I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1817 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide 
for the development of State statistical literacy plans and to authorize 
the Secretary of Education to make grants for statistics-related teacher 
professional development and the improvement of statistics education. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 10, 2011 
Mr. LOEBSACK introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 to provide for the development of State statis-
tical literacy plans and to authorize the Secretary of 
Education to make grants for statistics-related teacher 
professional development and the improvement of statis-
tics 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 ‘‘Statistics Teaching, 
Aptitude, and Training Act of 2011’’ or the ‘‘STAT Act 
of 2011’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) Statistical literacy, the understanding and 
use of the language and tools of statistics, is vital 
for United States citizens in an era of intense global 
competition and growing reliance on data, because of 
a statistically literate individual’s ability to— 
(A) ask and evaluate critical questions 
about the design of a study and the appro-
priateness of the conclusions drawn from a 
study; 
(B) distinguish arguments based on data 
and evidence from arguments based on anec-
dotes; 
(C) recognize and interpret different rep-
resentations of data in context; and 
(D) formulate questions that can be ad-
dressed with data, collect and organize relevant 
data, and draw appropriate statistical conclu-
sions. 
(2) Statistical literacy is essential for both ef-
fective citizenship and personal well-being because of 
the everyday need to— 
(A) interpret and synthesize data displays 
and summaries, such as polls, surveys, and 
study outcomes; and 
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(B) Most State guidelines include statistics 
and probability, but the topic tends to be 
skipped because of the lack of teacher prepara-
tion and proper emphasis on the topic in State 
assessments. 
(C) While some students do take a course 
in statistics, sound statistical reasoning skills 
take time for students to develop and cannot be 
honed in a single course. Foundational statis-
tical concepts should be introduced and nur-
tured in the elementary grades and strength-
ened and expanded throughout the middle 
school and high school grades and in postsec-
ondary courses. 
(D) Teacher training programs at institu-
tions of higher education for pre-service mathe-
matics and science teachers and professional de-
velopment programs designed to reach in-serv-
ice mathematics and science teachers do not yet 
include statistical concepts and pedagogy at the 
appropriate level. 
(E) Teachers do not yet have access to ma-
terials supported by statistics education re-
search. 
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SEC. 3. STATISTICAL LITERACY EDUCATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part D of title V of the Elemen-
tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
7241 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subpart: 
‘‘Subpart 22—Statistical Literacy Education 
‘‘CHAPTER A—STATISTICAL LITERACY 
PLANS 
‘‘SEC. 5621. PLAN REQUIRED; DEVELOPMENT, SUBMISSION, 
AND APPROVAL. 
‘‘(a) PLAN REQUIRED.—To be eligible to receive a 
grant under section 5632(a), a State educational agency 
shall submit a statistical literacy plan to the Secretary in 
accordance with this section. 
‘‘(b) DEVELOPMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency 
shall, in developing a statistical literacy plan— 
‘‘(A) consult with the Statistical Literacy 
Advisory Panel established by the State edu-
cational agency under paragraph (2)(A); and 
‘‘(B) seek input from the public. 
‘‘(2) 
STATISTICAL
LITERACY
ADVISORY 
PANEL.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—A State educational 
agency developing a statistical literacy plan 
shall establish a Statistical Literacy Advisory 
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Panel to advise the State educational agency on 
the contents of the plan. 
‘‘(B) COMPOSITION OF PANEL.—A Statis-
tical Literacy Advisory Panel of a State edu-
cational agency shall include the following mem-
bers, to be appointed by the State educational 
agency: 
‘‘(i) One member from the State edu-
cational agency and 1 member from a local 
educational agency within the State. 
‘‘(ii) Two statisticians from institu-
tions of higher education, at least 1 of 
whom has expertise in teaching statistics 
education. 
‘‘(iii) Two teachers from public ele-
mentary 
schools 
or 
public 
secondary 
schools, 1 of whom teaches a grade that is 
not higher than the 8th grade and 1 of 
whom teaches a grade that is not lower 
than the 9th grade and not higher than 
the 12th grade. 
‘‘(iv) One member from a teacher 
training department or professional devel-
opment center of an institution of higher 
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education who has expertise in statistics or 
mathematics education. 
‘‘(v) One statistician with experience 
working in the private sector in a field that 
employs a significant number of statisti-
cians, such as finance, computer science, 
or market and survey research. 
‘‘(3) PLAN
DEVELOPED
FOR
OTHER
PUR-
POSES.—In the case of a State educational agency 
that, prior to the date of the enactment of this sub-
part, developed a statistical literacy plan in coopera-
tion with State statistical literacy and education ex-
perts for purposes other than meeting the require-
ment of subsection (a), the agency shall be deemed 
to meet the requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2). 
‘‘(c) APPROVAL.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days 
after submission by a State educational agency of a 
statistical literacy plan, the Secretary shall, with 
input from the Peer Review Board established under 
paragraph (5)(A)— 
‘‘(A) if the plan meets the criteria de-
scribed in paragraph (2), approve the plan; or 
‘‘(B) if the plan does not meet such cri-
teria, inform the State educational agency of 
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any deficiencies in the plan and implement the 
process described in paragraph (3). 
‘‘(2) CRITERIA
FOR
APPROVAL.—The criteria 
described in this paragraph are the following: 
‘‘(A) The State educational agency certifies 
to the Secretary that the plan was developed in 
accordance with subsection (b). 
‘‘(B) The plan includes the contents de-
scribed in subsection (d). 
‘‘(C) Implementation of the plan will— 
‘‘(i) achieve the objectives described in 
subsection (e); and 
‘‘(ii) ensure statistical literacy appro-
priate to the grade-level of all students in 
elementary schools and secondary schools 
served by the State educational agency. 
‘‘(3) PROCEDURE IF PLAN INADEQUATE.— 
‘‘(A) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY FOR RE-
VISION.—The Secretary may not deny approval 
of a statistical literacy plan submitted by a 
State educational agency under paragraph (1) 
unless the Secretary has first— 
‘‘(i) informed the agency of any defi-
ciencies in the plan; 
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‘‘(ii) provided the agency with an op-
portunity for a hearing on such defi-
ciencies; 
‘‘(iii) provided the agency with a pe-
riod of at least 90 days in which to revise 
the plan; and 
‘‘(iv) offered the agency technical as-
sistance in revising the plan. 
‘‘(B) RESUBMISSION
AND
FINAL
DECI-
SION.—A State educational agency that has 
been given an opportunity to revise a statistical 
literacy plan under subparagraph (A)(iii) shall 
submit the revised plan to the Secretary not 
later than the end of the period described in 
such subparagraph. Not later than 120 days 
after receiving the revised plan, the Secretary 
shall approve or disapprove the plan. 
‘‘(4) STATE
ACADEMIC
CONTENT
STANDARDS 
AND ASSESSMENTS.—The Secretary may not, as a 
condition of approval under this subsection of a sta-
tistical literacy plan of a State educational agency, 
require that the State educational agency— 
‘‘(A) include in or delete from the statis-
tical literacy plan one or more specific elements 
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