SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Building Blocks of 
STEM Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The National Science Foundation is a large 
investor in STEM education and plays a key role in 
setting research and policy agendas. 
(2) While studies have found that children who 
engage in scientific activities from an early age de-
velop positive attitudes toward science and are more 
likely to pursue STEM expertise and careers later 
on, the majority of current research focuses on in-
creasing STEM opportunities for middle school-aged 
children and older. 
(3) Women remain widely underrepresented in 
the STEM workforce, and this gender disparity ex-
tends down through all levels of education. 
SEC. 3. SUPPORTING EARLY CHILDHOOD STEM EDUCATION 
RESEARCH. 
In awarding grants under the Discovery Research 
PreK–12 program, the Director of the National Science 
Foundation shall consider the age distribution of a STEM 
education research and development project to improve the 
focus of research and development on early childhood edu-
cation.
SEC. 4. SUPPORTING FEMALE STUDENTS IN PREKINDER-
GARTEN THROUGH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN 
STEM EDUCATION. 
Section 305(d) of the American Innovation and Com-
petitiveness Act (42 U.S.C. 1862s–5(d)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) RESEARCH.—As a component of improving 
participation of women in STEM fields, research 
funded by a grant under this subsection may include 
research on— 
‘‘(A) the role of teacher training and pro-
fessional development, including effective incen-
tive structures to encourage teachers to partici-
pate in such training and professional develop-
ment, in encouraging or discouraging female 
students in prekindergarten through elementary 
school from participating in STEM activities; 
‘‘(B) the role of teachers in shaping per-
ceptions of STEM in female students in pre-
kindergarten through elementary school and 
discouraging such students from participating 
in STEM activities; 
‘‘(C) the role of other facets of the learn-
ing environment on the willingness of female 
students in prekindergarten through elementary 
school to participate in STEM activities, includ-
ing learning materials and textbooks, classroom 
decorations, seating arrangements, use of media 
and technology, classroom culture, and gender 
composition of students during group work; 
‘‘(D) the role of parents and other care-
givers in encouraging or discouraging female 
students in prekindergarten through elementary 
school from participating in STEM activities; 
‘‘(E) the types of STEM activities that en-
courage greater participation by female stu-
dents in prekindergarten through elementary 
school; 
‘‘(F) the role of mentorship and best prac-
tices in finding and utilizing mentors; 
‘‘(G) the role of informal and out-of-school 
STEM learning opportunities on the perception 
of and participation in STEM activities of fe-
male students in prekindergarten through ele-
mentary school; and 
‘‘(H) any other area the Director deter-
mines will carry out the goal described in para-
graph (1).’’.
SEC. 5. SUPPORTING FEMALE STUDENTS IN PREKINDER-
GARTEN THROUGH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN 
COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION. 
Section 310(b) of the American Innovation and Com-
petitiveness Act (42 U.S.C. 1862s–7(b)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) USES OF FUNDS.—The tools and models 
described in paragraph (2)(C) may include— 
‘‘(A) offering training and professional de-
velopment programs, including summer or aca-
demic year institutes or workshops, designed to 
strengthen the capabilities of prekindergarten 
and elementary school teachers and to famil-
iarize such teachers with the role of gender bias 
in the classroom; 
‘‘(B) offering innovative pre-service and in- 
service programs that instruct teachers on gen-
der-inclusive practices for teaching computing 
concepts; 
‘‘(C) developing distance learning pro-
grams for teachers or students, including devel-
oping curricular materials, play-based com-
puting activities, and other resources for the in- 
service professional development of teachers 
that are made available to teachers through the 
Internet;
‘‘(D) developing or adapting prekinder-
garten and elementary school computer science 
curricular materials that incorporate contem-
porary research on the science of learning, par-
ticularly with respect to gender inclusion; 
‘‘(E) developing and offering gender-inclu-
sive computer science enrichment programs for 
students, including after-school and summer 
programs; 
‘‘(F) providing mentors for female students 
in prekindergarten through elementary school 
in person and through the Internet to support 
such students in participating in computer 
science activities; 
‘‘(G) engaging female students in pre-
kindergarten through elementary school and 
their guardians about the difficulties faced by 
such students to maintain an interest in partici-
pating in computer science activities; 
‘‘(H) acquainting female students in pre-
kindergarten through elementary school with 
careers in computer science and encouraging 
such students to consider careers in such field; 
‘‘(I) developing tools to evaluate activities 
conducted under this subsection; and
‘‘(J) any other tools or models the Director 
determines will accomplish the aim described in 
paragraph (2)(C).’’. 
Passed the House of Representatives July 23, 2019. 
Attest: 
Clerk.