Innovations in Informal STEM Learning Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3859 To encourage and promote further research into informal learning opportunities to engage youth in STEM fields, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 14, 2021 Mrs. KIM of California (for herself, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. LUCAS, and Ms. JOHNSON of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology A BILL To encourage and promote further research into informal learning opportunities to engage youth in STEM fields, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Innovations in Infor- 4 mal STEM Learning Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 Section 2 of the STEM Education Act of 2015 is 7 amended as follows: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:43 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3859.IH H3859 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3859 IH (1) In the header, by striking ‘‘DEFINITION 1 OF STEM EDUCATION’’ and inserting ‘‘DEFINI- 2 TIONS’’. 3 (2) By striking ‘‘For purposes of’’ and inserting 4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of’’. 5 (3) By inserting at the end the following: 6 ‘‘(b) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this 7 Act, the following: 8 ‘‘(1) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 9 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 10 meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 11 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 12 ‘‘(2) NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 13 ‘non-profit organization’ means an organization 14 which is described in section 501(c)(3) of the Inter- 15 nal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax 16 under section 501(a) of such code. 17 ‘‘(3) PREK–8.—The term ‘preK–8’ means pre- 18 kindergarten through grade 8.’’. 19 SEC. 3. SUPPORTING PREK–8 INFORMAL STEM EDUCATION 20 OPPORTUNITIES. 21 Section 3 of the STEM Education Act of 2015 (42 22 U.S.C. 1862q) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 23 lowing: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:43 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3859.IH H3859 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3859 IH ‘‘(c) PREK–8 INFORMAL STEM EDUCATION PRO- 1 GRAM.— 2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Na- 3 tional Science Foundation shall provide grants to in- 4 stitutions of higher education or a non-profit organi- 5 zations (or a consortia of such intuitions or organi- 6 zation) on a merit-reviewed, competitive basis for re- 7 search on programming that engages students in 8 grades preK–8, including underrepresented and 9 rural students, in STEM education in order to pre- 10 pare such students to pursue degrees or careers in 11 STEM subjects. 12 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.— 13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Grants awarded under 14 this section shall be used toward research to ad- 15 vance the engagement of students, including 16 underrepresented and rural students, in grades 17 preK–8 in STEM through providing before- 18 school, after-school, out-of-school, or summer 19 activities, including in single-gender environ- 20 ments or programming, that are designed to en- 21 courage interest, engagement, and skills devel- 22 opment for students in STEM. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:43 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3859.IH H3859 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3859 IH ‘‘(B) PERMITTED ACTIVITIES.—The activi- 1 ties described in subparagraph (A) may in- 2 clude— 3 ‘‘(i) the provision of programming de- 4 scribed in such subparagraph for the pur- 5 pose of research described in such subpara- 6 graph; 7 ‘‘(ii) the use of a variety of engage- 8 ment methods, including cooperative and 9 hands-on learning; 10 ‘‘(iii) exposure of students to role 11 models in the fields of STEM and near- 12 peer mentors; 13 ‘‘(iv) training of informal learning 14 educators, youth-serving professionals, and 15 volunteers who lead informal STEM pro- 16 grams in using evidence-based methods 17 consistent with the target student popu- 18 lation being served; 19 ‘‘(v) education of students on the rel- 20 evance and significance of STEM careers, 21 provision of academic advice and assist- 22 ance, and activities designed to help stu- 23 dents make real-world connections to 24 STEM content; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:43 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3859.IH H3859 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3859 IH ‘‘(vi) the attendance of students at 1 events, competitions, and academic pro- 2 grams to provide content expertise and en- 3 courage career exposure in STEM; 4 ‘‘(vii) activities designed to engage 5 parents and families of students in grades 6 preK–8 in STEM, which may include the 7 purchase of parts and supplies needed to 8 participate in such competitions; 9 ‘‘(viii) innovative strategies to engage 10 students, such as using leadership skills 11 and outcome measures to impart youth 12 with the confidence to pursue STEM 13 coursework and academic study; 14 ‘‘(ix) coordination with STEM-rich 15 environments, including other nonprofit, 16 nongovernmental organizations, out-of- 17 classroom settings, single-gender environ- 18 ments, institutions of higher education, vo- 19 cational facilities, corporations, museums, 20 or science centers; and 21 ‘‘(x) the acquisition of instructional 22 materials or technology-based tools to con- 23 duct applicable grant activity. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:43 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3859.IH H3859 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3859 IH ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.—An applicant seeking 1 funding under this section shall submit an applica- 2 tion at such time, in such manner, and containing 3 such information as may be required. Applications 4 that include or partner with a nonprofit, nongovern- 5 mental organization that has extensive experience 6 and expertise in increasing the participation of stu- 7 dents in preK–8 in STEM are encouraged. The ap- 8 plication may include the following: 9 ‘‘(A) A description of the target audience 10 to be served by the research activity or activi- 11 ties for which such funding is sought. 12 ‘‘(B) A description of the process for re- 13 cruitment and selection of students to partici- 14 pate in such activities. 15 ‘‘(C) A description of how such activity or 16 activities may inform programming that en- 17 gages students in grades preK–8 in STEM. 18 ‘‘(D) A description of how such activity or 19 activities may inform programming that pro- 20 motes student academic achievement in STEM. 21 ‘‘(E) An evaluation plan that includes, at 22 a minimum, the use of outcome-oriented meas- 23 ures to determine the impact and efficacy of 24 programming being researched. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:43 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3859.IH H3859 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3859 IH ‘‘(4) EVALUATIONS.—Each recipient of a grant 1 under this section shall provide, at the conclusion of 2 every year during which the grant funds are re- 3 ceived, an evaluation in a form prescribed by the Di- 4 rector. 5 ‘‘(5) ACCOUNTABILITY AND DISSEMINATION.— 6 ‘‘(A) EVALUATION REQUIRED.—The Direc- 7 tor shall evaluate the activities established 8 under this section. Such evaluation shall— 9 ‘‘(i) use a common set of benchmarks 10 and tools to assess the results of research 11 conducted under such grants; and 12 ‘‘(ii) to the extent practicable, inte- 13 grate the findings of the research resulting 14 from the activity or activities funded 15 through the grant with the current re- 16 search on serving students with respect to 17 the pursuit of degrees or careers in STEM, 18 including underrepresented and rural stu- 19 dents, in grades preK–8. 20 ‘‘(B) REPORT ON EVALUATIONS.—Not 21 later than 180 days after the completion of the 22 evaluation under subparagraph (A), the Direc- 23 tor shall submit to Congress and make widely 24 available to the public a report that includes— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:43 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3859.IH H3859 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3859 IH ‘‘(i) the results of the evaluation; and 1 ‘‘(ii) any recommendations for admin- 2 istrative and legislative action that could 3 optimize the effectiveness of the program 4 under this section. 5 ‘‘(6) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this sec- 6 tion, the Director shall, for purposes of enhancing 7 program effectiveness and avoiding duplication of ac- 8 tivities, consult, cooperate, and coordinate with the 9 programs and policies of other relevant Federal 10 agencies.’’. 11 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING INDUSTRY IN- 12 VESTMENT IN STEM EDUCATION. 13 It is the sense of Congress that— 14 (1) In order to bolster the STEM workforce 15 pipeline, many industry sectors are becoming in- 16 volved in preK–8 initiatives to educate students on 17 the relevance and significance of STEM careers and 18 expose students to role models in the fields of STEM 19 and near-peer mentors to foster their interest in 20 STEM; 21 (2) Partnerships with education providers, 22 STEM focused competitions, and academic pro- 23 grams, have become important aspects of private 24 sector efforts to strengthen the STEM workforce; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:43 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3859.IH H3859 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3859 IH (3) Understanding the work that private sector 1 organizations are undertaking in STEM fields 2 should inform the Federal Government’s role in 3 STEM education; and 4 (4) Successful private sector STEM initiatives, 5 as reflected by measurements of relevant outcomes, 6 should be encouraged and support by the National 7 Science Foundation. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:43 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3859.IH H3859 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS