1.This Act may be cited as the
STEM Education Innovation Act of
2011
.
2.Office of Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education within the Department of
Education
(a)Section 202 of the Department of Education Organization
Act (20 U.S.C. 3412) is amended in subsection (b)(1)—
(1)in subparagraph
(E) by striking and
at the end;
(2)by redesignating
subparagraph (F) as (G); and
(3)by inserting after
subparagraph (E) the following:
(F)an Assistant Secretary for Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education (in this Act referred to as
the Assistant Secretary for STEM Education
);
and
.
(b)Title
II of the Department of Education Organization Act is amended by adding at the
end the following:
221.Office of
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education
(a)There shall be in the Department of Education an Office
of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education (in this section
referred to as the Office of STEM Education
), to be administered
by the Assistant Secretary for STEM Education appointed under section
202(b).
(b)The Assistant Secretary of STEM Education,
acting through the Office, shall serve as the principal advisor to the
Secretary on matters affecting science, technology, engineering, and math
education, and shall administer such functions representing STEM education,
including the coordination of STEM activities and programs across Federal
agencies.
(c)The Assistant Secretary for STEM Education shall conduct
an independent evaluation, through grant or by contract, of the STEM education
programs administered by the Department, at least every 5 years, which shall
include—
(1)conducting an
assessment of STEM education activities within the Department by using the
evaluations and reports of these programs to determine these programs’ impact
on—
(A)the quantity of
students taking advanced placement in STEM areas and seeking STEM
degrees;
(B)student academic
achievement in mathematics and science; and
(C)the increased
number of highly qualified STEM teachers; and
(2)the preparation
and submission of a report on the results of the evaluation described in
paragraph (1) to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and
the Committee on Science of the Senate, the Committee on Education and the
Workforce and the Committee on Science and Technology of the House of
Representatives, and the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the
House of Representatives.
(d)Authorization of
appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated $1,500,000
to carry out this section for fiscal year 2013 and such sums as may be
necessary for each fiscal year
thereafter.
.
3.Education
Innovation ProjectTitle II of
the Department of Education Organization Act is further amended by adding at
the end the following:
221.Education
Innovation Project
(a)There
shall be in the Department an Education Innovation Project (referred to in this
section as EIP
).
(b)EIP
is established under this section for the purposes of pursuing breakthrough
research and development in educational technology and providing the effective
use of the technology to improve achievement for all students, by—
(1)identifying and
promoting revolutionary advances in fundamental and applied sciences and
engineering that could be translated into new learning technologies;
(2)developing novel
learning technologies, and the enabling processes and contexts for effective
use of those technologies;
(3)developing,
testing, and evaluating the impact and efficacy of those technologies;
(4)accelerating
transformational technological advances in areas in which the private sector,
by itself, is not likely to accelerate such advances because of difficulties in
implementation or adoption, or technical and market uncertainty;
(5)coordinating
activities with nongovernmental entities to demonstrate technologies and
research applications to facilitate technology transfer; and
(6)encouraging
educational research using new technologies and the data produced by the
technologies.
(c)The Secretary is authorized to—
(1)appoint a
Director, who shall be responsible for carrying out the purposes of EIP, as
described in subsection (b), and such additional functions as the Secretary may
prescribe;
(2)establish
processes for the development and execution of projects and the solicitation of
entities to carry out the projects in a manner that is—
(A)tailored to the
purposes of EIP and not constrained by other Department-wide administrative
requirements that could detract from achieving program results; and
(B)designed to
heighten transparency, and public- and private-sector involvement, to ensure
that investments are made in the most promising areas;
(3)award grants,
contracts, cooperative agreements, and cash prizes, and enter into other
transactions (in accordance with such regulations as the Secretary may
establish regarding other transactions);
(4)make appointments
of up to 20 scientific, engineering, professional, and other mission-related
employees, for periods of up to 4 years (which appointments may not be renewed)
without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing
appointments in the competitive service;
(5)(A)prescribe the rates of
basic pay for the personnel described in paragraph (4) at rates not in excess
of the maximum rate of basic pay authorized for senior-level positions under
section 5376 of title 5, United States Code, notwithstanding any provision of
that title governing the rates of basic pay or classification of employees in
the executive branch, but those personnel shall not receive any payment for
service (such as an award, premium payment, incentive payment or bonus,
allowance, or other similar payment) under any other provision of that title;
and
(B)pay any employee appointed pursuant to
paragraph (4) payments in addition to that basic pay, except that the total
amount of those payments for any calendar year shall not exceed the lesser
of—
(i)$25,000; or
(ii)the difference between the
employee’s annual rate of basic pay under paragraph (4) and the annual rate for
level I of the Executive Schedule under section 5312 of title 5, United States
Code, based on the rates in effect at the end of the applicable calendar year
(or, if the employee separated during that year, on the date of
separation);
(6)obtain
independent, periodic, rigorous evaluations, as appropriate, of—
(A)the effectiveness
of the processes EIP is using to achieve its purposes; and
(B)the effectiveness
of individual projects assisted by EIP, using evidence standards developed in
consultation with the Institute of Education Sciences, and the suitability of
ongoing projects assisted by EIP for further investment or increased scale;
and
(7)disseminate,
through the comprehensive centers established under section 203 of the
Educational Technical Assistance Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9602), the regional
educational laboratories system established under section 174 of the Education
Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9564), or such other means as the
Secretary determines to be appropriate, information on effective practices and
technologies developed with EIP support.
(d)The Secretary may use funds made available for EIP to pay
the cost of the evaluations under subsection (c)(6).
(e)Federal Advisory
Committee ActNotwithstanding any other provision of law, any
advisory committee convened by the Secretary to provide advice with respect to
this section shall be exempt from the requirements of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) and the definition of employee
in
section 2105 of title 5, United States Code, shall not be considered to include
any appointee to such a committee.
(f)To
the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall ensure that grants,
contracts, cooperative agreements, cash prizes, or other assistance or
arrangements awarded or entered into pursuant to this section that are designed
to carry out the purposes of EIP do not duplicate activities under programs
carried out under Federal law other than this section by the Department or
other Federal
agencies.
.
4.State Consortium
on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education
(a)From amounts made
available to carry out this section, the Secretary of Education, acting through
the Office of STEM Education, shall award competitive grants to eligible
consortia to enable each such eligible consortium to establish a State
Consortium on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education
(which may be referred to in this section as a State Consortium on STEM
Education
).
(b)Eligible
consortium definedIn this
section, the term eligible consortium means a State-based STEM
council, network, group, or advisory board which includes the participation of
State officials, educators, administrators, parents, business leaders, and
representatives from the science and engineering communities who have formed to
increase student achievement in the STEM areas in their State.
(c)Peer review and
selectionThe Secretary
shall—
(1)establish a
peer-review process to assist in the review and approval of the grant proposals
submitted by eligible consortia under this section; and
(2)with the
assistance of the peer-review process, approve grants from the grant proposals
submitted 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)The total amount of
grants made under this section in any fiscal year may not exceed
$20,000,000.
(e)Each eligible consortium 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 following:
(1)To support at
least one full-time staff member for each State.
(2)To test, validate, share, and scale STEM
education research, promising practices, and exemplary 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 communicate State needs to the
STEM Education Committee 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 consideration—
(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 Programs in collaboration with school guidance counselors that
reflect the projected STEM workforce needs of the 21st century that may include
mentoring programs and STEM professional outreach.
(8)To develop
STEM-related workforce education and training programs to enhance the skills of
workers to meet the needs of business and industry.
(f)In order to receive a grant under this section, an
eligible consortium shall agree to provide, either directly or through private
contributions, non-Federal matching funds equal to not less than 30 percent of
the amount of the grant.
(g)Each State Consortium 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 activities 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)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)In
this section:
(1)The terms
elementary school, local educational agency, and
secondary school have the meanings given such terms in section
9101 of the 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,
Engineering, and Mathematics Education of the Department of Education.
(3)The term
OSTP means the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the
Executive Office 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 Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana
Islands, American Samoa, and the United States Virgin Islands.
(6)The term
STEM means science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics.