[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5509 Engrossed Amendment Senate (EAS)]
<DOC>
In the Senate of the United States,
December 20 (legislative day, December 19), 2018.
Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R.
5509) entitled ``An Act to direct the National Science Foundation to
provide grants for research about STEM education approaches and the
STEM-related workforce, and for other purposes.'', do pass with the
following
AMENDMENT:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Innovations in Mentoring, Training,
and Apprenticeships Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) To remain competitive in the global economy, foster
greater innovation, and provide a foundation for shared
prosperity, the United States needs a workforce with the right
mix of skills to meet the diverse needs of the economy.
(2) Evidence indicates that the returns on investments in
technical skills in the labor market are strong when students
successfully complete their education and gain credentials
sought by employers.
(3) The responsibility for developing and sustaining a
skilled technical workforce is fragmented across many groups,
including educators, students, workers, employers, Federal,
State, and local governments, civic associations, and other
stakeholders. Such groups need to be able to coordinate and
cooperate successfully with each other.
(4) Coordination among students, community colleges,
secondary and post-secondary institutions, and employers would
improve educational outcomes.
(5) Promising experiments currently underway may guide
innovation and reform, but scalability of some of those
experiments has not yet been tested.
(6) Evidence suggests that integration of academic
education, technical skills development, and hands-on work
experience improves outcomes and return on investment for
students in secondary and post-secondary education and for
skilled technical workers in different career stages.
(7) Outcomes show that mentoring can increase STEM student
engagement and the rate of completion of STEM post-secondary
degrees.
SEC. 3. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION STEM INNOVATION AND APPRENTICESHIP
GRANTS.
Section 3 of the Scientific and Advanced-Technology Act of 1992 (42
U.S.C. 1862i) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsections (d) through (g) as
subsections (g) through (j), respectively;
(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
``(d) Grants for Associate Degree Programs in STEM Fields.--
``(1) In-demand workforce grants.--The Director shall award
grants to junior or community colleges to develop or improve
associate degree or certificate programs in STEM fields, with
respect to the region in which the respective college is
located, and an in-demand industry sector or occupation.
``(2) Applications.--In considering applications for grants
under paragraph (1), the Director shall prioritize--
``(A) applications that consist of a partnership
between the applying junior or community college and
individual employers or an employer consortia, or
industry or sector partnerships, and may include a
university or other organization with demonstrated
expertise in academic program development;
``(B) applications that demonstrate current and
future workforce demand in occupations directly related
to the proposed associate degree or certificate
program;
``(C) applications that include commitments by the
partnering employers or employer consortia, or industry
or sector partnerships, to offer apprenticeships,
internships, or other applied learning opportunities to
students enrolled in the proposed associate degree or
certificate program;
``(D) applications that include outreach plans and
goals for recruiting and enrolling women and other
underrepresented populations in STEM fields in the
proposed associate degree or certificate program; and
``(E) applications that describe how the applying
junior or community college will support the collection
of information and data for purposes of evaluation of
the proposed associate degree or certificate program.
``(e) Grants for STEM Degree Applied Learning Opportunities.--
``(1) In general.--The Director shall award grants to
institutions of higher education partnering with private sector
employers or private sector employer consortia, or industry or
sector partnerships, that commit to offering apprenticeships,
internships, research opportunities, or applied learning
experiences to enrolled students in identified STEM
baccalaureate degree programs.
``(2) Purposes.--Awards under this subsection may be used--
``(A) to develop curricula and programs for
apprenticeship, internships, research opportunities, or
applied learning experiences; or
``(B) to provide matching funds to incentivize
partnership and participation by private sector
employers and industry.
``(3) Applications.--In considering applications for grants
under paragraph (1), the Director shall prioritize--
``(A) applicants that consist of a partnership
between--
``(i) the applying institution of higher
education; and
``(ii) individual employers or an employer
consortia, or industry or sector partnerships;
``(B) applications that demonstrate current and
future workforce demand in occupations directly related
to the identified STEM fields;
``(C) applications that include outreach plans and
goals for recruiting and enrolling women and other
underrepresented populations in STEM fields; and
``(D) applications that describe how the
institution of higher education will support the
collection and information of data for purposes of the
evaluation of identified STEM degree programs.
``(f) Grants for Computer-based and Online STEM Education
Courses.--
``(1) In general.--The Director of the National Science
Foundation shall award competitive grants to institutions of
higher education or nonprofit organizations to conduct research
on student outcomes and determine best practices for STEM
education and technical skills education through distance
learning or in a simulated work environment.
``(2) Research areas.--The research areas eligible for
funding under this subsection may include--
``(A) post-secondary courses for technical skills
development for STEM occupations;
``(B) improving high-school level career and
technical education in STEM subjects;
``(C) encouraging and sustaining interest and
achievement levels in STEM subjects among women and
other populations historically underrepresented in STEM
studies and careers; and
``(D) combining computer-based and online STEM
education and skills development with traditional
mentoring and other mentoring arrangements,
apprenticeships, internships, and other applied
learning opportunities.'';
(3) in subsection (a)(3)(A), by striking the comma and
inserting a semicolon;
(4) in subsection (c)(1)(B)(iv), by striking ``subsection
(f)(3)'' and inserting ``subsection (i)(3)'';
(5) in subsection (h), as redesignated--
(A) in the heading, by striking ``Limitation on
Funding'' and inserting ``Funding'';
(B) by inserting ``(3) Limitation on funding.--''
before ``To qualify'' and indenting appropriately; and
(C) by inserting before paragraph (3), as
redesignated, the following:
``(1) Funding.--The Director shall allocate out of amounts
made available for the Education and Human Resources
Directorate--
``(A) up to $5,000,000 to carry out the activities
under subsection (d) for each of fiscal years 2019
through 2022, subject to the availability of
appropriations;
``(B) up to $2,500,000 to carry out the activities
under subsection (e) for each of fiscal years 2019
through 2022, subject to the availability of
appropriations; and
``(C) up to $2,500,000 to carry out the activities
under subsection (f) for each of fiscal years 2019
through 2022, subject to the availability of
appropriations.
``(2) Limitation on funding.--Amounts made available to
carry out subsections (d), (e), and (f) shall be derived from
amounts appropriated or otherwise made available to the
National Science Foundation.''; and
(6) in subsection (j), as redesignated--
(A) in paragraph (4), by striking ``; and'' and
inserting a semicolon;
(B) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph
(7); and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following:
``(5) the term `in-demand industry sector or occupation'
has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102);
``(6) the term `junior or community college' has the
meaning given the term in section 312 of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058);''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(8) the term `region' means a labor market area, as that
term is defined in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102); and
``(9) the terms `mathematics, science, engineering, or
technology' or `STEM' mean science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics, including computer science.''.
SEC. 4. RESEARCH ON EFFICIENCY OF SKILLED TECHNICAL LABOR MARKETS.
(a) Efficiency of Skilled Technical Labor Markets.--The Director of
the National Science Foundation, working through the Directorate of
Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences, in coordination with the
Secretary of Labor, shall support research on labor market analysis
innovations, data and information sciences, electronic information
tools and methodologies, and metrics.
(b) Skilled Technical Workforce.--
(1) Review.--The National Center for Science and
Engineering Statistics of the National Science Foundation shall
consult and coordinate with other relevant Federal statistical
agencies, including the Institute of Education Sciences of the
Department of Education, and the Committee on Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education of the
National Science and Technology Council established under
section 101 of the America COMPETES Act of 2010 (Public Law
111-358), to explore the feasibility of expanding its surveys
to include the collection of objective data on the skilled
technical workforce.
(2) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director of the National Science
Foundation shall submit to Congress a report on the progress
made in expanding the National Center for Science and
Engineering Statistics surveys to include the skilled technical
workforce, including a plan for multi-agency collaboration to
improve data collection and reporting of data on the skilled
technical workforce.
(3) Definition of skilled technical workforce.--The term
```skilled technical workforce''' means workers with high
school diplomas and two-year technical training or
certifications who employ significant levels of STEM knowledge
in their jobs.
SEC. 5. EVALUATION AND REPORT.
(a) Evaluation.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director of the National Science
Foundation shall evaluate the grant programs established under
subsections (d), (e), and (f) of section 3 of the Scientific
and Advanced-Technology Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 1862i), as
amended by this Act.
(2) Requirements.--In conducting the evaluation under
paragraph (1), the Director shall--
(A) use a common set of benchmarks and assessment
tools to identify best practices and materials
developed or demonstrated by the research conducted
pursuant to such grants and programs under subsection
(f) of that section;
(B) include an assessment of the effectiveness of
the grant programs in expanding apprenticeships,
internships, and other applied learning opportunities
offered by employers in conjunction with junior or
community colleges, or institutions of higher
education, as applicable;
(C) assess the number of students who participated
in the grant programs; and
(D) assess the percentage of students participating
in the grant programs who successfully complete their
education programs.
(b) Report on Evaluations.--Not later than 180 days after the date
the evaluation under subsection (a) is complete, the Director of the
National Science Foundation shall submit to Congress and the Secretary
of Education, and make widely available to the public, a report on the
results of the evaluation, including any recommendations for
legislative action that could optimize the effectiveness of the grant
programs.
Attest:
Secretary.
115th CONGRESS
2d Session
H.R. 5509
_______________________________________________________________________
AMENDMENT