P3 Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5976 To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a STEM grant program. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 26, 2020 Mr. FOSTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a STEM grant program. 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 ‘‘Partnerships for 4 Progress and Prosperity Act’’ or the ‘‘P3 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) As part of their Blueprint for Action re- 8 searchers at Harvard Graduate School of Education 9 and the Pathways to Prosperity Network recommend 10 creating programs designed to ‘‘combine work and 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5976.IH H5976 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5976 IH academic learning in post-secondary career prepara- 1 tion’’. In a follow-up study to the original ‘‘Path- 2 ways to Prosperity’’ published by Harvard’s Grad- 3 uate School of Education in 2011, the same re- 4 searchers released ‘‘A Blueprint for Action’’ in June 5 2014. 6 (2) The Executive Office of Science and Tech- 7 nology Policy have explicitly stated a goal of 8 strengthening America’s STEM workforce. 9 (3) According to a study by the Manufacturing 10 Institute, a national survey of United States manu- 11 facturing executives found that 83 percent of Amer- 12 ican manufacturers reported a moderate or severe 13 shortage of skilled workers. 14 (4) The American Enterprise Institute further 15 states that, ‘‘According to the U.S. Department of 16 Labor, the percentage of manufacturing workers 17 aged 55 to 64 and the share of workers older than 18 65 have both significantly increased since 2000. 19 Moreover, they also report that the median age of 20 the manufacturing workforce increased from 40.5 in 21 2000 to 44.1 in 2011. The Society of Manufacturing 22 Engineers predicts that the shortfall of skilled fac- 23 tory workers could increase to 3 million jobs by 24 2015 due to the aging manufacturing workforce and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5976.IH H5976 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5976 IH the resulting retirements of older workers, at the 1 same time that an anticipated manufacturing re- 2 bound will increase demand for skilled workers.’’. 3 (5) The 2012 Program for International Stu- 4 dent Assessment found the United States below the 5 average score of participating countries in mathe- 6 matics and science. Furthermore, the United States 7 has dropped in the rankings for mathematics 8 achievement from 25th in 2009 to 36th in 2012. 9 (6) NAE, along with other peer-reviewed publi- 10 cations and studies from universities around the 11 country have examined the benefits of partnerships 12 between schools and outside organizations. Partner- 13 ships for Progress and Prosperity Act programs as 14 well as experiential learning play an important role 15 in training students for the jobs of the future. 16 SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts appropriated 18 under subsection (h), the Secretary of Education shall 19 award grants to eligible entities to improve the education 20 of students in science, technology, engineering, and mathe- 21 matics (in this section referred to as ‘‘STEM’’) and pre- 22 pare such students to pursue undergraduate and graduate 23 degrees and careers in such fields. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:22 Feb 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5976.IH H5976 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5976 IH (b) APPLICATION.—To receive a grant under this sec- 1 tion, an eligible entity shall submit an application to the 2 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 3 such information as the Secretary may require, which shall 4 include a description of— 5 (1) the local, regional, or national employer in 6 a STEM field with which the eligible entity will 7 partner or collaborate to carry out activities under 8 subsection (c)(2); and 9 (2) the activities the eligible entity will carry 10 out under subsection (c)(2) with the grant. 11 (c) USES OF FUNDS.— 12 (1) PARTNERSHIP OR COLLABORATION.—An el- 13 igible entity receiving a grant under this section 14 shall carry out at least one of the activities described 15 in paragraph (2) in partnership or collaboration 16 with— 17 (A) the local, regional, or national em- 18 ployer described in the agency’s application 19 under subsection (b)(1); and 20 (B) an institution of higher education, in 21 the case of an eligible entity that is a local edu- 22 cational agency, or a local educational agency, 23 in the case of an eligible entity that is an insti- 24 tution of higher education. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5976.IH H5976 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5976 IH (2) ACTIVITIES.—The activities referred to in 1 paragraph (1) are as follows: 2 (A) Assist students in being placed in in- 3 ternships or apprenticeships with the employers 4 with whom the eligible entity is partnering or 5 collaborating under paragraph (1)(A). 6 (B) Develop the curriculum and metrics of 7 STEM coursework. 8 (C) Carry out dual-credit courses that 9 offer both secondary school credit and college 10 credit, and incorporate STEM education and 11 STEM workplace training. 12 (D) Provide tutoring in STEM coursework 13 and mentoring programs for academic advice 14 and assistance in discussing future career op- 15 portunities in STEM fields. 16 (E) Enable students and their teachers to 17 attend STEM events outside the classroom. 18 (F) Provide after-school and summer 19 STEM programs for students. 20 (G) Purchase education materials or equip- 21 ment to facilitate STEM instruction. 22 (d) AWARDING OF GRANTS.—In awarding grants 23 under this section, the Secretary shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5976.IH H5976 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 5976 IH (1) carry out a rigorous evaluation of each eligi- 1 ble entity’s application under subsection (b) being 2 considered for a grant under this section to deter- 3 mine whether the eligible entity demonstrates a ra- 4 tionale based on high-quality research findings or 5 positive evaluation that the activity proposed to be 6 funded with the grant is likely to improve student 7 outcomes or other relevant outcomes; and 8 (2) give special consideration to eligible entities 9 that— 10 (A) promote in-classroom engagement be- 11 tween STEM professionals and students, cre- 12 ating co-teaching and guest-teaching opportuni- 13 ties; 14 (B) use technology-based instructional ma- 15 terials and content; 16 (C) pair mentors and tutors with students 17 struggling to meet curriculum benchmarks; 18 (D) in the case of eligible entities that are 19 local educational agencies, serve schools in 20 which the majority of students are eligible to 21 receive free or reduced price lunch under the 22 Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 23 (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5976.IH H5976 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 5976 IH (E) propose to use the grant to target 1 interventions for populations that are tradition- 2 ally underrepresented in STEM fields, including 3 women, minorities, and low-income students. 4 (e) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity that re- 6 ceives a grant under this section shall provide, from 7 non-Federal sources, an amount equal to 50 percent 8 of the grant. Such non-Federal contribution may be 9 provided in cash or in kind. 10 (2) PARTNERSHIP AUTHORIZED.—An eligible 11 entity may partner with a public and private entity 12 that may assist the eligible entity in meeting the 13 matching requirement under paragraph (1). 14 (3) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive all or 15 part of the matching requirement under paragraph 16 (1) for an eligible entity if the entity demonstrates 17 that such requirement would result in a serious fi- 18 nancial hardship or a financial inability to carry out 19 the goals of the grant. 20 (f) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant funds 21 provided to an eligible entity under this section shall be 22 used to supplement, and not supplant, funds that would 23 otherwise be used for activities authorized under this sec- 24 tion. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5976.IH H5976 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 5976 IH (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 1 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 2 ty’’ means a local educational agency or an institu- 3 tion of higher education. 4 (2) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘local edu- 5 cational agency’’, ‘‘poverty line’’, ‘‘secondary 6 school’’, ‘‘Secretary’’, and ‘‘State’’ have the mean- 7 ings given the terms in section 8101 of the Elemen- 8 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 9 U.S.C. 7801). 10 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 11 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 12 meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher 13 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 14 (4) LOW-INCOME STUDENT.—The term ‘‘low-in- 15 come student’’ means a student whose family’s tax- 16 able income for the preceding year did not exceed 17 150 percent of the poverty line. 18 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 19 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 20 necessary to carry out this section for fiscal year 2020 21 and each succeeding fiscal year. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5976.IH H5976 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS