I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4906 
To improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 8, 2006 
Mr. FORD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Science, and in addition to the Committees on Education and the 
Workforce and Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by 
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To improve science, technology, engineering, and 
mathematics education, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘21st Century Innova-
tion Act of 2006’’. 
SEC. 2. TEACHER RECRUITING. 
(a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 
encourage individuals educated in science, technology, en-
gineering, and mathematics to enter and continue in the 
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teaching profession, with the goal of attracting 10,000 of 
America’s brightest students to the teaching profession 
over the next 5 years. 
(b) SCHOLARSHIPS.—Title II of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021 et seq.) is amended 
by adding at the end the following new part: 
‘‘PART C—STEM TEACHER SCHOLARSHIPS 
‘‘SEC. 231. PROGRAM ESTABLISHED. 
‘‘The Secretary shall award scholarships, on a com-
petitive basis and in accordance with this part, to students 
who are enrolled in studies leading to bachelor’s degrees, 
with concurrent certification as kindergarten, elementary, 
and secondary school teachers, in science, technology, en-
gineering, and mathematics, and who have agreed to per-
form qualified service. 
‘‘SEC. 232. SELECTION OF RECIPIENTS. 
‘‘(a) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall de-
velop selection criteria that the Secretary will use to award 
scholarships, and to renew those awards, based on estab-
lished measurements of merit available to secondary stu-
dents who wish to pursue degrees in science, technology, 
engineering, and mathematics. 
‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.—Any student desiring to receive 
a scholarship under this part shall submit an application 
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to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con-
taining such information as the Secretary may require. 
‘‘(c) DURATION
OF SCHOLARSHIPS; RENEWAL.— 
Scholarships shall be awarded for only one academic year 
of study at a time, and shall be renewable on an annual 
basis for the established length of the recipient’s academic 
program, not to exceed 6 academic years. The Secretary 
shall condition the renewal of scholarships on measures 
of academic progress and achievement. 
‘‘SEC. 233. QUALIFIED SERVICE REQUIREMENT. 
‘‘(a) QUALIFIED SERVICE AGREEMENT.—Any stu-
dent who receives a scholarship under this part shall enter 
into an agreement with the Secretary to complete no less 
than 5 academic years of qualified service during a 7-year 
period, to begin no later than 12 months following the 
completion of a bachelor’s degree in science, technology, 
engineering, or mathematics. 
‘‘(b) REQUIREMENT
ENFORCED.—The Secretary 
shall establish such requirements as the Secretary finds 
necessary to ensure that recipients of scholarships under 
this subsection who complete bachelor’s degrees in science, 
technology, engineering, and mathematics, with teacher 
certification, subsequently perform 5 academic years of 
qualified service during a 7-year period, or repay the por-
tion of the scholarship received for which the recipient did 
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not perform the required qualified service, as determined 
by the Secretary. The Secretary shall use any such repay-
ments to carry out additional activities under this part. 
‘‘(c) DEFINITION.—For the purpose of this section, 
the term ‘qualified service’ means full-time employment at 
a public or private kindergarten, elementary school, or sec-
ondary school as a teacher of a course in a science, tech-
nology, engineering, or mathematics field. 
‘‘SEC. 234. AWARDS. 
‘‘(a) SCHOLARSHIP AWARD.—The Secretary shall 
provide each recipient with a scholarship in the amount 
of up to $20,000 to pay for the cost of attendance of the 
student for each academic year the student is eligible to 
receive the scholarship. The Secretary shall transfer such 
funds to the institution of higher education at which the 
recipient is enrolled. 
‘‘(b) BONUS AWARD.— 
‘‘(1) OPTION FOR BONUS AWARD.—Any student 
who receives a scholarship under this part may elect 
to enter into a bonus agreement with the Secretary, 
in accordance with this subsection, for any academic 
year during which the student receives a scholarship 
under this part. 
‘‘(2) BONUS AGREEMENT.—A bonus agreement 
under paragraph (1) shall provide that— 
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‘‘(A) the student shall perform one aca-
demic year of the qualified service agreed to 
under section 233(a) in a high-need local edu-
cational agency, as defined in section 201(b); 
and 
‘‘(B) the Secretary shall provide $10,000, 
in addition to the amount the student receives 
under subsection (a), for each academic year in 
which the student enters into such bonus agree-
ment. 
‘‘(3) SERVICE REQUIREMENT ENFORCED.—The 
Secretary shall establish such requirements as the 
Secretary finds necessary to ensure that recipients 
of bonuses under this subsection fulfill the qualified 
service requirement in a high-need local educational 
agency, as defined in section 201(b), for a period of 
time equivalent to the period for which the recipient 
receives the bonus, or repays the portion of the 
bonus received for which the recipient did not per-
form the required qualified service in a high-need 
local educational agency, as determined by the Sec-
retary. The Secretary shall use any such repayments 
to carry out additional activities under this sub-
section. 
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‘‘(c) MAXIMUM AWARD.—The maximum award any 
student may receive under this section for an academic 
year shall be the student’s cost of attendance minus any 
grant aid such student receives from sources other than 
this section. 
‘‘SEC. 235. REGULATIONS. 
‘‘The Secretary is authorized to issue such regula-
tions as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of 
this part.’’. 
(c) INSTITUTIONAL GRANTS FOR INTEGRATED DE-
GREE PROGRAMS.—Title II of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021 et seq.) is further amended by 
adding after Part C, as added by subsection (b) of this 
section, the following new part: 
‘‘PART D—INTEGRATED DEGREE PROGRAMS 
‘‘SEC. 241. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized to 
award grants to institutions of higher education, on a 
competitive basis, in order to pay for the Federal share 
of the cost of projects to establish, strengthen, and operate 
4-year undergraduate degree programs through which stu-
dents may concurrently— 
‘‘(1) earn a bachelor’s degree in science, tech-
nology, engineering, or mathematics; and 
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‘‘(2) be certified to teach kindergarten, elemen-
tary, or secondary school. 
‘‘(b) GRANT AMOUNT; AWARD PERIOD.—The Sec-
retary may award grants to no more than 50 institutions 
of higher education each fiscal year, and a grant to an 
institution for a fiscal year shall not exceed $1,000,000. 
Grants shall be awarded for only one fiscal year at a time, 
and shall be renewable on an annual basis for up to 5 
years. 
‘‘SEC. 242. SELECTION OF GRANT RECIPIENTS. 
‘‘(a) CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall set criteria to 
evaluate the applications for grants under this part and 
the projects proposed to establish, strengthen, and operate 
4-year integrated undergraduate degree programs. 
‘‘(b) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION
OF GRANTS.—To 
the extent practicable and consistent with the criteria 
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall make grants 
under this part in such manner as to achieve an equitable 
distribution of the grant funds throughout the United 
States, considering geographic distribution, rural and 
urban areas, and range and type of institutions. 
‘‘SEC. 243. APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS. 
‘‘In order to receive a grant under this part, an insti-
tution of higher education shall submit an application to 
the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con-
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taining such information as the Secretary may require. 
Such application shall include the following: 
‘‘(1) A description of the proposed project. 
‘‘(2) A demonstration of— 
‘‘(A) the commitment, including the finan-
cial commitment, of the institution for the pro-
posed project; and 
‘‘(B) the active support of the leadership of 
the institution for the proposed project. 
‘‘(3) A description of how the proposed project 
will be continued after Federal funds are no longer 
awarded under this part for the project. 
‘‘(4) A plan for the evaluation of the project, 
which shall include benchmarks to monitor progress 
toward specific project objectives. 
‘‘SEC. 244. MATCHING REQUIREMENT. 
‘‘Each institution of higher education receiving a 
grant under this part shall provide, from non-Federal 
sources, an amount equal to the amount of the grant (in 
cash or in kind) to carry out the project supported by the 
grant. 
‘‘SEC. 245. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
‘‘The are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this part $50,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2007 
through 2012.’’. 
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SEC. 3. TEACHER TRAINING. 
(a) SUMMER INSTITUTES.— 
(1) GRANTS.—The Secretary of Education may 
make grants to State educational agencies and local 
educational agencies to develop and operate summer 
institutes described in paragraph (2) to enable 
science, technology, engineering, and mathematic 
teachers in elementary schools and secondary schools 
to upgrade their skills. 
(2) REQUIREMENTS.—A summer institute fund-
ed under this section— 
(A) shall be up to 4 weeks in duration; and 
(B) shall be designed to enable science, 
technology, 
engineering, 
and 
mathematics 
teachers in elementary schools and secondary 
schools to upgrade their skills, including by 
keeping informed of recent developments in 
their respective fields and by exchanging best 
practices. 
(b) ADVANCED TECHNICAL DEGREES.— 
(1) GRANTS
AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary is 
authorized to make grants, on a competitive basis, 
to institutions of higher education that offer part- 
time master’s degree programs with rigorous science, 
technology, engineering, and mathematics content to 
individuals employed full-time as middle school and 
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secondary school science, technology, engineering, 
and mathematics teachers. 
(2) USES
OF
FUNDS.—Each recipient of a 
grant under this subsection shall use— 
(A) 50 percent of the grant funds to award 
scholarships to individuals employed full-time as 
middle school and secondary school science, 
technology, 
engineering, 
and 
mathematics 
teachers who are enrolled in a part-time mas-
ter’s degree program with rigorous science, 
technology, engineering, or mathematics con-
tent, to pay the cost of attendance related to 
such program; and 
(B) 50 percent of the grant funds to estab-
lish, strengthen, and operate part-time master’s 
degree programs with rigorous science, tech-
nology, engineering, and mathematics content. 
(3) DURATION; RENEWAL.—Grants under this 
subsection shall be awarded for a period of 5 years, 
and shall be renewable for one 5-year period. 
(4) MATCHING
REQUIREMENT.—Each institu-
tion of higher education receiving a grant under this 
subsection shall provide, from non-Federal sources, 
an amount equal to the amount of the grant (in cash 
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or in kind) to carry out the activities supported by 
the grant. 
(5) PRIORITY.—In making grants under this 
subsection, the Secretary shall give priority to insti-
tutions of higher education that— 
(A) include in the application for the grant 
a description of how the activities supported by 
the grant will be continued after Federal funds 
are no longer awarded under this subsection; or 
(B) demonstrate prior experience in, or ex-
ceptional programs for, operating part-time 
master’s degree programs with rigorous science, 
technology, engineering, and mathematics con-
tent that target full-time middle school and sec-
ondary school science, technology, engineering, 
and mathematics teachers as students. 
(c) ADVANCED COURSES.—The Secretary may make 
grants to State educational agencies and local educational 
agencies to provide training to elementary school and sec-
ondary school teachers on the provision of advanced 
courses, including advanced placement courses, in science, 
technology, engineering, and mathematics. 
(d) APPLICATION.—To seek a grant under this sec-
tion, an entity shall submit an application to the Secretary 
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