[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 12 (Thursday, February 10, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S625-S626]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. FRIST (for himself and Mr. Abraham):
  S. 2067. A bill to provide education and training for the information 
age; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.


               america's math and science excellence act

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I am proud to introduce America's Math and 
Science Excellence Act that will keep the United States on the cutting 
edge of the Information Technology (IT) revolution. If we are to 
prepare our children to meet the demands of our future workforce, we 
must dedicate ourselves to strengthening math and science literacy. 
America's Math and Science Excellence Act would authorize funding for 
math and science education and training through a series of grants 
awarded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute 
of Standards and Technology. This bill would create a long-term 
strategy to ensure that the IT industry is employing American students 
who are prepared to enter the workforce with sufficient math and 
science skills necessary to compete both domestically and 
internationally.
  The Third International Math and Science Study, the most 
comprehensive and rigorous comparison of quantitative skills across 
nations, reveals that the longer our students stay in the elementary 
and public school system, the worse they perform on standardized tests. 
Their average tests scores continue to drop from the fourth to the 
twelfth grade. The rapidly changing technology revolution demands 
skills and proficiency in mathematics, science, and technology. IT, 
perhaps the fastest growing sector of our economy, relies on more than 
basic high school literacy in mathematics and science.
  This bipartisan legislation targets three specific goals: 
establishing teacher training and development outreach, providing 
internship opportunities for students in secondary and higher 
education, and assisting graduate math, science, and engineering 
students. America's Math and Science Excellence Act gives priority to 
applicants who obtain private sector or state matching funds. We must 
encourage private industry to not only get involved in the education of 
the future workforce, but also to help direct and guide it.
  According to a study by the CEO Forum on Education and Technology, 
our schools spend an average of $88 per student on computers and only 
$6 on teacher training. And while the nation's 87,000 schools have 
approximately six million computers and about 80 percent of the schools 
have Internet access, the report stated that few teachers are ready to 
use the technology in their lessons. This is a national tragedy. During 
the past ten years, we have seen a transformation in classrooms 
throughout the country. Computers have replaced blackboards and 
students now depend on the Internet for basic knowledge. Yet teachers 
are not equipped to incorporate technological tools into their 
curricula.
  The ``IT Teacher Training Grants'' created by this legislation 
support professional advancement in the related fields of IT for 
teachers who instruct elementary, secondary, or charter school 
students. These grants may be used for teacher salaries, fees for 
attending special conferences, workshops, or training sessions. They 
may also be used for the development of a compensation system that 
rewards excellence in math and science related areas. In administering 
these grants, the National Science Foundation shall give priority 
consideration to schools that score in the 25th percentile or below for 
academic performance according to their respective state standards, and 
programs that provide matching funds from the private sector.

  The ``Twenty-First Century Workforce Internship Grants'' will consist 
of awards to students in secondary schools, as well as students from 
institutions of higher learning to explore internships in IT. The goal 
of this program is to transition students' math and science skills into 
the new digital workforce. By providing them with opportunities to 
explore the private sector, these grants will enable the next 
generation of labor to experience the IT professional domain, while 
maintaining their knowledge and proficiency in basic math, science, and 
engineering skills.
  The national demand for computer scientists, computer engineers, and 
systems analysts by 2006 is projected to be more than double our 
current capacity. In addition, the supply of new graduates qualified 
for these positions is expected to fall significantly short of the 
number needed. This deficiency of qualified workers in the United 
States

[[Page S626]]

is due in part to a lack of students pursuing advanced degrees in 
mathematics, science, and engineering technology. The number of degrees 
in technical science and engineering fields awarded by American 
institutions of higher learning has declined dramatically since 1990. 
Foreign national students in the United States were awarded 47 percent 
of Doctorate degrees in engineering, 38 percent of Master's degrees, 
and 46 percent of Doctorate degrees in computer science in 1996. The 
``IT State Scholarship Program,'' established in this legislation, 
targets individual states to provide them with supplementary 
scholarships for students who want to pursue graduate and doctoral 
degrees in math, science, engineering, or related fields. Two-thirds of 
these funds shall be awarded to students from low-income families. 
Furthermore, the director of the National Science Foundation shall 
award these grants to states who provide at least one half of the cost 
of grant.
  Finally, this act will reauthorize the National Institutes of 
Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop a Twenty-First Century 
Teacher Enhancement Program. This initiative was originally written 
into statute as part of the ``Technology Administration Authorization 
Act for Fiscal Year 1999.'' However, we have yet to see the 
implementation of this program. So I will again request through 
legislation that NIST establish summer program to provide professional 
development for elementary and secondary math and science teachers. I 
continue to believe that offering teachers opportunities to participate 
in ``hands-on'' experiences at NIST laboratories would be invaluable to 
their understanding of math and science. Not only would this program 
develop and improve their teaching strategies and self-confidence in 
instructing math and science, but it would also demonstrate their 
impact on commerce.
  We cannot continue to marvel at our robust economy without also 
looking toward the next century and developing a plan to sustain it. 
The reality is simple: we must prepare our students to enter the 
workforce and to prosper in the new digital economy. It is not enough 
to put computers in every classroom if our nation's teachers cannot 
implement them effectively into their daily lesson plans. Educating our 
children and the teachers who instruct them is essential to our 
economic future.
  Mr. President, I strongly believe that each of the programs within 
America's Math and Science Excellence Act will encourage state and 
local educators, as well as private industry, to engage themselves in 
the fight to increase basic math and science literacy. These grants 
target specific long-term deficiencies in the IT workforce shortage and 
will help create innovative solutions to our current national dilemma. 
I encourage my colleagues to join me in support of this critical piece 
of legislation.
                                 ______