On January 25 Senators Domenici (R-NM), Bingaman (D-NM), Alexander (R-TN) and Mikulski (D-MD) introduced the Protect America’s Competitive Edge (PACE) Act, three bills designed to implement 20 recommendations contained in the National Academies (NAS) report Rising Above the Gathering Storm. The number one action item in the report was to improve K-12 science and mathematics education (more information about the NAS report follows this NSTA Legislative Update).

Three separate bills (PACE-Energy, PACE-Education, and PACE-Tax), which will work their way through four separate Senate committees, were introduced following a press conference last week that was packed with Senate staffers and lobbyists from major business groups such as Intel, IBM, and the Business Roundtable, and with representatives from science groups and higher education institutions. The entire package of bills is expected to cost $9 billion the first year.

Two of the bills contain a large number of programs for science and math education.

The PACE-Education Act would establish:

Baccalaureate degrees in Math and Science with Concurrent Teacher Certification: Grants from the Secretary of Education would go to collaborations of Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) teacher preparation programs and departments of STEM to develop courses of study that would lead to a degree in science, math, or engineering with a concurrent teaching certificate.

Master Program for Current Science and Math Teachers: Grants from the Secretary of Education would go to IHE STEM departments and teacher preparation programs to develop a part time, three year master program for current teachers.

NSF Scholarships for Science and Math Teachers: NSF merit-based scholarships of up to $20,000 would go to students majoring in a STEM program with concurrent teacher certification.

NSF Fellowships for Science and Math Teachers: NSF fellowships of $10,000 annually for four years to teachers who complete a baccalaureate degree in STEM with concurrent teacher certification and commit to teaching full time in a high need school.

NSF fellowships of $10,000 annually for five years for teachers who have completed a master degree program and assume a leadership activity, such as mentoring.

AP and IB Programs: Grants from the U. S. Department. of Education to provide training to teachers to teach AP or IB programs and to increase the number of students who take these courses.

National Clearinghouse on Mathematics and Science Teaching Materials: Authorizes the Secretary of Education to convene a national panel to collect proven K-12 science and math teaching materials and to create a clearinghouse for such materials.

Coordination of Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education Programs: Creates a standing subcommittee in the President’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology to develop national goals for STEM education across the various federal agencies. Creates a new position the Office of Science and Technology Policy that would coordinate the federal budgets for STEM education programs.

The PACE-Education bill also would increase research programs and equipment grants; increase the NSF, NASA, and Department of Defense research budgets by 10% annually through 2012; create a new Presidential Innovation Award; create a new student visa for doctoral candidates; provide certain exemptions to the numerical limitations to employment based immigrants; and develop science parks.

The second bill involving science and math education programs is the PACE-Energy bill. This bill amends the Department of Energy DOE Science programs to appoint a “Director of Mathematics, Science, and Engineering Education Programs.” The bill establishes a number of new STEM education initiatives at the DOE under the purview of this new director:

High School Math and Science Specialty Schools: Establishes or expands specialty schools for math and science at the high school level

Summer Internships for Students: Creates summer internships at the DOE national Laboratories and elsewhere, for middle and high school students to promote experiential learning.

Centers of Excellence in Mathematics and Science: Authorizes each of the National Laboratories to support a Center of Excellence in Mathematics and Science at one public high school located near the national lab.

American Scientists Scholarships: Establishes a merit-based American Scientist scholarship program through DOE for up to $20,000 a year to assist students pursuing a degree in STEM.

Graduate Research Fellowship: Provides tuition and financial support for Master and Doctoral students enrolled in STEM programs

Summer Institutes: Establishes summer institutes at each of the National Laboratories and through grants to IHE and other nonprofit groups for K-12 teachers; focus will be on K-8 teachers.

The PACE-Energy bill also has programs that will establish a joint program between IHE and the national labs for 100 scientists, and includes a number of research grants for scientists. The bill also seeks to double the authorized level of funding for basic research in the physical sciences.

The PACE-Tax bill would double the R&D tax credit; create a tax credit to encourage investment in continuing education; and provide grants and loan guarantees for U.S. Science Parks.

During the press conference, staffers were hopeful that the Senate would act on this bill sometime this year. The legislation has to go through both an authorization and an appropriations process. Funding for the implementing the 20 Rising recommendations was seen as the major hurdle.

As reported in earlier issues of the NSTA Legislative Update, similar legislation has been introduced in the House; in early December Representative Bart Gordon (D-TN), ranking Democrat on the House Science Committee, introduced the “10,000 Teachers, 10 Million Minds” Science and Math Scholarship Act (H.R. 4434). The bill provides scholarships to science, math, and engineering students who complete a program that combines a degree in these areas with a teaching certificate and commit to teaching K-12 science and math after graduation. The legislation also authorizes summer professional development institutes for current teachers to improve content knowledge; establishes master programs for in-service teachers, and creates more training for in-service teachers to teach AP and IB courses in science and math. To read more about the proposed legislation, visit http://science.nsta.org/nstaexpress/10million.pdf.

If you have questions or want a copy of the PACE legislation, contact Jodi Peterson at jpeterson@nsta.org.

Innovation, Competitiveness and STEM Education—Part of the SOTU?

A good deal of scuttlebutt throughout official Washington and in the media is revolving around the possibility that President Bush will embrace as a key domestic issue the concerns outlined in the NAS Rising Above the Gathering Storm report and the bipartisan efforts to improve U.S. competitiveness and science and engineering capabilities during his State of the Union (SOTU) address on January 31.

During remarks at the press conference announcing the legislation Senator Alexander said he hoped the President would put the issue on his national agenda and provide the leadership that was needed.

In a January 26 news conference President Bush said “policies must be put in place to recognize the competition of the global economy and prepare our people to be able to continue to compete so America can continue to lead.”

Earlier this month White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card told a U.S. Chamber of Commerce group that the NAS report is getting a "very close look.”

In addition articles on the NAS report/PACE initiative that ran in the National Journal, the Baltimore Sun, Congressional Quarterly, and Education Week (“Advocates Urge Bush to Boost Federal Role in Math and Science”) call attention to the issue and mention the possibility of the issue being raised in the SOTU.

Finally, NSTA Executive Director Gerry Wheeler received an invitation from the White House to attend a special viewing of the President's State of the Union address at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which further fuels the speculation that science education will be highlighted during the speech. The SOTU begins at 9 p.m. Eastern time.

Will New College Aid Plan for STEM Majors Widen the U.S. Role in High Schools?, Asks New York Times

A January 22 New York Times (NYT) article calls into question the new $3.7 billion student aid program for STEM majors approved by the Senate in the reconciliation budget bill last month.

Writes NYT reporter Sam Dillon, “The measure, backed by the Bush administration and expected to pass the House when it returns next month, would provide $750 to $1,300 grants to low income college freshmen and sophomores who have completed a ‘rigorous secondary school program of study” . . . It leaves it to the secretary of education to define rigorous, giving her a new foothold in matters of high school curriculums . . . Mindful of the delicate politics at play when Washington expands its educational role into matters zealously guarded as local prerogatives, senior Department of Education officials said they would consult with governors and other groups in determining which high school programs would allow students to qualify for grants.”

An official of the American Council of Education, the largest association of colleges and universities, told the NYT that the new program “involves the federal government in curricular matters in a way that opens a new chapter in educational history.”

If the bill is approved by the House and signed into law, the Department of Education could have $790 million in new grant money available this fall, and many believe the legislation could “unleash a scramble by high schools to gain recognition of their curricula as rigorous,” reports the NYT.

As reported in previous NSTA Legislative Updates, the legislation in question is the Department of Education Science and Math Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grants program, which was included as a $3.7 billion mandatory funding program as part of Title IV of the Higher Education Act (this means the program is not subject to the annual appropriations process).

If okayed by the House and signed into law these supplemental grants would be available to Pell-eligible college students who seek to major in physical, life, or computer science; mathematics; technology; engineering; or “foreign languages that are critical to national security."

In the first year of study, students can receive up to $750 in assistance, which is in addition to funds they can also receive under the Pell program. In the second year, students can receive up to $1,300, and in their third and fourth years of college, they can receive up to $4,000 in assistance.

To be eligible during the first two years of the program a student must be eligible for a Pell grant and have completed the aforementioned “rigorous high school program.” During the third and fourth years, students must enroll in one of the STEM areas listed above or a foreign language deemed necessary for national security to receive the full $4,000 amount. Recipients must maintain a 3.0 grade average to continue receiving assistance. There is no service obligation associated with the grant.

Watch for upcoming NSTA Legislative Updates on this evolving issue.

About the NAS Report Rising above the Gathering Storm

In July 2005 Senator Lamar Alexander and Senator Jeff Bingaman asked the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to convene a blue ribbon panel of business leaders, scientists, and educators and report back to Congress with a response to this question: What are the top ten actions, in priority order, that federal policy makers could take to enhance the science and technology enterprise so that the United States can successfully compete, prosper, and be secure in the global community of the 21st Century? Lawmakers also asked for specific implementation strategies. Norman Augustine, the retired chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin, chaired the panel.

In the NAS report released in mid-,October, the number one action item on the panel’s list of recommendations was to increase America’s talent pool by vastly improving K-12 science and mathematics education. The panel recommended the highest priority be given to a series of programs for science and math education that include:

10,000 Teachers, 10 Million Minds in K-12 Science and Math Education

Recommendation A: Increase America’s talent pool by vastly improving K-12 science and mathematics education.

Sowing the Seeds Through Science and Engineering Research

Recommendation B: Sustain and strengthen the nation’s traditional commitment to long term basic research that has the potential to be transformational to maintain the flow of new ideas that fuel the economy, provide security, and enhance the quality of life.

Best and Brightest in Science and Engineering Higher Education

Recommendation C: Make the United States the most attractive setting in which to study and perform research so that we can develop, recruit, and retain the best and the brightest students, scientists, and engineers from within the United States and throughout the world.

Incentives for Innovation and the Investment Environment

Recommendation D: Ensure that the United States is the premier place in the world to innovate; invest in downstream activities such as manufacturing and marketing; and create high paying jobs that are based on innovation by modernizing the patent system, realigning the tax policies to encourage innovation, and ensuring affordable broadband access.