cation (which may be referred to in this section as a 
‘‘State Consortium on STEM Education’’). 
(b) ELIGIBLE CONSORTIUM DEFINED.—In this sec-
tion, the term ‘‘eligible consortium’’ means a State-based 
STEM council, network, group, or advisory board which 
includes the participation of State officials, educators, ad-
ministrators, parents, business leaders, and representa-
tives from the science and engineering communities who 
have formed to increase student achievement in the STEM 
areas in their State. 
(c) PEER REVIEW AND SELECTION.—The Secretary 
shall— 
(1) establish a peer-review process to assist in 
the review and approval of the grant proposals sub-
mitted by eligible consortia under this section; and 
(2) with the assistance of the peer-review proc-
ess, approve grants from the grant proposals sub-
mitted under this section not later than 120 days 
after the deadline for submission of such proposals 
established by the Secretary, unless the Secretary 
determines that the grant proposals submitted do 
not meet the requirements of this section. 
(d) TOTAL AMOUNT OF GRANTS.—The total amount 
of grants made under this section in any fiscal year may 
not exceed $20,000,000. 
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(e) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—Each eligible consor-
tium receiving a grant under this section shall use the 
grant funds awarded under this section to establish a 
State consortium on STEM education to carry out the fol-
lowing: 
(1) To support at least one full-time staff mem-
ber for each State. 
(2) To test, validate, share, and scale STEM 
education research, promising practices, and exem-
plary programs among members of the consortium 
and with other State consortia on STEM education 
established under this section. 
(3) To identify points of weakness and strength 
among State STEM education efforts, prioritize 
strategies for addressing problem areas, and commu-
nicate State needs to the STEM Education Com-
mittee within the OSTP and the Assistant Secretary 
for STEM Education. 
(4) To assist in the implementation of rigorous 
common content standards in mathematics and 
science 
education 
for 
grades 
prekindergarten 
through grade 12, which reflect common elements 
between such disciplines and take into consider-
ation— 
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(A) established international standards and 
21st century skills; and 
(B) the needs of English language learners 
and special education students. 
(5) To assist and support, the development and 
implementation of innovative STEM assessments 
based on common content standards in mathematics 
and science. 
(6) To promote and develop curriculum tools 
and professional development for in-service STEM 
teachers that foster innovation and inventiveness. 
(7) To develop STEM Career Awareness Pro-
grams in collaboration with school guidance coun-
selors that reflect the projected STEM workforce 
needs of the 21st century that may include men-
toring programs and STEM professional outreach. 
(8) To develop STEM-related workforce edu-
cation and training programs to enhance the skills 
of workers to meet the needs of business and indus-
try. 
(f) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—In order to receive 
a grant under this section, an eligible consortium shall 
agree to provide, either directly or through private con-
tributions, non-Federal matching funds equal to not less 
than 30 percent of the amount of the grant. 
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(g) EVALUATION AND REPORT.—Each State Consor-
tium on STEM Education established under this section 
shall— 
(1) conduct periodic independent evaluations, 
by grant or by contract, of the State Consortium on 
STEM Education’s effectiveness at accomplishing 
the activities described in subsection (e), which shall 
include an assessment of the impact of such activi-
ties on STEM teaching and learning; and 
(2) prepare and submit a report on the results 
of each evaluation described in paragraph (1) to the 
Assistant Secretary of STEM Education. 
(h) PROHIBITIONS.—In implementing this section, 
the Secretary may not— 
(1) endorse, approve, or sanction any STEM 
curriculum designed for use in any elementary 
school or secondary school; 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. 
(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) The terms ‘‘elementary school’’, ‘‘local edu-
cational agency’’, and ‘‘secondary school’’ have the 
meanings given such terms in section 9101 of the 
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Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7801). 
(2) The term ‘‘Office of STEM Education’’ 
means the Office of Science, Technology, Engineer-
ing, and Mathematics Education of the Department 
of Education. 
(3) The term ‘‘OSTP’’ means the Office of 
Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Of-
fice of the President. 
(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 Northern Mariana Islands, Amer-
ican Samoa, and the United States Virgin Islands. 
(6) The term ‘‘STEM’’ means science, tech-
nology, engineering, and mathematics. 
Æ 
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