[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 257 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 257
To establish a Governor's Emergency STEM Promotion Fund, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 4, 2021
Mrs. Shaheen introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a Governor's Emergency STEM Promotion Fund, 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 ``Emergency Support for STEM Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The COVID-19 pandemic has caused tremendous
repercussions within the kindergarten through grade 12
education system of the United States.
(2) It is imperative to support hands-on learning
opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics (referred to in this section as ``STEM'') education
through programs that--
(A) provide innovative experiences for students;
(B) have strong track records of success; and
(C) typically include nonprofit partnerships among
the schools, nonprofit organizations, and private
businesses.
(3) Due to the severe economic damage caused by the COVID-
19 pandemic to organizations offering STEM programs, these
programs now face significant funding challenges.
(4) The long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will be
felt for years to come without public economic educational
support to help these types of STEM opportunities.
(5) Lack of investment in these critical programs will lead
to limited innovative learning opportunities in the STEM
fields, causing a drastic loss of technical and professional
skills training for this generation of students.
SEC. 3. GOVERNOR'S EMERGENCY STEM PROMOTION FUND.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) ESEA terms.--The terms ``elementary school'', ``high
school'', ``secondary school'', and ``State'' have the meanings
given the terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
(2) Eligible nonprofit program.--The term ``eligible
nonprofit program''--
(A) means a nonprofit program serving
prekindergarten, elementary school, or secondary school
students; and
(B) includes a program described in subparagraph
(A) that covers the continuum of education from
prekindergarten through high school and is available in
every State.
(3) Eligible public school.--The term ``eligible public
school'' means a public elementary school or secondary school.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Education.
(5) STEM.--The term ``STEM'' means science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics.
(b) Grants Authorized.--
(1) In general.--From amounts made available under
subsection (e), the Secretary shall make Emergency STEM
Promotion grants to the Governor of each State with an approved
application.
(2) Timing.--The Secretary shall issue a notice inviting
applications not later than 30 days after the date of enactment
of this Act and shall award grants by not later than 30 days
after the issuance of the notice.
(3) Amount.--Each State with an approved application shall
receive a grant under paragraph (1) in an amount that bears the
same relation to the amounts made available under subsection
(e) as the number of children aged 5 through 17 in the State
bears to the number of such children in all States with
approved applications.
(c) Use of Funds.--
(1) In general.--A State receiving a grant under subsection
(b)--
(A) shall use not less than 90 percent of such
grant funds to provide subgrants to eligible public
schools or eligible nonprofit programs to support
hands-on learning opportunities in STEM education,
including via remote learning, after-school activities,
and innovative learning opportunities such as robotics
competitions; and
(B) may reserve--
(i) not more than one-half of 1 percent for
administrative costs; and
(ii) the remainder of any funds not used in
accordance with clause (i) or subparagraph (A)
for emergency needs, as determined by the State
educational agency.
(2) Award basis.--In awarding subgrants under this
subsection, a State shall ensure that the majority of subgrant
funds provided by the State are to--
(A) eligible public schools that--
(i) are implementing comprehensive support
and improvement activities and targeted support
and improvement activities under section
1111(d) of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(d)); or
(ii) 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); or
(B) eligible nonprofit programs serving students
that attend eligible public schools described in
subparagraph (A).
(3) Matching funds required.--
(A) In general.--Each eligible public school or
eligible nonprofit program receiving a subgrant under
this subsection shall provide, toward the cost of the
activities assisted under the subgrant, an amount equal
to 100 percent of the amount of the subgrant funds.
(B) Payment by local educational agency.--The
matching funds required under subparagraph (A) for an
eligible public school may be provided by the eligible
public school or by the local educational agency that
serves such school.
(d) Reallocation.--A State shall return to the Secretary any funds
received under this section that the State does not award within 2
years of receiving such funds and the Secretary shall reallocate such
funds to the remaining States in accordance with subsection (b).
(e) Authorization and Appropriations.--
(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to
carry out this section, and there are appropriated, out of any
amounts in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated,
$200,000,000 for fiscal year 2021.
(2) Availability.--Amounts made available under this
subsection shall remain available until expended.
(3) Emergency designation.--
(A) In general.--The amounts provided by this
section are designated as an emergency requirement
pursuant to section 4(g) of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go
Act of 2010 (2 U.S.C. 933(g)).
(B) Designation in senate.--In the Senate, this
section is designated as an emergency requirement
pursuant to section 4112(a) of H. Con. Res. 71 (115th
Congress), the concurrent resolution on the budget for
fiscal year 2018.
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