wide administrative requirements that could de-
tract from achieving program results; and 
‘‘(B) designed to heighten transparency, 
and public- and private-sector involvement, to 
ensure that investments are made in the most 
promising areas; 
‘‘(3) award grants, contracts, cooperative agree-
ments, and cash prizes, and enter into other trans-
actions (in accordance with such regulations as the 
Secretary may establish regarding other trans-
actions); 
‘‘(4) obtain independent, periodic, rigorous eval-
uations, as appropriate, of— 
‘‘(A) the effectiveness of the processes 
ARPA–ED is using to achieve its purposes; and 
‘‘(B) the effectiveness of individual projects 
assisted by ARPA–ED, using evidence stand-
ards developed in consultation with the Insti-
tute of Education Sciences, and the suitability 
of ongoing projects assisted by ARPA–ED for 
further investment or increased scale; and 
‘‘(5) disseminate, through the comprehensive 
centers established under section 203 of the Edu-
cational Technical Assistance Act of 2002 (20 
U.S.C. 9602), the regional educational laboratories 
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system established under section 174 of the Edu-
cation Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 
9564), or such other means as the Secretary deter-
mines to be appropriate, information on effective 
practices and technologies developed with ARPA–ED 
support. 
‘‘(e) QUALIFIED INDIVIDUALS.—The Secretary shall 
appoint, for a term of not more than 4 years qualified 
individuals who represent scientific, engineering, profes-
sional, and other personnel with expertise in carrying out 
the activities described in this section to positions in 
ARPA–ED, at rates of compensation determined by the 
Secretary, without regard to the provisions of title 5, 
United States Code, except that such rates of compensa-
tion shall not to exceed the rate for level I of the Executive 
Schedule under section 5312 of such title. 
‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATIVE
REQUIREMENTS.—Notwith-
standing section 437(d) of the General Education Provi-
sions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232(d)), the Secretary shall estab-
lish such processes as may be necessary for the Secretary 
to manage and administer ARPA–ED, which are not con-
strained by other Department-wide administrative require-
ments that may prevent ARPA–ED from carrying out the 
purposes described in subsection (b). 
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‘‘(g) EVALUATION FUNDS.—The Secretary may use 
funds made available for ARPA–ED to pay the cost of 
the evaluations under subsection (c)(6). 
‘‘(h) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—Not-
withstanding any other provision of law, any advisory com-
mittee convened by the Secretary to provide advice with 
respect to this section shall be exempt from the require-
ments of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 
App.) and the definition of ‘employee’ in section 2105 of 
title 5, United States Code, shall not be considered to in-
clude any appointee to such a committee. 
‘‘(i) NONDUPLICATION.—To the maximum extent 
practicable, the Secretary shall ensure that grants, con-
tracts, cooperative agreements, cash prizes, or other as-
sistance or arrangements awarded or entered into pursu-
ant to this section that are designed to carry out the pur-
poses of ARPA–ED do not duplicate activities under pro-
grams carried out under Federal law other than this sec-
tion by the Department or other Federal agencies.’’. 
SEC. 4. STATE NETWORKS AND CONSORTIA ON SCIENCE, 
TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHE-
MATICS EDUCATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made available to 
carry out this section, the Secretary of Education shall 
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make grants to eligible networks to expand STEM edu-
cation. 
(b) ELIGIBLE NETWORK DEFINED.—In this section, 
the term ‘‘eligible network’’ means a State-based STEM 
network or similar organization, which— 
(1) may include the participation of State offi-
cials, educators, administrators, afterschool pro-
viders, out of school time educators, parents, indus-
try leaders, philanthropists, and representatives from 
the STEM communities; 
(2) aims to increase student achievement and 
experiences in the STEM disciplines at the elemen-
tary schools and secondary schools in its State, and 
out of school programs and particularly for students 
with a high concentration of historically underrep-
resented students and at rural schools (within the 
meaning of part B of title VI of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6201 
et seq.)); and 
(3) aims to increase the number of quality 
afterschool programs offering STEM learning oppor-
tunities, particularly for students from populations 
traditionally underrepresented in the STEM fields. 
(c) ELIGIBLE NETWORK APPLICATION.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible network seeking 
a grant under this section shall submit an applica-
tion at such time, in such manner, and containing 
such information as the Secretary may reasonably 
require. 
(2) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—In order to re-
ceive a grant under this section, an eligible network 
shall agree to provide, either directly or through pri-
vate contributions, non-Federal matching funds 
equal to not less than 30 percent of the amount of 
the grant. 
(d) USES OF FUNDS.—Each eligible network receiv-
ing a grant under this section shall use the funds to carry 
out one or more of the following: 
(1) Testing, validating, sharing, and scaling up 
STEM education research, promising practices, and 
exemplary programs among members of the network 
and with other eligible networks receiving grants 
under this section. 
(2) Identifying points of weakness and strength 
among State STEM education efforts, prioritizing 
strategies for addressing problem areas, and commu-
nicating State needs to the Secretary. 
(3) Assisting in the implementation of rigorous 
career and college ready standards in STEM edu-
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cation for grades prekindergarten through grade 12 
that reflect and take into consideration— 
(A) career and college ready standards in 
STEM disciplines; 
(B) established international standards 
and 21st century skills that include critical 
thinking, problem solving, communication, col-
laboration, creativity, and innovation; 
(C) the needs of English language learners 
and special education students; and 
(D) the need to increase STEM literacy of 
prekindergarten through grade 12 students. 
(4) Assisting the development of innovative 
STEM assessments that measure interest, engage-
ment, and content proficiency. 
(5) Supporting the implementation of STEM 
assessments that measure career and college ready 
standards. 
(6) Promoting and developing rigorous under-
graduate pre-service teacher programs in institutions 
of higher education that emphasize STEM content 
with emphasis on the elementary educator. 
(7) Promoting and developing curriculum tools 
and professional development for STEM educators 
both in school and out of school. 
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(8) Developing STEM career pathways that re-
flect the projected STEM workforce needs of the 
21st century that may include mentoring programs 
and STEM professional outreach. 
(9) Developing STEM-related education and 
workforce training programs in secondary schools 
and community colleges to reflect the needs of the 
local community. 
(10) Developing systems for the implementation 
of expanded learning opportunities on school sites to 
enhance STEM education inside and outside of the 
classroom. 
(11) Promoting, supporting, and designing pro-
grams that develop STEM content coaches and mas-
ter educators in order to strengthen core com-
petencies of the classroom practitioner. 
(e) EVALUATION AND REPORT.—Not later than 2 
years after receiving a grant under this section, each eligi-
ble network receiving such a grant shall— 
(1) conduct periodic independent evaluations, 
by grant or by contract, of the eligible network’s ef-
fectiveness at accomplishing the activities described 
in this section, which shall include an assessment of 
the impact of such activities on STEM teaching and 
learning; and 
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(2) prepare and submit a report on the results 
of each evaluation described in paragraph (1) to the 
Secretary and make for dissemination to other 
STEM Networks. 
(f) PROHIBITIONS.—In implementing this section, 
the Secretary may not— 
(1) endorse, approve, or sanction any STEM 
curriculum designed for use in any elementary 
school, secondary school, or institution of higher 
education; or 
(2) engage in oversight, technical assistance, or 
activities that will require the adoption of a specific 
STEM program or instructional materials by a 
State, local educational agency, or school. 
(g) TOTAL AMOUNT OF GRANTS.—The total amount 
of grants made under this section in any fiscal year may 
not exceed $20,000,000. 
(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) The terms ‘‘elementary school’’, ‘‘local edu-
cational agency’’, ‘‘secondary school’’, and ‘‘State 
educational agency’’ have the meanings given such 
terms in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
(2) The term ‘‘high concentration of low-income 
students’’ has the meaning given such term in sec-
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tion 1707 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6537). 
(3) The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ 
has the meaning given such term in section 101 of 
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1001). 
(4) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 
of Education. 
(5) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 
States of the United States, the District of Colum-
bia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 
American Samoa, and the United States Virgin Is-
lands. 
(6) The term ‘‘STEM’’ means science, tech-
nology, engineering, mathematics, and computer 
science. 
(7) The term ‘‘21st century readiness initia-
tive’’ means any initiative that— 
(A) embeds core academic subjects with 
critical skills; and 
(B) is focused on ensuring that students 
are prepared for postsecondary education and 
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careers, 
upon 
graduation 
from 
secondary 
school. 
Æ 
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