[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2167 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2167
To enable schools serving grades 6 through 12 that are located in rural
areas or that serve Native American students to remodel or build new
facilities to provide STEM classrooms and laboratories and support
high-speed internet, to establish a program to support the
modernization, renovation, or repair of career and technical education
facilities, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 22, 2023
Mr. Schatz (for himself and Mr. Padilla) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To enable schools serving grades 6 through 12 that are located in rural
areas or that serve Native American students to remodel or build new
facilities to provide STEM classrooms and laboratories and support
high-speed internet, to establish a program to support the
modernization, renovation, or repair of career and technical education
facilities, 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 ``Inspiring New STEM Professionals by
Investing in Renovation of Education Spaces Act'' or the ``INSPIRES
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Technological advancement has increased the types of
jobs available now and for the foreseeable future. Over the
next 10 years, employers will be looking to fill an estimated
821,300 openings for the top 10 occupations in the collective
fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
(referred to in this section as ``STEM''). STEM jobs pay well;
STEM workers earn an average of $22,000 per year more than non-
STEM workers at every education level. However, projections
suggest that the United States won't have enough skilled
workers to fill STEM jobs.
(2) STEM skills and knowledge are now required in a wide
range of occupations, including many that are not traditionally
considered to be science or engineering-related, such as
sustainable agriculture, management of natural resources, and
health care.
(3) Because of the growing use of STEM skills across all
job sectors, the distinction between a ``rural'' as compared to
an ``urban'' job is blurring. For instance, renewable energy
development and bio-based product manufacturing employ workers
in a variety of areas of the United States. Known as the ``new
collar'' economy, the phenomenal growth in job opportunities
for those who are prepared will also support the growth of
communities: places to raise families and invest in the future.
(4) Good STEM experiences in middle school will lead to
positive attitudes toward and expectations of STEM experiences
in high school. In the middle grades, students begin to
demonstrate formal logical operations (critical thinking).
Further, middle school students have been shown to be highly
susceptible to developing opinions about their competence and
interest in STEM learning.
(5) Providing students with additional time in after school
and summer STEM programs allows students opportunities to
engage in hands-on learning that sparks interest in STEM fields
and careers. Students who engage in well-designed laboratory
experiences develop problem-solving and critical-thinking
skills, and gain exposure to reactions, materials, and
equipment in a lab setting. Sustained investments in hands-on
experiences help inspire students to further their education
and prepare them for high-technology careers by fostering
skills sought by potential employers. Hands-on experiences
significantly advance learning at all levels of science
education when appropriately designed and guided by qualified
educators, in a safe learning environment that is student-
centered and curriculum-driven. The classroom should contain
enough resources, space, and storage to permit long-term
multidisciplinary projects, individual and small-group
learning, and inquiry and project-based learning.
(6) The United States has unique trust and treaty
obligations to provide comprehensive quality educational
opportunities to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native
Hawaiians and support Native-serving schools. However, many
Native American students do not have equitable access to STEM
educational opportunities. Surveys suggest that fewer than half
of all American Indian and Alaska Native public high school
students have access to a full range of mathematics and science
courses. Additionally, schools serving Native students
frequently dismissed and devalued traditional STEM knowledge,
discouraging Native student engagement in STEM areas. As a
result, Native Americans receive only 0.6 percent of STEM
undergraduate degrees and account for only 0.3 percent of the
United States engineering workforce.
(7) To meet the challenge of educating youth to fulfill the
demand for STEM workers, public schools in the United States
must be equipped to educate all youth in STEM skills,
especially youth who are underserved or socially disadvantaged.
(8) The median age of United States schools is 65 years.
Nearly 50 percent of school buildings in the United States need
significant repairs or upgrades, including clean and safe
classrooms and laboratory spaces, up-to-date technology, and
broadband. Moreover, the condition of school facilities has a
measurable effect on student achievement.
(9) For all of these reasons, the future workforce of the
United States needs safe, clean, well-equipped school
facilities where all students can reach their full potential
and learn the knowledge and skills that place them on a secure
pathway to enhance the capacity of the United States to compete
globally.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Career and technical education.--The term ``career and
technical education'' has the meaning given the term in section
3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of
2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302).
(2) Community college.--The term ``community college''
means a public institution of higher education at which the
predominant degree awarded to students is an associate's
degree, including a 2-year Tribal College or University as
defined in section 316 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1059c) and a public 2-year State institution of higher
education.
(3) Educational service agency.--The term ``educational
service agency'' has the meaning given the term in section 8101
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 7801).
(4) Eligible agency.--The term ``eligible agency'' means a
local educational agency, a consortium of local educational
agencies, or an educational service agency.
(5) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
(A) an eligible institution;
(B) a community college;
(C) a local educational agency or consortium of
local educational agencies;
(D) an educational service agency;
(E) a tribal educational agency;
(F) an Indian Tribe;
(G) a Tribal organization; or
(H) another entity determined appropriate by the
Secretary.
(6) Eligible institution.--The term ``eligible
institution'' means any of the following:
(A) An Alaska Native-serving institution or a
Native Hawaiian-serving institution (as such terms are
defined in section 317 of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059d)), a Native American-serving,
nontribal institution (as defined in section 319 of
such Act (20 U.S.C. 1059f)), or an Asian American and
Native American Pacific Islander-serving institution
(as defined in section 320 of such Act (20 U.S.C.
1059g)).
(B) A Tribal College or University, as defined in
section 316(b) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b)).
(C) An 1890 Institution, as defined in section 2 of
the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education
Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601).
(D) A 1994 Institution, as defined in section 2 of
such Act (7 U.S.C. 7601).
(E) A Hispanic-serving agricultural college or
university, as defined in section 1404 of the National
Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy
Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103).
(F) A minority-serving institution, which shall be
defined as an eligible institution under section 371(a)
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1067q(a)).
(7) Eligible school.--The term ``eligible school'' means--
(A) a public school that--
(i) serves students in any of grades 6
through 12; and
(ii)(I) is located--
(aa) in a rural area, as defined in
section 25.503 of title 7, Code of
Federal Regulations, or any successor
regulation;
(bb) on or near trust land;
(cc) on or near a substantially
underserved trust area, as defined in
section 306F(a) of the Rural
Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C.
936f(a)); or
(dd) in an eligible community, as
defined in section 1456 of the Safe
Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j-16);
or
(II) is determined by an Indian Tribe or
Tribal organization to serve Native American
students; or
(B) a Bureau-funded school, as defined in section
1141 of the Education Amendments of 1978 (25 U.S.C.
2021).
(8) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the
meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
(9) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the
term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1001(a)).
(10) Local educational agency.--The term ``local
educational agency'' has the meaning given the term in section
8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 7801 et seq.).
(11) Native american.--The term ``Native American'' has the
meaning given the term in section 102 of the Older Americans
Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3002).
(12) Public-private partnership.--The term ``public-private
partnership'' means a partnership--
(A) between a State or an eligible agency and a
private entity (which may be a nonprofit organization,
business, or other nongovernmental entity); and
(B) through which the private entity will provide
some or all of the required match under section 4(e).
(13) Qualified stem education facility project.--The term
``qualified STEM education facility project'' means--
(A) the modernization, renovation, or repair of
facilities to provide STEM classrooms or laboratories
(including instrumentation and major laboratory
equipment) and updates related to student and faculty
health and safety, which may include--
(i) improving the energy efficiency of a
facility;
(ii) improving the cost-effectiveness of a
facility in delivering quality education;
(iii) improving student, faculty, and staff
health and safety at a facility;
(iv) improving, installing, or upgrading
educational technology infrastructure;
(v) retrofitting an existing building for
career and technical education purposes; or
(vi) a one-time repair of serviceable
equipment at a facility, or replacement of
equipment at a facility that is at the end of
its serviceable lifespan, that will be used to
further educational outcomes;
(B) building new facilities to provide STEM
classrooms or laboratories; or
(C) supporting the establishment and maintenance of
high-speed internet for a STEM classroom or laboratory.
(14) Qualified cte facility project.--The term ``qualified
CTE facility project''--
(A) means the modernization, renovation, or repair
of a facility that will be used to improve the quality
and availability of STEM or career and technical
education instruction to students, and that may
include--
(i) improving the energy efficiency of the
facility;
(ii) improving the cost-effectiveness of
the facility in delivering quality education;
(iii) improving student, faculty, and staff
health and safety at the facility;
(iv) improving, installing, or upgrading
educational technology infrastructure;
(v) retrofitting an existing building for
career and technical education purposes; or
(vi) a one-time repair of serviceable
equipment at the facility, or replacement of
equipment at the facility that is at the end of
its serviceable lifespan, that will be used to
further educational outcomes; and
(B) does not include new construction or the
payment of routine maintenance costs.
(15) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Education.
(16) STEM.--The term ``STEM''--
(A) means the fields of science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics, and related fields
(including computer science); and
(B) includes culturally based or traditional
knowledge fields in science, technology, engineering,
or mathematics.
(17) Tribal educational agency.--The term ``tribal
educational agency'' has the meaning given the term in section
6132(b)(3) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7452(b)(3)).
(18) Tribal organization.--The term ``tribal organization''
has the meaning given the term in section 658P of the Child
Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n).
(19) Trust land.--The term ``trust land'' has the meaning
given the term in section 3765 of title 38, United States Code.
SEC. 4. STEM EDUCATION FACILITIES GRANTS.
(a) Program Authorized.--The Secretary shall carry out a program to
improve STEM education facilities by awarding grants, through
allotments under subsection (b), to States to enable the States to
award subgrants to eligible agencies or tribal educational agencies to
carry out qualified STEM education facility projects at eligible
schools.
(b) Allotments and Use of Funds for States.--
(1) Allotments.--From amounts appropriated to carry out
this section for each fiscal year and not reserved under
subsection (g), the Secretary shall allot to each State that
has an application approved under this section an amount that
bears the same relationship as the number of schools in the
State that are rural schools designated with a locale code of
41, 42, or 43, as determined by the Secretary, bears to the
number of all such schools in the United States and on trust
lands for that fiscal year.
(2) Use of funds.--
(A) Reservation of funds for qualified stem
education facility projects at schools serving native
americans.--From amounts provided to a State under
paragraph (1), each State with 1 or more eligible
schools described in item (bb) or (cc) of subclause
(I), or subclause (II), of section 3(7)(A)(ii) shall
reserve not less than 10 percent of the State's
allotment for qualified STEM education facility
projects at such eligible schools.
(B) Use of funds for qualified stem education
facility projects.--A State receiving an allotment
under paragraph (1) shall, use the amount of such
allotment remaining after any reservation required
under subparagraph (A) to award subgrants to eligible
agencies to carry out qualified STEM education facility
projects at eligible schools.
(c) Application.--
(1) Grant application for states.--A State that desires to
receive an allotment under this section shall submit an
application to the Secretary at such a time, in such a manner,
and containing such information as the Secretary may require.
Such information shall include, at a minimum--
(A) a description of the process that the State
will use in selecting and awarding subgrants to
eligible agencies;
(B) an assurance that such process will meet the
requirements described in paragraph (2);
(C) an assurance that in awarding subgrants to
eligible agencies, the State will give priority to
eligible agencies that are part of a public-private
partnership; and
(D) if the State has formed a public-private
partnership, a description of that partnership,
including how the private entity partner will
contribute to the required match under subsection
(e)(1).
(2) Subgrant application.--A State that receives an
allotment under this section shall require an eligible agency
that desires a subgrant to submit an application that contains,
at a minimum, the following information:
(A) A detailed description of each qualified STEM
education facility project that the eligible agency
will carry out with subgrant funds.
(B) A description of the need for each such
qualified STEM education facility project.
(C) A description of how the eligible agency will
ensure that each qualified STEM education facility
project will be adequately maintained.
(D) An identification of the eligible schools that
will benefit from the qualified STEM education facility
projects supported under the subgrant.
(E) A description of how the facilities or internet
supported by a qualified STEM education facility
project will be used to provide educational services in
STEM during the school day and the summer, and in after
school programs.
(F) If the eligible agency has formed a public-
private partnership, a description of that partnership,
including how the private entity partner will
contribute to the required match under subsection
(e)(2).
(d) Environmental Standards.--The Secretary shall encourage, but
not require, States receiving allotments under paragraph (1) to ensure
that the modernization, renovation, repair, or building supported by
the qualified STEM education facility project meets Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building rating standards,
Energy Star standards, Collaborative for High Performance Schools
(CHPS) criteria, Green Building Initiative environmental design and
rating standards (Green Globes), the Living Building Challenge
certification standards, or equivalent standards adopted by entities
with jurisdiction over or related to the States.
(e) Matching Funds.--
(1) States.--A State that receives a grant under this
section shall provide, from non-Federal sources, an amount
equal to 25 percent of the amount of the State's allotment
under subsection (b)(1) to carry out activities supported by
the grant.
(2) Eligible agencies.--An eligible agency that receives a
subgrant under subsection (b)(2)(B) shall provide, from non-
Federal sources, an amount equal to 10 percent of the amount of
the subgrant to carry out activities supported by the subgrant.
(3) Type of match.--A matching requirement under this
subsection may be provided in cash or in-kind.
(4) Waiver authority.--The Secretary may waive the
requirement under this subsection for a State if the Secretary
determines that the State will be unable to satisfy the
matching requirement.
(f) Supplement Not Supplant.--Funds made available under this
section shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, other Federal
and State funds available to carry out the activities supported under
this section.
(g) Technical Assistance and Administrative Costs.--The Secretary
may reserve not more than 3 percent of funds appropriated to carry out
this section for the administrative costs of this section and to
provide technical assistance to States and eligible agencies concerning
best practices in carrying out qualified STEM education facility
projects.
(h) Reporting Requirements.--Not later than 1 year after funds are
appropriated to carry out this section, and every 2 years thereafter,
the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of
Congress a report on the effect of the qualified STEM education
facility projects supported under this section on improving academic
achievement.
SEC. 5. CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION FACILITIES IMPROVEMENT.
(a) Program Authorized.--From amounts appropriated to carry out
this section, the Secretary shall carry out a program to improve career
and technical education facilities by--
(1) awarding grants to eligible entities to enable the
eligible entities to carry out qualified CTE facility projects;
(2) guaranteeing loans made to eligible entities for
qualified CTE facility projects; or
(3) making payments of interest on bonds, loans, or other
financial instruments (other than a refinancing) that are
issued to eligible entities for qualified CTE facility
projects.
(b) Application.--An eligible entity that desires to receive a
grant, loan guarantee, or payment of interest under this section shall
submit an application to the Secretary at such a time, in such manner,
and containing such information as the Secretary may require. The
application shall include--
(1) a detailed description of the qualified CTE facility
project;
(2) in the case of a qualified CTE facility project
described in section 3(14)(A)(vi), a description of the
educational outcomes to be furthered by the one-time repair of
serviceable equipment or replacement of equipment;
(3) an indication as to whether the eligible entity prefers
to receive a grant, loan guarantee, or payment of interest;
(4) a description of the need for the qualified CTE
facility project;
(5) a description of how the eligible entity will ensure
that the qualified CTE facility project will be adequately
maintained;
(6) a description of how the qualified CTE facility project
will improve instruction and educational outcomes at the
facility, including any opportunities to integrate project
activities within the curriculum of a school or institution;
(7) a description of how the facility supported by the
qualified CTE facility project will be used for providing
educational services in STEM, or career and technical
education;
(8) if the qualified CTE facility project will seek
sustainability certifications, then a description of how the
modernization, renovation, or repair supported by the qualified
CTE facility project meets Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED) building rating standards, Energy
Star standards, Collaborative for High Performance Schools
(CHPS) criteria, Green Building Initiative environmental design
and rating standards (Green Globes), the Living Building
Challenge certification standards, or equivalent standards
adopted by entities with jurisdiction over or related to the
eligible entity;
(9) a description of the fiscal capacity of the eligible
entity;
(10) the percentage of students enrolled in the eligible
entity or a school or institution served by the eligible entity
to be served by the qualified CTE facility project who are from
low-income families;
(11) in the case of a qualified CTE facility project at a
facility that is used by students in a secondary school (as
such term is defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)), the
secondary school graduation rates;
(12) in the case of an eligible entity that has formed a
partnership with a private entity (which may include a
nonprofit organization, business, or other nongovernmental
entity), a description of that partnership, including how the
private entity partner will contribute to the qualified CTE
facility project; and
(13) such additional information and assurances as the
Secretary may require.
(c) Priority.--In awarding grants, guaranteeing loans, or making
payments under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give priority to
eligible entities that have a partnership described in subsection
(b)(12).
(d) Supplement Not Supplant.--Funds made available under this
section shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, other Federal
and State funds available to carry out the activities supported under
this section.
(e) Technical Assistance and Administrative Costs.--The Secretary
may reserve a total of not more than 3 percent of funds appropriated to
carry out this section--
(1) for the administrative costs of this section; and
(2) to provide technical assistance to eligible entities
concerning best practices in school facility renovation,
repair, and modernization.
(f) Reporting Requirements.--Not later than 1 year after funds are
appropriated to carry out this section, and every 2 years thereafter,
the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of
Congress a report on the effect of the qualified CTE facility projects
supported under this section on improving academic achievement.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated--
(1) to carry out section 4, not less than $25,000,000 for
fiscal year 2024 and each succeeding fiscal year; and
(2) to carry out section 5, not less than $25,000,000 for
fiscal year 2024 and each succeeding fiscal year.
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