarded under 
this section shall be used for the research and 
development activities referred to in paragraph 
(1), which may include— 
(i) developing partnerships with com-
munity colleges to offer advanced STEM 
course work, including computer science, to 
rural high school students; 
(ii) supporting research on effective 
STEM practices in rural settings; 
(iii) 
implementing 
a 
school-wide 
STEM approach; 
(iv) improving the National Science 
Foundation’s Advanced Technology Edu-
cation program’s coordination and engage-
ment with rural communities; 
(v) collaborating with existing commu-
nity partners and networks, such as the co-
operative research and extension services 
of the Department of Agriculture and 
youth serving organizations like 4–H, after 
school STEM programs, and summer