INSPIRES Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6109 To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 by estab- lishing a program to support the modernization, renovation, or repair of career and technical education facilities, to enable schools serving grades 6 through 12 that are located in rural areas or that serve Native American students to remodel or build new facilities to provide STEM classrooms and laboratories and support high-speed internet, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 5, 2020 Mr. COX of California (for himself, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. RYAN, Mr. NADLER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Ms. MENG, Ms. SCHRIER, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. TONKO, and Mr. CUELLAR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 by establishing a program to support the mod- ernization, renovation, or repair of career and technical education facilities, to enable schools serving grades 6 through 12 that are located in rural areas or that serve Native American students to remodel or build new facili- ties to provide STEM classrooms and laboratories and support high-speed internet, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 Mar 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6109.IH H6109 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6109 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Inspiring New STEM 2 Professionals by Investing in Renovation of Education 3 Spaces Act’’ or the ‘‘INSPIRES Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 5 Congress finds the following: 6 (1) Technological advancement has increased 7 the types of jobs available now and for the foresee- 8 able future. Over the next 10 years, employers will 9 be looking to fill an estimated 2,600,000 openings 10 for the top 10 occupations in the collective fields of 11 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics 12 (referred to in this section as ‘‘STEM’’). STEM jobs 13 pay well; STEM workers earn an average of $14,000 14 per year more than non-STEM workers at every 15 education level. However, projections suggest that 16 the United States won’t have enough skilled workers 17 to fill STEM jobs. 18 (2) STEM skills and knowledge are now re- 19 quired in a wide range of occupations, including 20 many that are not traditionally considered to be 21 science or engineering-related, such as sustainable 22 agriculture, management of natural resources, and 23 health care. Because of the growing use of STEM 24 skills across all job sectors, the distinction between 25 a ‘‘rural’’ as compared to an ‘‘urban’’ job is blur- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 Mar 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6109.IH H6109 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6109 IH ring. For instance, renewable energy development 1 and bio-based product manufacturing employ work- 2 ers in a variety of areas of the United States. 3 Known as the ‘‘new collar’’ economy, the phe- 4 nomenal growth in job opportunities for those who 5 are prepared will also support the growth of commu- 6 nities: places to raise families and invest in the fu- 7 ture. 8 (3) While students at all grade levels can ben- 9 efit from STEM education, the evidence points to 10 ensuring quality STEM education for middle school 11 students during school and non-school hours. Good 12 STEM experiences in middle school will lead to posi- 13 tive attitudes toward and expectations of STEM ex- 14 periences in high school. In the middle grades, stu- 15 dents begin to demonstrate formal logical operations 16 (critical thinking). Further, middle school students 17 have been shown to be highly susceptible to devel- 18 oping opinions about their competence and interest 19 in STEM learning. Providing students with addi- 20 tional time in after school and summer STEM pro- 21 grams allows students opportunities to engage in 22 hands-on learning that sparks interest in STEM 23 fields and careers. Students who engage in well-de- 24 signed laboratory experiences develop problem-solv- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 Mar 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6109.IH H6109 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6109 IH ing and critical-thinking skills, and gain exposure to 1 reactions, materials, and equipment in a lab setting. 2 Sustained investments in hands-on experiences help 3 inspire students to further their education and pre- 4 pare them for high-technology careers by fostering 5 skills sought by potential employers. Hands-on expe- 6 riences significantly advance learning at all levels of 7 science education when appropriately designed and 8 guided by qualified educators, in a safe learning en- 9 vironment that is student-centered and curriculum- 10 driven. The classroom should contain enough re- 11 sources, space, and storage to permit long-term mul- 12 tidisciplinary projects, individual and small-group 13 learning, inquiry and project-based learning. 14 (4) Native American communities, including 15 American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawai- 16 ian populations, have a long history of discrimina- 17 tion and poverty and have higher high school drop- 18 out rates than other underserved groups. In assess- 19 ments of mathematics and reading throughout ele- 20 mentary and secondary school grades, American In- 21 dian and Alaska Native children score lower in 22 mathematics and reading proficiency as compared to 23 other groups. Only 28 percent of Native Hawaiian 24 students in Hawaii demonstrate mathematics pro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 Mar 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6109.IH H6109 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6109 IH ficiency as compared with 49 percent of non-Native 1 Hawaiian students. In reading, 34.8 percent of Na- 2 tive Hawaiian students tested proficient compared to 3 54.3 percent of non-Native Hawaiian students. Fur- 4 ther, the United States is obligated under the Fed- 5 eral trust responsibility to help raise the standard of 6 living and educational achievement of Native Ameri- 7 cans to a level comparable to non-Natives. 8 (5) To meet the challenge of educating youth to 9 fulfill the demand for STEM workers, public schools 10 in the United States must be equipped to educate all 11 youth in STEM skills, especially youth who are un- 12 derserved or socially disadvantaged. 13 (6) The median age of United States schools is 14 65 years. Nearly 50 percent of school buildings in 15 the United States need significant repairs or up- 16 grades, including clean and safe classrooms and lab- 17 oratory spaces, up-to-date technology, and 18 broadband. Moreover, the condition of school facili- 19 ties has a measurable effect on student achievement. 20 (7) For all of these reasons, the future work- 21 force of the United States needs safe, clean, well- 22 equipped school facilities where, regardless of his- 23 toric or current disadvantages, students can reach 24 their full potential and learn the knowledge and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 Mar 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6109.IH H6109 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6109 IH skills that place students on a secure pathway to en- 1 hance the capacity of the United States to compete 2 globally. 3 SEC. 3. STEM EDUCATION FACILITIES; CAREER AND TECH- 4 NICAL EDUCATION FACILITIES. 5 (a) CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION FACILI- 6 TIES.—Title V of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 7 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7305 et seq.) is amended— 8 (1) by redesignating part C as part E; 9 (2) by redesignating sections 5301 and 5302 as 10 sections 5501 and 5502, respectively; and 11 (3) by inserting after part B the following: 12 ‘‘PART C—STEM EDUCATION FACILITIES 13 ‘‘SEC. 5301. DEFINITIONS. 14 ‘‘In this part: 15 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en- 16 tity’ means a local educational agency, a consortium 17 of local educational agencies, or an education service 18 agency. 19 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE SCHOOL.—The term ‘eligible 20 school’ means— 21 ‘‘(A) a public school that— 22 ‘‘(i) serves students in any of grades 23 6 through 12; and 24 ‘‘(ii)(I) is located— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 Mar 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6109.IH H6109 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6109 IH ‘‘(aa) in a rural area, as defined 1 in section 25.503 of title 7, Code of 2 Federal Regulations, or any successor 3 regulation; 4 ‘‘(bb) on or near trust land, as 5 defined in section 3765 of title 38, 6 United States Code; 7 ‘‘(cc) on or near a substantially 8 underserved trust area, as defined in 9 section 306F(a) of the Rural Elec- 10 trification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 11 936f(a)); or 12 ‘‘(dd) in an eligible community, 13 as defined in section 1456 of the Safe 14 Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j– 15 16); or 16 ‘‘(II) is determined by an Indian tribe 17 or tribal organization to serve Native 18 American students; or 19 ‘‘(B) a Bureau-funded school, as defined in 20 section 1141 of the Education Amendments of 21 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2021). 22 ‘‘(3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ 23 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 Mar 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6109.IH H6109 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6109 IH Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 1 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 2 ‘‘(4) NATIVE AMERICAN.—The term ‘Native 3 American’ has the meaning given the term in section 4 102 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 5 3002). 6 ‘‘(5) PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP.—The 7 term ‘public-private partnership’ means a partner- 8 ship— 9 ‘‘(A) between a grantee or subgrantee 10 under this part and a private entity (which may 11 be a nonprofit organization, business, or other 12 nongovernmental entity); and 13 ‘‘(B) through which the private entity will 14 provide some or all of the required match under 15 section 5302(e). 16 ‘‘(6) QUALIFIED PROJECT.—The term ‘qualified 17 project’ means— 18 ‘‘(A) the modernization, renovation, or re- 19 pair of facilities to provide STEM classrooms or 20 laboratories, including updates related to stu- 21 dent and faculty health and safety, which may 22 include— 23 ‘‘(i) improving the energy efficiency of 24 a facility; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 Mar 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6109.IH H6109 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6109 IH ‘‘(ii) improving the cost-effectiveness 1 of a facility in delivering quality education; 2 ‘‘(iii) improving student, faculty, and 3 staff health and safety at a facility; 4 ‘‘(iv) improving, installing, or upgrad- 5 ing educational technology infrastructure; 6 ‘‘(v) retrofitting an existing building 7 for career and technical education pur- 8 poses; and 9 ‘‘(vi) a one-time repair of serviceable 10 equipment at a facility, or replacement of 11 equipment at a facility that is at the end 12 of its serviceable lifespan, that will be used 13 to further educational outcomes; 14 ‘‘(B) building new facilities to provide 15 STEM classrooms or laboratories; or 16 ‘‘(C) supporting the establishment and 17 maintenance of high-speed internet for a STEM 18 classroom or laboratory. 19 ‘‘(7) STEM.—The term ‘STEM’ means the 20 fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathe- 21 matics, and related fields (including computer 22 science). 23 ‘‘(8) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘tribal 24 organization’ has the meaning given the term in sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 Mar 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6109.IH H6109 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6109 IH tion 658P of the Child Care and Development Block 1 Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n). 2 ‘‘SEC. 5302. STEM EDUCATION FACILITIES IMPROVEMENT. 3 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary shall 4 carry out a program to improve STEM education facilities 5 by awarding grants to States, Indian tribes, and tribal or- 6 ganizations to enable those States, Indian tribes, and trib- 7 al organizations to carry out qualified projects at eligible 8 schools or to award subgrants to eligible entities or tribal 9 educational agencies to carry out qualified projects at eli- 10 gible schools. 11 ‘‘(b) RESERVATION, ALLOTMENT, AND USE OF 12 FUNDS.— 13 ‘‘(1) RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR INDIAN 14 TRIBES AND TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS.—From 15 amounts made available to carry out this section, the 16 Secretary shall reserve 10 percent for Indian tribes 17 and tribal organizations to enable Indian tribes and 18 tribal organizations to carry out, or to award sub- 19 grants to tribal educational agencies to carry out, 20 qualified projects at eligible schools. 21 ‘‘(2) ALLOTMENTS AND USE OF FUNDS FOR 22 STATES.— 23 ‘‘(A) ALLOTMENTS.—From amounts ap- 24 propriated to carry out this part for each fiscal 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 Mar 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6109.IH H6109 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 6109 IH year and not reserved under paragraph (1), the 1 Secretary shall allot to each State that has an 2 application approved under this section an 3 amount that bears the same relationship as the 4 number of schools in the State that are rural 5 schools designated with a locale code of 41, 42, 6 or 43, as determined by the Secretary, bears to 7 the number of all such schools in the United 8 States and on such Indian lands for that fiscal 9 year. 10 ‘‘(B) USE OF FUNDS.—A State receiving 11 an allotment under subparagraph (A) shall use 12 the allotment to award subgrants to eligible en- 13 tities to carry out qualified projects at eligible 14 schools. 15 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.— 16 ‘‘(1) GRANT APPLICATION FOR STATES.— 17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State that desires 18 to receive a grant under this part shall submit 19 an application to the Secretary at such a time, 20 in such a manner, and containing such informa- 21 tion as the Secretary may require. Such infor- 22 mation shall include, at a minimum— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 Mar 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6109.IH H6109 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 6109 IH ‘‘(i) a description of the process that 1 the State will use in selecting and award- 2 ing subgrants to eligible entities; 3 ‘‘(ii) an assurance that such process 4 will meet the requirements described in 5 paragraph (2); 6 ‘‘(iii) an assurance that in awarding 7 subgrants to eligible entities, the State will 8 give priority to eligible entities that [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]