[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2902 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2902

To promote mathematics and science education through a mathematics and 
science partnership and through the establishment of a grant program to 
 increase student academic achievement in mathematics and science, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 4, 2002

Mr. Frist (for himself and Mr. Roberts) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To promote mathematics and science education through a mathematics and 
science partnership and through the establishment of a grant program to 
 increase student academic achievement in mathematics and science, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Mathematics and Science Education 
Excellence Act''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    It is the purpose of this Act to--
            (1) upgrade the status and stature of mathematics and 
        science teaching as a profession by encouraging institutions of 
        higher education to assume greater responsibility for improving 
        mathematics and science teacher education through the 
        establishment of a comprehensive, integrated system of 
        recruiting and advising such teachers;
            (2) focus on the education of mathematics and science 
        teachers as a career-long process that should continuously 
        stimulate teachers' intellectual growth and upgrade teachers' 
        knowledge and skills;
            (3) bring together mathematics and science teachers in 
        elementary schools and secondary schools with scientists, 
        mathematicians, and engineers to increase teacher content 
        knowledge and improve teaching skills through the use of more 
        sophisticated laboratory space and equipment, computing 
        facilities, libraries, and other resources that colleges and 
        universities are more able to provide;
            (4) develop more rigorous mathematics and science curricula 
        that are aligned with challenging State academic content 
        standards and intended to prepare students for postsecondary 
        study in mathematics and science; and
            (5) conduct and evaluate research related to the science of 
        learning and teaching in order to develop ways in which the 
        results of such research can be applied, duplicated, and scaled 
        up for use in low-performing elementary schools and secondary 
        schools to improve the teaching and student achievement levels 
        in mathematics and science.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the National Science Foundation.
            (2) Elementary school.--The term ``elementary school'' has 
        the meaning given such term in section 9101 of the Elementary 
        and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
            (3) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given such 
        term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1001(a)).
            (4) Secondary school.--The term ``secondary school'' has 
        the meaning given such term in section 9101 of the Elementary 
        and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).

SEC. 4. MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE PARTNERSHIP.

    (a) Competitive Grant Program.--During fiscal years 2003 and 2004, 
the Director shall carry out a mathematics and science partnership 
program in accordance with the requirements of sections 2201 and 2202 
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6661 
and 6662), by awarding competitive grants to eligible partnerships (as 
defined under section 2201 of such Act) in accordance with section 
2202(a)(1) of such Act without regard to the amount of funds 
appropriated for such program under section 2203 of such Act.
    (b) Formula Grant Program.--During fiscal years 2005, 2006, and 
2007, the Director shall carry out a mathematics and science 
partnership program in accordance with the requirements of sections 
2201 and 2202 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 6661 and 6662), by awarding grants to State educational agencies 
in accordance with section 2202(a)(2) of such Act without regard to the 
amount of funds appropriated for such program under section 2203 of 
such Act.
    (c) Shared Plan.--Not later than 120 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Director and the Secretary of Education 
shall prepare a plan for the joint administration of this section and 
submit such plan to Congress for review and comment.
    (d) Technical Assistance.--The Director shall provide an eligible 
partnership or State educational agency, at the request of the eligible 
partnership or State educational agency, with technical assistance in 
meeting any requirements of the mathematics and science partnership 
program carried out by the Director, including providing advice from 
experts on how to develop--
            (1) a high-quality application for a grant or subgrant 
        under the program; and
            (2) high-quality activities from funds received from a 
        grant or subgrant under the program.

SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF RESEARCH ON MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE LEARNING 
              AND EDUCATION IMPROVEMENT.

    (a) Establishment.--From funds appropriated under subsection (g), 
the Director shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible 
recipients to--
            (1) conduct and evaluate research in cognitive science, 
        education, and related fields associated with the science of 
        learning and teaching mathematics and science; and
            (2) develop ways in which the results of such research can 
        be applied, duplicated, and scaled up for use in low-performing 
        elementary schools and secondary schools to improve the 
teaching and student achievement levels in mathematics and science.
    (b) Eligible Recipient.--In this section, the term ``eligible 
recipient'' means an institution of higher education, a nonprofit 
organization, or a consortium of such entities.
    (c) Application.--An eligible recipient desiring to receive a grant 
under this section shall submit an application to the Director at such 
time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the 
Director may require.
    (d) Evaluation.--
            (1) In general.--In evaluating the applications submitted 
        under subsection (c), the Director shall consider, at a 
        minimum--
                    (A) the ability of the eligible recipient to 
                effectively carry out the research program and reduce 
                the eligible recipient's results to effective 
                educational practice;
                    (B) the experience of the eligible recipient in 
                conducting research on the science of teaching and 
                learning and the capacity of the applicant to foster 
                new multidisciplinary collaborations; and
                    (C) the capacity of the eligible recipient to 
                attract and provide adequate support for graduate 
                students to pursue research at the intersection of 
                educational practice and basic research on human 
                cognition and learning.
            (2) Current practices.--Not less than 1 of the grants 
        awarded by the Director under subsection (a) shall include a 
        comprehensive evaluation of the effectiveness of current 
        mathematics and science teaching practices.
    (e) Activities.--An eligible recipient receiving a grant under this 
section shall--
            (1) include, in such recipient's research, the active 
        participation of elementary school and secondary school 
        administrators and mathematics and science teachers; and
            (2) submit the results of such recipient's research to the 
        Director.
    (f) Coordination.--The Director shall coordinate with the Secretary 
of Education and the Director of the Office of Science and Technology 
Policy in--
            (1) carrying out this section;
            (2) disseminating the results of the research conducted 
        pursuant to grants awarded under this section to elementary 
        school teachers and secondary school teachers; and
            (3) providing programming, guidance, and support to ensure 
        that such teachers--
                    (A) understand the implications of the research 
                disseminated under paragraph (1) for classroom 
                practice; and
                    (B) can use the research to improve such teachers 
                performance in the classroom.
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2003 
and such sums as may be necessary for each of the succeeding fiscal 
years.

SEC. 6. DUPLICATION OF PROGRAMS.

    (a) In General.--The Director shall review the education programs 
of the National Science Foundation that are in operation as of the date 
of enactment of this Act to determine whether any of such programs 
duplicate the programs authorized under this Act.
    (b) Implementation.--As programs authorized under this Act are 
implemented, the Director shall--
            (1) terminate any existing duplicative program being 
        carried out by the National Science Foundation or merge the 
        existing duplicative program into a program authorized under 
        this Act; and
            (2) not establish any new program that duplicates a program 
        that has been implemented pursuant to this Act.
    (c) Report.--
            (1) Review.--The Director of the Office of Science and 
        Technology Policy shall review the education programs of the 
        National Science Foundation to ensure compliance with the 
        provisions of this section.
            (2) Submission.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter as part of the 
        annual Office of Science and Technology Policy's budget 
        submission to Congress, the Director of the Office of Science 
        and Technology Policy shall complete a report on the review 
        carried out under this subsection and shall submit the report 
        to--
                    (A) the Committee on Science of the House of 
                Representatives;
                    (B) the Committee on Education and the Workforce of 
                the House of Representatives;
                    (C) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
                Representatives;
                    (D) the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
                Pensions of the Senate; and
                    (E) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
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