I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2155 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct 
the Secretary of Education to award grants for science, technology, 
engineering, and mathematics education programs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 30, 2015 
Ms. FUDGE 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 direct the Secretary of Education to award 
grants for science, technology, engineering, and mathe-
matics education programs. 
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 ‘‘Community STEM 
Learning Act of 2015’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Employment projections forecast a 17-per-
cent growth in the science, technology, engineering, 
and mathematics (‘‘STEM)’’ fields over the next 
decade. 
(2) Ninety-two percent of STEM occupations 
will require at least some post-secondary education. 
(3) While the number of degrees awarded in 
STEM fields has increased steadily since the 1960s, 
the overall share of STEM degrees awarded has ac-
tually shrunk in comparison to all degrees conferred. 
(4) Internationally, a larger proportion of all 
degrees awarded are in the STEM fields. While 16 
percent of degrees awarded in the United States are 
in STEM fields, nearly 50 percent of degrees award-
ed in China, 38 percent in South Korea, and 28 per-
cent in Germany are in STEM fields. 
(5) Minorities are seriously underrepresented in 
the science and engineering workforce in the United 
States, with just under 6 percent of Blacks and over 
5 percent of Hispanics participating in the STEM 
workforce. 
(6) Twenty-one percent of Black college stu-
dents enter college with STEM majors, but only 16 
percent actually receive a bachelor’s degree in a 
STEM major. 
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(7) Over 1⁄2 of Black students that enroll in a 
4-year university are interested in STEM, but are 
not proficient in math. 
(8) Since 1990, mathematic scores on the as-
sessments conducted by the National Assessment of 
Education Progress have increased for all students, 
but White students have average scores 27 points 
higher than Black and Hispanic students. 
(9) After school programs play an important 
role in addressing the achievement gap in under-
served 
communities. 
Studies 
demonstrate 
that 
STEM learning during the school day is necessary 
but not sufficient for life-long STEM literacy. 
(10) As many as 8,400,000 students are en-
rolled in after school programs. Ethnic minority chil-
dren are more likely than non-minority children to 
participate in after school programs. While 15 per-
cent of all students are enrolled in after school pro-
grams, 24 percent of Black students and 21 percent 
of Hispanic students are enrolled in such programs. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to prepare 
middle school and secondary school students to be ready 
for opportunities in the STEM fields in college and in ca-
reers through strong after school, summer, and weekend 
programs that focus on STEM education. 
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SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO ESEA FOR STEM GRANTS. 
Part B of title II of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1964 (20 U.S.C. 6661 et seq.) is amend-
ed— 
(1) in the part heading, by inserting ‘‘AND 
STEM GRANTS’’ after ‘‘PARTNERSHIPS’’; 
(2) by inserting after the part heading the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘Subpart 1—Math and Science Partnerships’’; 
and 
(3) by inserting after section 2203 the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘Subpart 2—STEM Grants 
‘‘SEC. 2211. INFORMAL STEM LEARNING PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary is authorized 
to award grants, to be known as ‘informal STEM learning 
program’ grants, to national and regional intermediaries 
to establish informal STEM learning in-school, after 
school, summer, and weekend programs that focus on 
science, technology, engineering, and math (referred to in 
this section as ‘STEM’) education. 
‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—A national or regional inter-
mediary seeking a grant under this section shall submit 
an application to the Secretary at such time, in such form, 
and containing such information as the Secretary may rea-
sonably require, including the following: 
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‘‘(1) The amount requested and the proposed 
use of the funds. 
‘‘(2) A description of how the national or re-
gional intermediary will require a community-based 
affiliate operating an informal STEM learning pro-
gram to provide the following: 
‘‘(A) A program description, including a 
description of— 
‘‘(i) the project-based learning that 
the program will use and the applicability 
of such projects to students’ lives after 
graduation from secondary school; 
‘‘(ii) the academic instruction, re-
search model, or curriculum that the pro-
gram will use; and 
‘‘(iii) any service-learning opportuni-
ties that will be available to students. 
‘‘(B) Evidence that the informal STEM 
learning program will primarily serve students 
who are traditionally underrepresented in 
STEM field careers. 
‘‘(C) A description of the student recruit-
ment plan, student retention plan, and parental 
engagement plan. 
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‘‘(D) A description of the professional de-
velopment and training that the community- 
based affiliate will provide to its informal 
STEM learning program staff. 
‘‘(E) A description of the community-based 
affiliate’s collaboration with an institution of 
higher education (as defined in section 101 of 
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
10001)). 
‘‘(F) A description of how the community- 
based affiliate will enable students who partici-
pate in the program to achieve the goals in sub-
section (c). 
‘‘(c) GOALS.—The goals of the Informal STEM 
learning program grants are the following: 
‘‘(1) To increase awareness of and exposure to 
current science content, scientific processes, and 
tools for students who are traditionally underrep-
resented in STEM field careers. 
‘‘(2) To provide STEM learning that is con-
nected to workforce skills that are essential in the 
21st century. 
‘‘(3) To increase on time grade promotion, the 
number of students who graduate high school, and 
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