[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 749 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 749

 To improve and expand geographic literacy among kindergarten through 
   grade 12 students in the United States by improving professional 
development programs for kindergarten through grade 12 teachers offered 
               through institutions of higher education.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 31, 2009

   Mr. Cochran (for himself, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Akaka, Mr. 
   Bingaman, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Wicker, and Mr. Cardin) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To improve and expand geographic literacy among kindergarten through 
   grade 12 students in the United States by improving professional 
development programs for kindergarten through grade 12 teachers offered 
               through institutions of higher education.

    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 ``Teaching Geography is Fundamental 
Act''.

SEC. 2. GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION.

    Title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021 et 
seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating part C (20 U.S.C. 1041) as part D;
            (2) by redesignating section 261 (20 U.S.C. 1041) as 
        section 291; and
            (3) by inserting after part B (20 U.S.C. 1031 et seq.) the 
        following:

                     ``PART C--GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION

``SEC. 261. FINDINGS.

    ``Congress makes the following findings:
            ``(1) Geographic literacy is essential to a well-prepared 
        citizenry in the 21st Century because geographic factors assume 
        greater importance as the world's economies, societies, and 
        political structures grow more global in scale.
            ``(2) In a recent National Geographic-Roper 9-country 
        survey of geographic literacy among young adults aged 18 
        through 24, Americans ranked second to last. Only 13 percent of 
        young adults aged 18 through 24 in the United States were able 
        to correctly identify Iraq on a map of Asia and the Middle 
        East.
            ``(3) The economic stature and competitiveness of the 
        United States requires increasingly sophisticated levels of 
        geographic knowledge and mastery of geographic tools.
            ``(4) United States Department of Labor data identifies 
        geotechnology as one of the 3 fastest growing employment fields 
        serving industries such as insurance, banking, real estate, 
        forestry, and agriculture as well as Federal, State, and local 
        Governments.
            ``(5) The National Academy of Sciences urged creation of a 
        national program to improve the geographic competence of the 
        United States general population and the school age population.
            ``(6) Geography is defined as a `core academic subject' 
        within the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (as 
        amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001).
            ``(7) A recent National Geographic Society survey found 
        that all 50 States and the District of Columbia recognize 
        geography in their curricula or content standards, and an 
        increasing number require geography for graduation and include 
        geography in mandated statewide assessments.
            ``(8) Seven of 10 educators responding to a National 
        Geographic survey felt their professional development 
        opportunities in geography were inadequate and half believed 
        their schools had inadequate basic materials for teaching 
        geography.
            ``(9) The National Geographic Society has spent over 15 
        years pioneering an extraordinarily effective national program 
        for improving the teaching of geography by engaging university 
        faculty geographers and highly trained teachers in State 
        Geographic Alliances dedicated to providing high quality 
        professional development opportunities for kindergarten through 
        grade 12 teachers.
            ``(10) More than 60 colleges and universities in all 50 
        States have received grants from the National Geographic 
        Society to support State Geographic Alliances and their 
        professional development programs. Alliance-trained 
        kindergarten through grade 12 teachers and their higher 
        education partners conduct workshops, develop localized 
        teaching materials, and facilitate communication among 
        thousands of teachers whose responsibilities include teaching 
        of geography in various formats and grade levels.
            ``(11) A study by Mid-continent Research for Education and 
        Learning that assessed student academic achievement in 
        geography on the National Assessment of Educational Progress 
        showed that students taught by Alliance-trained teachers 
        outperformed other students by almost 10 percent.

``SEC. 262. PURPOSES AND OBJECTIVES.

    ``(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this part is to promote geographic 
literacy and improved understanding of global cultures among 
kindergarten through grade 12 students by expanding programs that 
employ the geographic knowledge and expertise of faculty members in 
institutions of higher education for the benefit of kindergarten 
through grade 12 teachers and to otherwise advance geographic literacy.
    ``(b) Objectives.--The objectives of this part are the following:
            ``(1) To increase students' knowledge of, and achievement 
        in, standards-based geography to enable the students to become 
        better informed and more productive citizens.
            ``(2) To increase the number of highly qualified teachers 
        of United States and world geography and to enable the 
        teachers--
                    ``(A) to improve student mastery of geographic 
                principles; and
                    ``(B) to increase practical applications of those 
                principles.
            ``(3) To encourage geographic education research, to 
        develop and disseminate effective instructional materials, and 
        to promote replication of best practices and exemplary programs 
        that foster geographic literacy.
            ``(4) To assist States in measuring the impact of education 
        in geography.
            ``(5) To leverage and expand private and public support for 
        geography education partnerships at national, State, and local 
        levels.

``SEC. 263. GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

    ``The Secretary is authorized to award a grant to a national 
nonprofit education organization or a consortium of national nonprofit 
education organizations (hereafter in this part referred to as the 
`grantee') that has as its primary purpose the improvement of the 
quality of student understanding of geography through effective 
teaching of geography in the Nation's classrooms.

``SEC. 264. USE OF FUNDS.

    ``(a) Direct Activities.--The grantee shall use not more than 25 
percent of the funds made available through the grant for a fiscal 
year--
            ``(1) to strengthen and expand the grantee's relationships 
        with institutions of higher education and with State and local 
        agencies and other public and private organizations with a 
        commitment to geography education and the benefits of geography 
        education;
            ``(2) to support and promote research-based training of 
        teachers of geography and related disciplines in kindergarten 
        through grade 12 as a means of broadening student knowledge of 
        the world, including the dissemination of information on 
        effective practices and research findings concerning the 
        teaching of geography;
            ``(3) to support research on effective geography teaching 
        practices and the development of assessment instruments and 
        strategies to document student understanding of geography;
            ``(4) to convene national conferences on geography 
        education to assess the current state of geographic literacy 
        and to identify strategies for improvement; and
            ``(5) to develop and disseminate appropriate research-based 
        materials to foster geographic literacy.
    ``(b) Subgrants.--
            ``(1) In general.--The grantee shall use not more than 75 
        percent of the funds made available through the grant for a 
        fiscal year to award subgrants to eligible recipients.
            ``(2) Eligible recipient defined.--In this part the term 
        `eligible recipient' means an institution of higher education 
        associated with--
                    ``(A) a State geographic alliance;
                    ``(B) a nonprofit educational organization;
                    ``(C) a State educational agency or local 
                educational agency; or
                    ``(D) a partnership between or among an alliance, 
                organization, or agency described in subparagraph (A), 
                (B) or (C).
            ``(3) Subgrant uses of funds.--Eligible recipients shall 
        use the subgrant funds for 1 or more of the following purposes:
                    ``(A) Conducting teacher training programs that use 
                effective and research-based approaches to the teaching 
                of geography at the kindergarten through grade 12 
                level.
                    ``(B) Applying Geographic Information System (GIS) 
                or other geographic technological tools to the teaching 
                of geography.
                    ``(C) Applying Internet and other distance learning 
                technology to the teaching of geography or to the 
                continuing education of teachers.
                    ``(D) Promoting rigorous academic standards and 
                assessment techniques to guide and measure student 
                performance in geography.
                    ``(E) Promoting research in geography education, 
                emphasizing research that leads to improving student 
                achievement.
                    ``(F) Carrying out local, field-based activities 
                for teachers and students to improve their knowledge of 
                the concepts and tools of geography while enhancing 
                understanding of their home region.
                    ``(G) Promoting comparative studies of world 
                cultures, economies, and environments.
                    ``(H) Encouraging replication of best practices and 
                model programs to promote geographic literacy.
                    ``(I) Developing and disseminating effective, 
                research-based geography learning materials.
                    ``(J) Convening State-based conferences to assess 
                the state of geographic literacy and to identify 
                strategies for improvement.

``SEC. 265. APPLICATIONS.

    ``(a) Grantee Applications.--To be eligible to receive a grant 
under this part, the grantee shall submit to the Secretary an 
application at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such 
information as the Secretary may require.
    ``(b) Eligible Recipient Applications.--
            ``(1) Submission.--To be eligible to receive a subgrant 
        under this part, an eligible recipient shall submit an 
        application to the grantee at such time, in such manner and 
        accompanied by such information as the grantee may require.
            ``(2) Review.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The grantee shall invite 
                individuals described in subparagraph (B) to review all 
                applications from eligible recipients for a subgrant 
                under this section and to make recommendations to the 
                grantee regarding the approval of the applications.
                    ``(B) Reviewers.--The individuals referred to in 
                subparagraph (A) are the following:
                            ``(i) Leaders in the field of geography 
                        education.
                            ``(ii) Such other individuals as the 
                        grantee may determine are necessary or 
                        desirable.

``SEC. 266. REQUIREMENTS.

    ``(a) Administrative Costs.--The grantee receiving a grant under 
this part for a fiscal year, and each eligible recipient receiving a 
subgrant under this part for a fiscal year, may use not more than 15 
percent of the funds made available through the grant or subgrant, 
respectively, for administrative costs.
    ``(b) Matching Requirements.--
            ``(1) In general.--In order to be eligible to receive a 
        subgrant under this part an eligible recipient shall agree in 
        the application submitted under section 265(b) to provide 
        matching funds towards the costs of the activities assisted 
        under the subgrant.
            ``(2) Amount.--An eligible recipient shall provide matching 
        funds in an amount equal to 20 percent of the subgrant funds 
        received under this part for the second and each succeeding 
        fiscal year for which subgrant payments are made.
            ``(3) Source of matching funds.--Matching funds may be 
        provided in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, including 
        facilities, staffing salaries, and educational materials.

``SEC. 267. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part 
$15,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and each of the 4 succeeding fiscal 
years.''.
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