Sec. 305. Grant programs to expand STEM opportunities
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Congress makes the following findings: Economic projections by the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that by 2018, there could be 2.4 million unfilled STEM jobs. Women represent slightly more than half the United States population, and projections indicate that 54 percent of the population will be a member of a racial or ethnic minority group by 2050. Despite representing half the population, women comprise only about 30 percent of STEM workers according to a 2015 report by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics.
A 2014 National Center for Education Statistics study found that women and underrepresented minorities leave the STEM fields at higher rates than their counterparts. The representation of women in STEM drops significantly at the faculty level. Overall, women hold only 25 percent of all tenured and tenure-track positions and 17 percent of full professor positions in STEM fields in our Nation’s universities and 4-year colleges. Black and Hispanic faculty together hold about 6.5 percent of all tenured and tenure-track positions and 5 percent of full professor positions.
Many of the numbers in the American Indian or Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander categories for different faculty ranks were too small for the National Science Foundation to report publicly without potentially compromising confidential information about the individuals being surveyed. It is the sense of Congress that— it is critical to our Nation’s economic leadership and global competitiveness that we educate, train, and retain more scientists and engineers; there is currently a disconnect between the availability of and growing demand for STEM-skilled workers; women, minorities, and persons with disabilities are the largest untapped STEM talent pools in the United States; and given the shifting demographic landscape, the United States should encourage full participation of individuals described in paragraph
(3)in STEM fields. The Director of the Foundation shall continue to support existing programs designed to broaden participation of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in STEM fields. The Director of the Foundation shall award grants on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis, to eligible entities to increase the participation of women and groups underrepresented in STEM fields. An applicant seeking a grant under this section shall submit an application to the Director at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Director may require. Activities supported by grants under this section may include the following: Online workshops. Mentoring programs that partner science, technology, engineering, or mathematics professionals with applicable students. Internships for applicable undergraduate and graduate students in STEM fields. Conducting outreach programs that provide applicable elementary school and secondary school students with opportunities to increase their exposure to STEM fields. Programs to increase the recruitment and retention of underrepresented faculty. Such additional programs as the Director of the Foundation may consider appropriate. The Director of the Foundation shall award grants to be used for research to advance the engagement of students in grades kindergarten through 8 in STEM that are designed to encourage interest, engagement, and skills development of students in STEM fields, particularly those who are members of groups underrepresented in STEM fields. Activities supported by grants under this section may include— development and implementation of programming described in paragraph
(1)for the purpose of research; use of a variety of engagement methods, including cooperative and hands-on learning; exposure of students who are members of groups underrepresented in STEM fields to role models, including near-peers, in STEM fields; mentors; training of informal learning educators and youth-serving professionals using evidence-based methods consistent with the target student population being served; education of students on the relevance and significance of STEM careers, provision of academic advice and assistance, and activities designed to help students make real-world connections to STEM content activities; attendance of underrepresented students at events, competitions, and academic programs to provide content expertise and encourage career exposure in STEM; activities designed to engage parents of underrepresented students; innovative strategies to engage underrepresented students, such as using leadership skill outcome measures to encourage youth with the confidence to pursue STEM course work and academic study; coordination with STEM-rich environments, including other nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations, classroom and out-of classroom settings, institutions of higher education, vocational facilities, corporations, museums, or science centers; and acquisition of instructional materials or technology-based tools to conduct applicable grant activity. Subject to subparagraph (B), an applicant seeking a grant under the section shall submit an application to the Director at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Director may require. The application shall include, at a minimum, the following: A description of the target audience to be served by the program. A description of the process for recruitment and selection of students, as appropriate. A description of how such research activity may inform programming that engages underrepresented students in grades kindergarten through 8 in STEM. A description of how such research activity may inform programming that promotes student academic achievement in STEM. An evaluation plan to determine the impact and efficacy of activities being researched. In awarding grants under this section, the Director shall give consideration to applicants which, for the purpose of grant activity, include or partner with an organization that has extensive experience and expertise in increasing the participation of underrepresented students in STEM. Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall evaluate the grants provided under this section. In conducting the evaluation under subparagraph (A), the Director shall— use a common set of benchmarks and assessment tools to identify best practices and materials developed or demonstrated by the research; and to the extent practicable, combine the research resulting from the grant activity under subsection
(e)with the current research on serving underrepresented students in grades kindergarten through 8. Not later than 180 days after the completion of the evaluation under paragraph (1), the Director shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress and make widely available to the public a report that includes— the results of the evaluation; and any recommendations for administrative and legislative action that could optimize the effectiveness of the program. In carrying out this section, the Director shall consult, cooperate, and coordinate, to enhance program effectiveness and to avoid duplication, with the programs and policies of other relevant Federal agencies. In this section, the term groups underrepresented in STEM fields has the meaning given the term underrepresented in science and engineering in section 637.4(b) of title 34, Code of Federal Regulations.