[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 434 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 434

 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 2, 2011

  Mr. Cochran (for himself and Ms. Mikulski) 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) The economic stature and competitiveness of the 
        United States requires increasingly sophisticated levels of 
        geographic knowledge and mastery of geographic tools.
            ``(2) It is important to improve and expand geography 
        education so that students in the United States can attain the 
        necessary expertise to fill and retain the more than 70,000 new 
        skilled jobs that are coming available each year in the 
        geospatial technology industry.
            ``(3) Data from the Department of Labor identifies 
        geotechnology as 1 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.
            ``(4) 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.
            ``(5) In a recent National Geographic-Roper 9 country 
        survey of geographic literacy among young adults aged 18 
        through 24, students in the United States 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.
            ``(6) 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.
            ``(7) Geography is one of the `core academic subjects' 
        defined under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
        1965.
            ``(8) 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.
            ``(9) 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.
            ``(10) The National Geographic Society has spent more than 
        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.
            ``(11) 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.
            ``(12) 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. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES.

    ``(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this part is to--
            ``(1) 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
            ``(2) 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.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary is authorized to award a grant to 
a national nonprofit education organization or a consortium of national 
nonprofit education organizations (referred to in this part as an 
`eligible entity') 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.
    ``(b) Application.--An eligible entity that desires a grant under 
this part shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in 
such manner, and accompanied by such information as the Secretary may 
require.

``SEC. 264. USE OF FUNDS.

    ``(a) Direct Activities.--An eligible entity that receives a grant 
under this part shall use not more than 25 percent of the funds made 
available through the grant for a fiscal year to--
            ``(1) strengthen and expand the eligible entity'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) 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) support research on effective geography teaching 
        practices and the development of assessment instruments and 
        strategies to document student understanding of geography;
            ``(4) convene national conferences on geography education 
        to assess the current State of geographic literacy and to 
        identify strategies for improvement; and
            ``(5) develop and disseminate appropriate research-based 
        materials to foster geographic literacy.
    ``(b) Subgrants.--
            ``(1) In general.--An eligible entity that receives a grant 
        under this part 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) Eligible recipient applications.--
                    ``(A) Submission.--An eligible recipient that 
                desires to receive a subgrant under this part shall 
                submit an application to the eligible entity at such 
                time, in such manner, and accompanied by such 
                information as the eligible entity may require.
                    ``(B) Review.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The eligible entity 
                        shall invite individuals described in clause 
                        (ii) to review all applications from eligible 
                        recipients for a subgrant under this part and 
                        to make recommendations to the eligible entity 
                        regarding the approval of the applications.
                            ``(ii) Reviewers.--The individuals the 
                        eligible entity shall invite to review 
                        applications are the following:
                                    ``(I) Leaders in the field of 
                                geography education.
                                    ``(II) Such other individuals as 
                                the eligible entity may determine are 
                                necessary or desirable.
            ``(4) Subgrant uses of funds.--An eligible recipient that 
        receives a subgrant under this part shall use the subgrant 
        funds for 1 or more of the following activities:
                    ``(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.
            ``(5) Matching requirements.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In order to be eligible to 
                receive a subgrant under this part, an eligible 
                recipient shall provide assurances in the application 
                submitted under paragraph (3) to provide matching funds 
                as described in subparagraph (B) towards the costs of 
                the activities assisted under the subgrant.
                    ``(B) 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 
                funds are received.
                    ``(C) Source of matching funds.--Matching funds may 
                be provided in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, 
                including facilities, staffing salaries, and 
                educational materials.

``SEC. 265. ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.

    ``An eligible entity that receives 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.

``SEC. 266. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part 
$15,000,000 for fiscal year 2012 and each of the 4 succeeding fiscal 
years.''.
                                 <all>