[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7313 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7313
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve programs for
minority students in STEM fields, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 31, 2022
Ms. Adams (for herself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Ms. Sewell, Mr. Turner, and
Mr. Bowman) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve programs for
minority students in STEM fields, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Supporting Diverse STEM Students
Act''.
SEC. 2. MINORITY SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.
(a) Authorized Use of Funds.--Section 353(b) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067c(b)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``or'';
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period and
inserting a semicolon; and
(C) by adding the following at the end:
``(C) providing direct financial assistance to students who
are underrepresented in STEM; or
``(D) improving institutional capacity to provide--
``(i) guidance counseling and academic advising;
``(ii) work-study and work-based learning
opportunities that are aligned to a student's chosen
field of study;
``(iii) faculty, peer, and near-peer mentorship;
``(iv) summer bridge programs;
``(v) undergraduate research opportunities; or
``(vi) individualized academic support and
tutoring.''; and
(2) in paragraph (2)--
(A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``or'';
(B) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period and
inserting ``; or''; and
(C) by adding the following at the end:
``(E) any of the activities described in subparagraphs (A)
through (D) of paragraph (1).''.
(b) STEM Fields.--Section 356 of the Higher Education Act of 1965
is amended by striking ``science'' and inserting ``science (including
computer science)''.
(c) Cross-Program and Cross-Agency Cooperation.--Section 363 of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067i) is amended to read as
follows:
``SEC. 363. CROSS-PROGRAM AND CROSS-AGENCY COOPERATION.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall cooperate and consult with
other programs within the Department and within Federal, State, and
private agencies which carry out programs to improve the quality of
science, computer science, mathematics, and engineering education.
``(b) Report.--Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment
of Supporting Diverse STEM Students Act, the Secretary shall, in
consultation with all Federal agencies that have STEM education
activities, prepare and submit to the authorizing committees a
coordination strategy report on expanding access and opportunity for
postsecondary students who are underrepresented in science and
engineering that--
``(1) outlines efforts to coordinate Federal grant programs
for these populations to more effectively achieve the Federal
Government's objective to diversify the STEM fields; and
``(2) outlines strategies to align Federal Government
research opportunities, internships, and deferred hiring
programs from minority institutions receiving a grant under
this part for students who are underrepresented in science and
engineering.''.
(d) Definitions.--Section 365 of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1067k) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``science and
engineering'' and inserting ``STEM'';
(2) by striking paragraph (4) and redesignating paragraphs
(5) through (9) as paragraphs (4) through (8), respectively;
(3) in paragraph (4), as so redesignated--
(A) by striking ``science and engineering'' and
inserting ``STEM''; and
(B) by striking ``scientists and engineers'' in
both places and inserting ``individuals in STEM''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(9) STEM.--The term `STEM' means the fields of science
(including computer science), technology, engineering, and
mathematics as described in section 356(a).''.
(e) Other Financial Assistance.--Section 480(i) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087vv(i)), as amended by section 702
of the FAFSA Simplification Act (title VII of division FF of Public Law
116-260), is further amended by adding at the end the following:
``(6) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), direct financial
assistance provided to the student under section 353(b)(1)(C),
shall not be treated as other financial assistance for purposes
of section 471(3).''.
(f) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this Act shall take
effect on July 1, 2023, and as if included in the FAFSA Simplification
Act (title VII of division FF of Public Law 116-260).
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