§19115 Scaling innovations in PreK–12 STEM education

Summary

Creates a competitive, merit-reviewed grant program to fund multidisciplinary Centers for Transformative Education Research and Translation. These Centers must do research and help spread STEM education innovations widely and for the long term. Eligible applicants are colleges or universities, nonprofit groups, or consortia of those entities (they can include a STEM ecosystem). Applicants must send an application that explains how the Center will form partnerships with schools and other stakeholders; build better STEM education infrastructure (including cyberlearning tools); research ways to scale and adapt promising practices and new models; focus on under-resourced schools and students (including students with disabilities); study key technology areas; work to support and keep highly qualified STEM teachers in urban and rural areas; and meet any other study recommendations under section 18991(a). Awards may run for no more than 5 years. The Director may use existing NSF programs, encourage an annual meeting of the Centers, and seek joint work or funding with the Department of Education. When choosing awards, the Director may favor proposals that build on current NSF efforts (for example, NSF INCLUDES and Convergence Accelerators), improve distance learning, use new technologies, and have support from local or State education leaders. Not later than 5 years after August 9, 2022, the Director must give Congress and the public a report describing each Center’s goals, assessing their success with common benchmarks and tools in scaling PreK–12 STEM solutions, and offering any administrative or legislative recommendations.