Topic: Education — Excellence
Subject: Education
Date: 2007-01-10 00:00:00

Title I: Science Scholarships - 10,000 Teachers, 10 Million Minds Science and Math Scholarship Act - (Sec. 103) Requires the National Science Foundation (NSF), in carrying out the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program (formerly, the Robert Noyce Scholarship program), to increase the number of elementary and secondary mathematics and science teachers having both exemplary subject knowledge and pedagogical skills by up to 10,000 per year. (Sec. 104) Amends the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 (the Act) to revise requirements for the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program, which provides scholarships, stipends, and teacher training to science, mathematics, and engineering students and professionals in exchange for service as elementary or secondary school teachers. Opens the program to all undergraduate students. (Currently, only juniors and seniors may participate.) Requires institutions of higher education (IHEs) that receive grants to: (1) provide participants with the academic courses and field teaching experiences necessary for teacher certification or licensing, including summer internships for freshmen students; and (2) include mathematics, science, and engineering faculty in developing and implementing the program. Authorizes IHEs to involve teacher leaders in the development of pedagogical content and the supervision of students in their field teaching experiences. Requires the Director to broadly disseminate information about the grant application process to ensure the participation of a diversity of IHEs. Increases the maximum duration of student scholarships from two to three years, professional stipends from one year to 16 months, and the minimum yearly scholarship amount from $7,500 to $10,000. Eliminates the requirement that scholarship recipients serve in high-need areas, but reduces their service obligation by one year for doing so. Requires the Director to establish for individuals with a service obligation an information clearinghouse on teaching opportunities in high-need LEAs. Authorizes the Director of the NSF to accept private donations for the program. Requires the Director to report to Congress within four years of this Act's enactment on the program's effectiveness. Authorizes appropriations for the program for FY2008-FY2012. Requires the Secretary to establish, under the program, a Special Partnership program that provides competitive grants to IHEs that partner with one or more private nonprofit organizations, local or state governments, and businesses to provide stipends, courses, and support to mathematics, science, and engineering professionals who enroll in an educational program enabling them to obtain teacher certification or licensing within 16 months. Requires selection of stipend recipients primarily on the basis of their content knowledge of science or mathematics as demonstrated on a required test. Requires stipend recipients to complete four years of service as mathematics or science teachers in public secondary schools. Requires partnership members to identify a nonfederal source of salary supplements for stipend recipients fulfilling their service obligation. Title II: Mathematics and Science Education Improvement - (Sec. 201) Revises requirements for the Mathematics and Science Education Partnership program (Partnership program), which provides grants to IHEs or nonprofit institutions for the improvement of elementary and secondary mathematics and science instruction. Requires that IHE grantees enter into partnerships though one or more of their science, engineering, or mathematics departments. Includes IHE faculty, in addition to local educational agencies (LEAs), states, and businesses, among the entities with which IHEs and nonprofit institutions may partner. Adds to the list of grant fund uses: (1) teacher training in the provision of challenging mathematics, science, and technology college preparatory courses, including advanced placement and international baccalaureate courses; (2) laboratory training and support for teachers; (3) model induction programs for teachers in their first two years of teaching; (4) technology, in addition to mathematics and science, in the student enrichment programs which are to include after-school programs and summer camps for female, minority, and disabled students; (5) master's degree programs for in-service teachers; and (6) the development and dissemination of curriculum tools that foster inventiveness and innovation. Requires grantees providing challenging college preparatory courses to encourage companies employing scientists, mathematicians, or engineers to provide mentors to teachers and students. Sets minimum and maximum grant amounts. Requires the Director to provide to Congress: (1) within one year of this Act's enactment, a determination as to which completed partnership projects should be seen as models to be replicated on a more expansive basis; and (2) within four years of this Act's enactment, a summary of partnership evaluations that describes recommended changes to the program. (Sec. 202) Requires the Director to establish a grant program for summer or academic year teacher institutes or workshops authorized under the Partnership program, including teacher training in the provision of challenging mathematics, science, and technology college preparatory courses. Gives grant priority to applicants proposing to attract teachers from certain high-need LEAs. Allows grantees under the Teacher Institutes for the 21st Century program to operate one- to two-week summer teacher institutes. Authorizes FY2008-FY2012 appropriations to: (1) the NSF for the teacher institute or workshop grants; and (2) to the Department of Energy (DOE) for the Laboratory Science Teacher Professional Development program. (Sec. 203) Requires the master's degree programs for in-service mathematics and science teachers under the Partnership program to be designed to allow teachers to enroll as part-time students and earn their degree within three years. Authorizes grantees to use funds for the development and acquisition of educational materials and equipment, and to provide stipends to students that cover their costs of attendance. Authorizes appropriations for FY2008-FY2012 for such programs. (Sec. 204) Prohibits anything in this Act from being construed as limiting the authority of states or local school boards to determine the curricula of their students. (Sec. 205) Revises the Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology Talent Expansion program to require the Director to issue grants to IHEs for the creation of centers to develop and disseminate curriculum, teaching methods, and ways to better train professors and teacher assistants to increase the number and performance of undergraduate students in such courses. Requires the Director to strive to increase the representation of students from secondary schools that serve a high concentration of low-income families, when providing grants under the Talent Expansion program to increase the number of students studying and completing bachelor's degrees, concentrations, or certificates in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. Authorizes appropriations for the Talent Expansion program for FY2008-FY2012, with specified amounts set aside for the centers. (Sec. 206) Redefines a "high-need local educational agency," for purposes of the Act, as a LEA that is receiving grants under part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 as a result of serving a high concentration of children from low-income families and experiencing a shortage of highly qualified science, mathematics, or engineering teachers. (Sec. 207) Replaces the term "master teacher" with the term "teacher leader" each time it appears in the Act. (Sec. 208) Requires the Director to establish a Partnerships for Access to Laboratory Science research pilot program awarding grants to partnerships between IHEs, high-need LEAs, and businesses or nonprofit organizations to improve laboratories and provide instrumentation as part of a comprehensive effort to improve the quality of mathematics, science, engineering, and technology instruction in secondary schools. Requires such partnerships to include significant teacher training, unless such training is addressed through other means. Limits the federal share of partnership costs to 50%. Requires the Director to report to Congress within five years regarding the program's effect on student performance. Authorizes appropriations for the program for FY2008-FY2011. (Sec. 209) Requires the Director to report to Congress within two years on the extent to which IHEs are donating used laboratory equipment to elementary and secondary schools.