Sec. 201. Sense of Congress
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/bill/113/hr/4159/ih/section-201·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
It is the sense of Congress that Federal agencies need to develop and implement a comprehensive Federal STEM education strategy that focuses on leveraging the limited STEM education funding and other assets we have to invest for maximum student learning benefit, and that such a strategy will involve a reorganization of the current portfolio of Federal STEM investments. However, it is the sense of Congress that the Administration’s fiscal year 2014 proposal to consolidate or eliminate 120 STEM programs across 14 Federal agencies lacked input or support from the Federal agencies and the stakeholder communities implicated in the proposal, was not based on evidence about program effectiveness, lacks clarity in how it will meet the goals of the strategic plan required in the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010, and is not an adequate basis for implementing changes to existing agency and interagency STEM activities.
It is the sense of Congress that the National Science and Technology Council’s Committee on STEM Education (CoSTEM), required under the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010, has taken important initial steps toward developing a comprehensive and defensible strategic plan through its completion of its first Federal STEM Education 5-Year Strategic Plan, but that much more work must be done to develop a clear evidence base for reorganization decisions and to solicit and take into account views and experience from stakeholders who help implement or are the beneficiaries of Federal STEM programs across the Nation.
It is further the sense of Congress that agencies, through CoSTEM, should play a leading role in developing the Administration’s budget proposals for STEM education just as they play a leading role in developing the budget proposals for other major interagency initiatives, such as the National Nanotechnology Initiative. It is the sense of Congress that science mission agencies such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Department of Energy are essential partners in contributing to the goals and implementation of a Federal STEM strategic plan because such agencies have unique scientific and technological facilities as well as highly trained scientists who are eager and able to contribute to improved STEM learning outcomes in their own communities.
It is further the sense of Congress that the Department of Education can play an important role in implementing any Federal STEM education strategy because of its unique relationship with States, local educational agencies, schools, and institutions of higher education, as well as its capacity to scale and disseminate proven programs and models, but that the Department must take steps to build capacity in STEM education to maximize the effectiveness of any Governmentwide leadership role in K–12 STEM education.