GIRLS STEM Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6195 To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide grants to eligible local educational agencies to encourage female students to pursue studies and careers in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 11, 2020 Mr. MCNERNEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide grants to eligible local educational agencies to encourage female students to pursue studies and careers in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Getting Involved in 4 Researching, Learning, and Studying of Science, Tech- 5 nology, Engineering, and Mathematics Act’’ or the 6 ‘‘GIRLS STEM Act’’. 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Mar 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6195.IH H6195 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6195 IH SEC. 2. GRANTS TO PREPARE FEMALES FOR THE 21ST CEN- 1 TURY. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV of the Elementary and 3 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7101 et 4 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘PART G—PREPARING FEMALE STUDENTS FOR 6 THE 21ST CENTURY 7 ‘‘SEC. 4701. PROGRAM AUTHORITY. 8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—From funds provided under sec- 9 tion 4702, the Secretary may provide grants to eligible 10 local educational agencies to enable elementary schools 11 and secondary schools served by the agencies to establish 12 and implement a program to— 13 ‘‘(1) encourage the ongoing interest of female 14 students in careers requiring skills in science, math- 15 ematics, engineering, or technology at all levels of 16 the career pathway, including at the technician level; 17 and 18 ‘‘(2) prepare female students to pursue indus- 19 try-recognized credentials, such as certificates, li- 20 censes, undergraduate, and graduate degrees, needed 21 to pursue a career in the science, mathematics, engi- 22 neering, or technology field. 23 ‘‘(b) GRANT AWARDS.—A grant awarded under this 24 part shall be awarded in four school year increments. 25 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Mar 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6195.IH H6195 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6195 IH ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 1 grant, or enter into a contract or cooperative agree- 2 ment, under this part an eligible local educational 3 agency shall submit an application to the Secretary 4 at such time and in such manner as the Secretary 5 may require. 6 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The application shall con- 7 tain, at a minimum, the following: 8 ‘‘(A) A program description, including the 9 content of the program and the research and 10 models used to design the program. 11 ‘‘(B) A description of the collaboration be- 12 tween elementary schools and secondary schools 13 to fulfill goals of the program and how the eligi- 14 ble local educational agency will ensure that 15 there is a comprehensive plan to improve 16 science, mathematics, engineering, and tech- 17 nology education for female students in kinder- 18 garten through grade 12. 19 ‘‘(C) A description of the process for re- 20 cruitment and selection of participants. 21 ‘‘(D) A description of the planned instruc- 22 tional and motivational activities. 23 ‘‘(E) A description of any collaboration 24 among local, regional, or national institutions 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Mar 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6195.IH H6195 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6195 IH and organizations that will be necessary to ful- 1 fill the goals of the program. 2 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATION.—In selecting an eligible 3 local educational agency to receive a grant under 4 this part, the Secretary shall consider the applica- 5 tion of each eligible local educational agency that 6 demonstrates that the agency will use the grant 7 funds to carry out the activities described in sub- 8 section (d). 9 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible local educational 10 agency shall use a grant received under this section to 11 carry out the following: 12 ‘‘(1) Acquainting female students with careers 13 requiring skills in science, mathematics, engineering, 14 and technology, and preparing such students for 15 pursuing careers in such areas, including careers in 16 such areas at the technician level. 17 ‘‘(2) Educating the parents of female students 18 about the opportunities and advantages of science, 19 mathematics, engineering, and technology careers. 20 ‘‘(3) Providing tutoring and mentoring pro- 21 grams for female students in science, mathematics, 22 engineering, and technology. 23 ‘‘(4) Establishing partnerships and other oppor- 24 tunities that expose female students to role models, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Mar 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6195.IH H6195 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6195 IH events, academic programs, or career and technical 1 education programs in the fields of science, mathe- 2 matics, engineering, and technology. 3 ‘‘(5) Providing after-school activities designed 4 to encourage interest, and develop skills of female 5 students, in science, mathematics, engineering, and 6 technology. 7 ‘‘(6) Carrying out summer programs designed 8 to assist female students in— 9 ‘‘(A) developing an interest and skills in; 10 and 11 ‘‘(B) understanding the relevance and sig- 12 nificance of, science, mathematics, engineering, 13 and technology. 14 ‘‘(7) Purchasing educational instructional mate- 15 rials, equipment, and instrumentation or software 16 designed to teach and encourage interest of female 17 students in science, mathematics, engineering, and 18 technology. 19 ‘‘(8) Providing academic and career counseling 20 services and assistance in secondary school course 21 selection that encourages female students to take 22 courses that provide preparation for postsecondary 23 education, and experiential learning opportunities 24 (such as apprenticeships, mentorships, internships), 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Mar 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6195.IH H6195 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6195 IH in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and 1 mathematics. 2 ‘‘(9) Facilitating internships in science, mathe- 3 matics, engineering, or technology for female stu- 4 dents. 5 ‘‘(10) Providing professional development for 6 teachers and other school personnel that includes— 7 ‘‘(A) topics on how to eliminate gender 8 bias in the classroom; 9 ‘‘(B) topics on how to engage students in 10 the face of gender-based peer pressure and pa- 11 rental expectations; and 12 ‘‘(C) increased instructional strategies and 13 content knowledge of science, mathematics, en- 14 gineering, and technology. 15 ‘‘(e) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—The Secretary 16 shall require each eligible local educational agency receiv- 17 ing a grant under this part to supplement, and not to sup- 18 plant, any other assistance or funds made available from 19 non-Federal sources for the activities assisted under this 20 part. 21 ‘‘(f) EVALUATIONS.—Each eligible local educational 22 agency that receives a grant under this part shall provide 23 the Secretary, at the conclusion of every school year dur- 24 ing which the funds are received, with an evaluation as- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Mar 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6195.IH H6195 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6195 IH sessing the improvements made in the areas described in 1 subsection (a), in a form prescribed by the Secretary. 2 ‘‘(g) ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY DE- 3 FINED.—For purposes of this part, the term ‘eligible local 4 educational agency’ means a local educational agency that 5 serves underrepresented or low-income students. 6 ‘‘SEC. 4702. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 7 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 8 this part $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2022 through 9 2026.’’. 10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con- 11 tents for such Act (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is amended 12 by adding at the end of the items relating to title IV the 13 following: 14 ‘‘PART G—PREPARING FEMALES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY ‘‘Sec. 4701. Program authority. ‘‘Sec. 4702. Authorization of appropriations.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Mar 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6195.IH H6195 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS