§1862q — Title 42 The Public Health and Welfare | U.S. Code

Summary

The National Science Foundation must keep giving competitive, peer-reviewed grants through its Education and Human Resources office to support research and development on informal and out-of-school STEM learning. Grants fund work to make informal STEM programs better, to grow the field of informal STEM education, to build a national partnership of institutions that do informal STEM learning, and to add art and design into STEM programs. Grants can target one or more STEM subjects and may pay for things like studying how people learn in informal settings, designing and testing new program models, creating partnerships with colleges and museums, and making learning activities and materials available. The NSF must also make awards for research on ways to engage PreK–12 students—including students from groups historically underrepresented in STEM and rural students—to teach core STEM ideas, boost interest in STEM careers, and widen participation. Funded projects can include before-school, after-school, summer, and out-of-school activities; hands-on learning; role models and mentors; training for program leaders; career and academic supports; family engagement; coordination with STEM-rich organizations; and buying needed materials or tech. Applicants must describe the audience, recruitment, how the work will inform programming and school achievement, and an evaluation plan with outcome measures. Awardees must file yearly reports. The NSF must encourage projects that serve schools getting federal improvement help or that have many students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, evaluate the funded activities using common benchmarks, report the evaluation results and recommendations to Congress and the public within 180 days after the evaluation ends, and coordinate with other federal agencies.

Title 42, §1862q

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Director of the National Science Foundation, through the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, shall continue to award competitive, merit-reviewed grants to support—

(1)research and development of innovative out-of-school STEM learning and emerging STEM learning environments in order to improve STEM learning outcomes and engagement in STEM;

(2)research that advances the field of informal STEM education;

(3)a national partnership of institutions involved in informal STEM learning; and

(4)the integration of art and design in STEM educational programs.

(b)Activities supported by grants under this section may encompass a single STEM discipline, multiple STEM disciplines, or integrative STEM initiatives and shall include—

(1)research and development that improves our understanding of learning and engagement in informal environments, including the role of informal environments in broadening participation in STEM;

(2)design and testing of innovative STEM learning models, programs, and other resources for informal learning environments to improve STEM learning outcomes and increase engagement for K–12 students, K–12 teachers, and the general public, including design and testing of the scalability of models, programs, and other resources;

(3)fostering on-going partnerships between institutions involved in informal STEM learning, institutions of higher education, and education research centers;

(4)developing, and making available informal STEM education activities and educational materials; and

(5)design and testing of programming that integrates art and design in STEM education to promote creativity and innovation.

(c)(1)The Director of the National Science Foundation shall make awards, through existing programs where appropriate to institutions of higher education and nonprofit organizations (or consortia of such intuitions 11 So in original. Probably should be “institutions”. or organizations) on a merit-reviewed, competitive basis for research on effective approaches to engaging students in PreK–12, including students from groups historically underrepresented in STEM and rural students.

(2)The purposes of this subsection are to—

(A)provide effective, compelling, and engaging means for teaching and reinforcing fundamental STEM concepts to PreK–12 students;

(B)expand the STEM workforce pipeline by increasing the number of youth in the United States exposed to STEM from an early age and encourage them to pursue careers in STEM-related fields; and

(C)broaden participation of groups historically underrepresented in STEM and rural students, in the STEM workforce.

(3)(A)Awards made under this subsection shall support research and development on innovative before-school, after-school, out-of-school, or summer activities that are designed to encourage interest, engagement, and skills development in STEM, including for students from groups historically underrepresented in STEM and rural students.

(B)The research and development activities described in subparagraph (A) may include—

(i)the provision of programming described in such subparagraph for the purpose of research described in such subparagraph;

(ii)the use of a variety of engagement methods, including cooperative and hands-on learning;

(iii)exposure of students to role models in the fields of STEM and near-peer mentors;

(iv)training of informal learning educators, youth-serving professionals, and volunteers who lead informal STEM programs in using evidence-based methods consistent with the target student population being served;

(v)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;

(vi)the preparation of students to attend events, competitions, and academic programs that provide content expertise and encourage career exposure in STEM, which may include the purchase of parts and supplies needed to prepare for participation in such competitions;

(vii)activities designed to engage parents and families of students in PreK–12 in STEM;

(viii)innovative strategies to engage students, such as using leadership skills and outcome measures to impart youth with the confidence to pursue STEM coursework and academic study;

(ix)coordination with STEM-rich environments, including other nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations, out-of- 22 So in original. classroom settings, institutions of higher education, vocational facilities, corporations, museums, or science centers; and

(x)the acquisition of instructional materials or technology-based tools to conduct applicable award activity.

(4)An applicant seeking funding under this subsection shall submit an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as may be required by the Director. Applications that include or partner with a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that has extensive experience and expertise in increasing the participation of students in PreK–12 in STEM are encouraged. At a minimum, the application shall include the following:

(A)A description of the target audience to be served by the research activity or activities for which such funding is sought.

(B)A description of the process for recruitment and selection of students to participate in such activities.

(C)A description of how such activity or activities may inform programming that engages students in PreK–12 in STEM.

(D)A description of how such activity or activities may inform programming that promotes student academic achievement in STEM.

(E)An evaluation plan that includes, at a minimum, the use of outcome-oriented measures to determine the impact and efficacy of programming being researched.

(5)Each recipient of an award under this subsection shall provide, at the conclusion of every year during which the award funds are received, a report in a form prescribed by the Director.

(6)In making awards under this subsection, the Director shall encourage applications which, for the purpose of the activity or activities funded through the award, are from or include eligible nonprofit programs serving students that attend elementary schools or secondary schools (including high schools) that—

(A)are implementing comprehensive support and improvement activities or targeted support and improvement activities under paragraph (1) or (2) of section 6311(d) of title 20; or

(B)serve high percentages of students who are eligible for a free or reduced-price lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) (which, in the case of a high school, may be calculated using comparable data from the schools that feed into the high school).

(7)(A)The Director shall evaluate the activities established under this subsection. Such evaluation shall—

(i)use a common set of benchmarks and tools to assess the results of research conducted under such awards; and

(ii)to the extent practicable, integrate the findings of the research resulting from the activity or activities funded through the award with the current research on serving students with respect to the pursuit of degrees or careers in STEM, including underrepresented and rural students, in PreK–12.

(B)Not later than 180 days after the completion of the evaluation under subparagraph (A), the Director shall submit to Congress and make widely available to the public a report that includes—

(i)the results of the evaluation; and

(ii)any recommendations for administrative and legislative action that could optimize the effectiveness of the program under this subsection.

(8)In carrying out this subsection, the Director shall, for purposes of enhancing program effectiveness and avoiding duplication of activities, consult, and coordinate with other relevant Federal agencies.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(6)(B), is act June 4, 1946, ch. 281, 60 Stat. 230, which is classified generally to chapter 13 (§ 1751 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 1751 of this title and Tables. Codification Section was enacted as part of the STEM Education Act of 2015, and not as part of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 which comprises this chapter.

Amendments

2022—Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 117–167, § 10319(b)(1), added par. (4). Subsec. (b)(5). Pub. L. 117–167, § 10319(b)(2), added par. (5). Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 117–167, § 10311(b), added subsec. (c). 2017—Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 114–329, § 311(a), added par. (3). Subsec. (b)(3), (4). Pub. L. 114–329, § 311(b), added pars. (3) and (4).

§1862q Informal Stem Education