I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 822 
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 
FEBRUARY 26, 2013 
Mr. VAN HOLLEN (for himself, Mr. PETRI, and Mr. WALZ) introduced the fol-
lowing 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 D—GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION 
‘‘SEC. 271. FINDINGS. 
‘‘Congress makes the following findings: 
‘‘(1) The economic stature and competitiveness 
of the United States requires increasingly sophisti-
cated levels of geographic knowledge and mastery of 
geographic tools. 
‘‘(2) It is estimated that the United States 
geospatial industry generated $73,000,000,000 in 
revenue last year, with half a million high-wage jobs, 
and that the industry is growing at between 25-30 
percent per year. This burgeoning industry will not 
be able to maximize its growth potential without a 
sustained Federal investment in geography edu-
cation. 
‘‘(3) A 2012 report by a Council on Foreign 
Relations task force, United States Education Re-
form and National Security, states that the lack of 
global awareness among American citizens increas-
ingly jeopardizes their ability to interact with local 
and global peers or participate meaningfully in busi-
ness, diplomatic, and military situations. 
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‘‘(4) 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. 
‘‘(5) The 2010 National Assessment of Edu-
cational Progress in geography shows that fewer 
than 30 percent of students tested in grades four, 
eight, and twelve scored at grade-level or above. 
These scores have stayed the same or gotten worse 
since the last time the test was administered in 
2001. 
‘‘(6) 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. 
‘‘(7) Geography is one of the ‘core academic 
subjects’ defined under the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act. 
‘‘(8) 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. 
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‘‘(9) Seven of ten educators responding to a 
National Geographic survey felt their professional 
development opportunities in geography were inad-
equate and half believed their schools had inad-
equate basic materials for teaching geography. 
‘‘(10) The National Geographic Society has 
spent more than 25 years pioneering an extraor-
dinarily effective national program for improving the 
teaching of geography by engaging university fac-
ulty, geographers, and highly trained teachers in 
State Geographic Alliances dedicated to providing 
high-quality professional development opportunities 
for kindergarten through grade 12 teachers. 
‘‘(11) More than 80 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. 
‘‘(12) A study by Mid-continent Research for 
Education and Learning that assessed student aca-
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demic achievement in geography on the National As-
sessment of Educational Progress showed that stu-
dents taught by Alliance-trained teachers out-per-
formed other students by almost 10 percent. 
‘‘(13) We live in a changing world with multiple 
and evolving threats to national security, including 
terrorism, asymmetrical warfare, and social unrest. 
As the nature of the threat evolves, so do the tools, 
knowledge, and skills needed to respond. A 2013 
National Academies report states that it is likely 
that qualified Geography Information Systems and 
remote sensing experts are already hard to find. 
Long before 2030, competition and a small number 
of graduates will likely result in shortages in all 
emerging areas and in the core areas of cartography, 
photogammetry, and geodesy. 
‘‘SEC. 272. 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 
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. 
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‘‘(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. 
‘‘SEC. 273. GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 
‘‘The Secretary is authorized to award a grant to a 
national nonprofit educational organization or a consor-
tium of organizations (hereafter in this part referred to 
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as the ‘grantee’) that has as its primary purpose the im-
provement of the quality of student understanding of ge-
ography through effective teaching of geography in the 
Nation’s classrooms. 
‘‘SEC. 274. USE OF FUNDS. 
‘‘(a) DIRECT ACTIVITIES.—The grantee shall use not 
more than 25 percent of the funds made available through 
the grant for a fiscal year— 
‘‘(1) to strengthen and expand the grantee’s re-
lationships with institutions of higher education and 
with State educational agencies and local educational 
agencies and other public and private organizations 
with a commitment to geography education and the 
benefits of geography education; 
‘‘(2) to support and promote research-based 
training of teachers of geography and related dis-
ciplines in kindergarten through grade 12 as a 
means of broadening student knowledge of the 
world, including the dissemination of information on 
effective practices and research findings concerning 
the teaching of geography; 
‘‘(3) to support research on effective geography 
teaching practices and the development of assess-
ment instruments and strategies to document stu-
dent understanding of geography; 
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‘‘(4) to convene national conferences on geog-
raphy education to assess the current state of geo-
graphic literacy and to identify strategies for im-
provement; and 
‘‘(5) to develop and disseminate appropriate re-
search-based materials to foster geographic literacy. 
‘‘(b) SUBGRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The grantee shall use not 
more than 75 percent of the funds made available 
through the grant for a fiscal year to award sub-
grants to eligible recipients. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT DEFINED.—In this 
part the term ‘eligible recipient’ means an institution 
of higher education associated with— 
‘‘(A) a State geographic alliance; 
‘‘(B) a nonprofit educational organization; 
‘‘(C) a State educational agency or local 
educational agency; or 
‘‘(D) a partnership between or among an 
alliance, organization, or agency described in 
subparagraph (A), (B) or (C). 
‘‘(3) SUBGRANT USES OF FUNDS.—Eligible re-
cipients shall use the subgrant funds for 1 or more 
of the following purposes: 
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‘‘(A) Conducting teacher training pro-
grams that use effective and research-based ap-
proaches to the teaching of geography at the 
kindergarten through grade 12 level. 
‘‘(B) Applying Geographic Information 
System (GIS) or other geographic technological 
tools to the teaching of geography. 
‘‘(C) Applying Internet and other distance 
learning technology to the teaching of geog-
raphy or to the continuing education of teach-
ers. 
‘‘(D) Promoting rigorous academic stand-
ards and assessment techniques to guide and 
measure student performance in geography. 
‘‘(E) Promoting research in geography 
education, emphasizing research that leads to 
improving student achievement. 
‘‘(F) Carrying out local, field-based activi-
ties for teachers and students to improve their 
knowledge of the concepts and tools of geog-
raphy while enhancing understanding of their 
home region. 
‘‘(G) Promoting comparative studies of 
world cultures, economies, and environments. 
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