I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5976 
To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a STEM grant program. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 26, 2020 
Mr. FOSTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a STEM 
grant program. 
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 ‘‘Partnerships for 
Progress and Prosperity Act’’ or the ‘‘P3 Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) As part of their Blueprint for Action re-
searchers at Harvard Graduate School of Education 
and the Pathways to Prosperity Network recommend 
creating programs designed to ‘‘combine work and 
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academic learning in post-secondary career prepara-
tion’’. In a follow-up study to the original ‘‘Path-
ways to Prosperity’’ published by Harvard’s Grad-
uate School of Education in 2011, the same re-
searchers released ‘‘A Blueprint for Action’’ in June 
2014. 
(2) The Executive Office of Science and Tech-
nology Policy have explicitly stated a goal of 
strengthening America’s STEM workforce. 
(3) According to a study by the Manufacturing 
Institute, a national survey of United States manu-
facturing executives found that 83 percent of Amer-
ican manufacturers reported a moderate or severe 
shortage of skilled workers. 
(4) The American Enterprise Institute further 
states that, ‘‘According to the U.S. Department of 
Labor, the percentage of manufacturing workers 
aged 55 to 64 and the share of workers older than 
65 have both significantly increased since 2000. 
Moreover, they also report that the median age of 
the manufacturing workforce increased from 40.5 in 
2000 to 44.1 in 2011. The Society of Manufacturing 
Engineers predicts that the shortfall of skilled fac-
tory workers could increase to 3 million jobs by 
2015 due to the aging manufacturing workforce and 
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the resulting retirements of older workers, at the 
same time that an anticipated manufacturing re-
bound will increase demand for skilled workers.’’. 
(5) The 2012 Program for International Stu-
dent Assessment found the United States below the 
average score of participating countries in mathe-
matics and science. Furthermore, the United States 
has dropped in the rankings for mathematics 
achievement from 25th in 2009 to 36th in 2012. 
(6) NAE, along with other peer-reviewed publi-
cations and studies from universities around the 
country have examined the benefits of partnerships 
between schools and outside organizations. Partner-
ships for Progress and Prosperity Act programs as 
well as experiential learning play an important role 
in training students for the jobs of the future. 
SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts appropriated 
under subsection (h), the Secretary of Education shall 
award grants to eligible entities to improve the education 
of students in science, technology, engineering, and mathe-
matics (in this section referred to as ‘‘STEM’’) and pre-
pare such students to pursue undergraduate and graduate 
degrees and careers in such fields. 
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(b) APPLICATION.—To receive a grant under this sec-
tion, an eligible entity shall submit an application to the 
Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 
such information as the Secretary may require, which shall 
include a description of— 
(1) the local, regional, or national employer in 
a STEM field with which the eligible entity will 
partner or collaborate to carry out activities under 
subsection (c)(2); and 
(2) the activities the eligible entity will carry 
out under subsection (c)(2) with the grant. 
(c) USES OF FUNDS.— 
(1) PARTNERSHIP OR COLLABORATION.—An el-
igible entity receiving a grant under this section 
shall carry out at least one of the activities described 
in paragraph (2) in partnership or collaboration 
with— 
(A) the local, regional, or national em-
ployer described in the agency’s application 
under subsection (b)(1); and 
(B) an institution of higher education, in 
the case of an eligible entity that is a local edu-
cational agency, or a local educational agency, 
in the case of an eligible entity that is an insti-
tution of higher education. 
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(2) ACTIVITIES.—The activities referred to in 
paragraph (1) are as follows: 
(A) Assist students in being placed in in-
ternships or apprenticeships with the employers 
with whom the eligible entity is partnering or 
collaborating under paragraph (1)(A). 
(B) Develop the curriculum and metrics of 
STEM coursework. 
(C) Carry out dual-credit courses that 
offer both secondary school credit and college 
credit, and incorporate STEM education and 
STEM workplace training. 
(D) Provide tutoring in STEM coursework 
and mentoring programs for academic advice 
and assistance in discussing future career op-
portunities in STEM fields. 
(E) Enable students and their teachers to 
attend STEM events outside the classroom. 
(F) Provide after-school and summer 
STEM programs for students. 
(G) Purchase education materials or equip-
ment to facilitate STEM instruction. 
(d) AWARDING
OF GRANTS.—In awarding grants 
under this section, the Secretary shall— 
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(1) carry out a rigorous evaluation of each eligi-
ble entity’s application under subsection (b) being 
considered for a grant under this section to deter-
mine whether the eligible entity demonstrates a ra-
tionale based on high-quality research findings or 
positive evaluation that the activity proposed to be 
funded with the grant is likely to improve student 
outcomes or other relevant outcomes; and 
(2) give special consideration to eligible entities 
that— 
(A) promote in-classroom engagement be-
tween STEM professionals and students, cre-
ating co-teaching and guest-teaching opportuni-
ties; 
(B) use technology-based instructional ma-
terials and content; 
(C) pair mentors and tutors with students 
struggling to meet curriculum benchmarks; 
(D) in the case of eligible entities that are 
local educational agencies, serve schools in 
which the majority of students are eligible to 
receive free or reduced price lunch under the 
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.); and 
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(E) propose to use the grant to target 
interventions for populations that are tradition-
ally underrepresented in STEM fields, including 
women, minorities, and low-income students. 
(e) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity that re-
ceives a grant under this section shall provide, from 
non-Federal sources, an amount equal to 50 percent 
of the grant. Such non-Federal contribution may be 
provided in cash or in kind. 
(2) PARTNERSHIP
AUTHORIZED.—An eligible 
entity may partner with a public and private entity 
that may assist the eligible entity in meeting the 
matching requirement under paragraph (1). 
(3) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive all or 
part of the matching requirement under paragraph 
(1) for an eligible entity if the entity demonstrates 
that such requirement would result in a serious fi-
nancial hardship or a financial inability to carry out 
the goals of the grant. 
(f) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant funds 
provided to an eligible entity under this section shall be 
used to supplement, and not supplant, funds that would 
otherwise be used for activities authorized under this sec-
tion. 
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(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 
(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
ty’’ means a local educational agency or an institu-
tion of higher education. 
(2) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘local edu-
cational 
agency’’, 
‘‘poverty 
line’’, 
‘‘secondary 
school’’, ‘‘Secretary’’, and ‘‘State’’ have the mean-
ings given the terms in section 8101 of the Elemen-
tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 7801). 
(3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 
(4) LOW-INCOME STUDENT.—The term ‘‘low-in-
come student’’ means a student whose family’s tax-
able income for the preceding year did not exceed 
150 percent of the poverty line. 
(h) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this section for fiscal year 2020 
and each succeeding fiscal year. 
Æ 
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