42 U.S.C. § 6621 — Coordination of Federal STEM education

Page 6865 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 6621 1 So in original. Probably should be followed by a semicolon. § 6621. Coordination of Federal STEM education (a) Establishment The Director shall establish a committee under the National Science and Technology Council, including the Office of Management and Budget, with the responsibility to coordi- nate Federal programs and activities in support of STEM education, including at the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administra- tion, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad- ministration, the Department of Education, and all other Federal agencies that have programs and activities in support of STEM education. (b) Responsibilities The committee established under subsection (a) shall— (1) coordinate the STEM education activities and programs of the Federal agencies; (2) coordinate STEM education activities and programs with the Office of Management and Budget; (3) encourage the teaching of innovation and entrepreneurship as part of STEM education activities; (4) review STEM education activities and programs to ensure they are not duplicative of similar efforts within the Federal government; (5) develop, implement through the partici- pating agencies, and update once every 5 years a 5-year STEM education strategic plan, which shall— (A) specify and prioritize annual and long- term objectives; (B) specify the common metrics that will be used to assess progress toward achieving the objectives; (C) describe the approaches that will be taken by each participating agency to assess the effectiveness of its STEM education pro- grams and activities; and (D) with respect to subparagraph (A), de- scribe the role of each agency in supporting programs and activities designed to achieve the objectives; (6) establish, periodically update, and main- tain an inventory of federally sponsored STEM education programs and activities, including documentation of assessments of the effective- ness of such programs and activities and rates of participation by women, underrepresented minorities, and persons in rural areas in such programs and activities; (7) collaborate with the STEM Education Advisory Panel established under section 303 of the American Innovation and Competitive- ness Act and other outside stakeholders to en- sure the engagement of the STEM education community; (8) review the measures used by a Federal agency to evaluate its STEM education activi- ties and programs; (9) request and review feedback from States on how the States are utilizing Federal STEM education programs and activities; and (10) recommend the reform, termination, or consolidation of Federal STEM education ac- tivities and programs, taking into consider- ation the recommendations of the STEM Edu- cation Advisory Panel. (c) Responsibilities of OSTP The Director shall encourage and monitor the efforts of the participating agencies to ensure that the strategic plan under subsection (b)(5) is developed and executed effectively and that the objectives of the strategic plan are met. (d) Reports The Director shall transmit a report annually to Congress at the time of the President’s budg- et request describing the plan required under subsection (b)(5). The annual report shall in- clude— (1) a description of the STEM education pro- grams and activities for the previous and cur- rent fiscal years, and the proposed programs and activities under the President’s budget re- quest, of each participating Federal agency; (2) the levels of funding for each partici- pating Federal agency for the programs and activities described under paragraph (1) for the previous fiscal year and under the President’s budget request; (3) an evaluation of the levels of duplication and fragmentation of the programs and activi- ties described under paragraph (1); (4) except for the initial annual report, a de- scription of the progress made in carrying out the implementation plan, including a descrip- tion of the outcome of any program assess- ments completed in the previous year, and any changes made to that plan since the previous annual report; (5) a description of how the participating Federal agencies will disseminate information about federally supported resources for STEM education practitioners, including teacher pro- fessional development programs, to States and to STEM education practitioners, including to teachers and administrators in schools that meet the criteria described in subsection (c)(1)(A) and (B) of section 7381j of this title; (6) a description of all consolidations and terminations of Federal STEM education pro- grams and activities implemented in the pre- vious fiscal year, including an explanation for the consolidations and terminations; (7) recommendations for reforms, consolida- tions, and terminations of STEM education programs or activities in the upcoming fiscal year; (8) a description of any significant new STEM education public-private partnerships 1 (9) an account of Federal research agency in- vestments in HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs, includ- ing, to the degree practicable, data on the level of participation of HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs as prime recipients, contractors, sub- recipients, or subcontractors of an award, or reasonable estimates thereof; and (10) a description of material changes to the implementation of section 10522 of the Re- search and Development, Competition, and In- novation Act. (Pub. L. 111–358, title I, § 101, Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 3984; Pub. L. 114–329, title III, § 304, Jan. 6, 2017, 130 Stat. 3006; Pub. L. 117–167, div. B, title V, § 10522(e), Aug. 9, 2022, 136 Stat. 1621.) Page 6866 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 6622 Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 303 of the American Innovation and Competi- tiveness Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(7), is section 303 of Pub. L. 114–329, which is set out as a note under this section. Section 10522 of the Research and Development, Com- petition, and Innovation Act, referred to in subsec. (d)(10), is section 10522 of div. B of Pub. L. 117–167, which enacted section 19181 of this title and amended this sec- tion. CODIFICATION Section was enacted as part of the America COM- PETES Reauthorization Act of 2010, also known as the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Pro- mote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Reauthorization Act of 2010, and not as part of the Na- tional Science and Technology Policy, Organization, and Priorities Act of 1976 which comprises this chapter. AMENDMENTS 2022—Subsec. (d)(9), (10). Pub. L. 117–167 added pars. (9) and (10). 2017—Subsec. (b)(7) to (10). Pub. L. 114–329, § 304(a), added pars. (7) to (10). Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 114–329, § 304(b)(2), redesignated subsec. (b) relating to responsibilities of OSTP as (c). Former subsec. (c) redesignated (d). Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 114–329, § 304(b)(1), redesignated subsec. (c) as (d) and substituted ‘‘Reports’’ for ‘‘Re- port’’ in heading. Subsec. (d)(6) to (8). Pub. L. 114–329, § 304(b)(3), added pars. (6) to (8). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries STEM EDUCATION ADVISORY PANEL Pub. L. 114–329, title III, § 303, Jan. 6, 2017, 130 Stat. 3004, authorized, not later than 180 days after Jan. 6, 2017, the Director of the National Science Foundation, Secretary of Education, Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and Adminis- trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad- ministration to jointly establish the STEM Education Advisory Panel to advise the Committee on STEM Edu- cation of the National Science and Technology Council on matters relating to STEM education, and provided that the Panel would terminate on the date that was 5 years after the date that it had been established (Oct. 18, 2017). DEFINITIONS Pub. L. 114–59, § 2, Oct. 7, 2015, 129 Stat. 540, provided that: ‘‘For purposes of carrying out STEM education activities at the National Science Foundation, the De- partment of Energy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Oceanic and At- mospheric Administration, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Environmental Protection Agency, the term ‘STEM education’ means education in the subjects of science, technology, engi- neering, and mathematics, including computer science.’’ Pub. L. 111–358, § 2, Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 3984, provided that: ‘‘In this Act [see Tables for classification]: ‘‘(1) DIRECTOR.—In title I [enacting this section, sections 6622 to 6624 of this title, and section 3719 of Title 15, Commerce and Trade, and amending section 20144 of Title 51, National and Commercial Space Pro- grams], the term ‘Director’ means the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. ‘‘(2) STEM.—The term ‘STEM’ means the academic and professional disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.’’ § 6622. Coordination of advanced manufacturing research and development (a) Interagency Committee The Director shall establish or designate a Committee on Technology under the National Science and Technology Council. The Com- mittee shall be responsible for planning and co- ordinating Federal programs and activities in advanced manufacturing research and develop- ment. In furtherance of the Committee’s work, the Committee shall consult with the National Economic Council. (b) Responsibilities of Committee The Committee shall— (1) coordinate the advanced manufacturing research and development programs and ac- tivities of the Federal agencies; (2) establish goals and priorities for ad- vanced manufacturing research and develop- ment that will strengthen United States man- ufacturing; (3) work with industry organizations, Fed- eral agencies, and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers not represented on the Committee, to identify and reduce regu- latory, logistical, and fiscal barriers within the Federal government and State govern- ments that inhibit United States manufac- turing; (4) facilitate the transfer of intellectual property and technology based on federally supported university research into commer- cialization and manufacturing; (5) identify technological, market, or busi- ness challenges that may best be addressed by public-private partnerships, and are likely to attract both participation and primary fund- ing from industry; (6) encourage the formation of public-private partnerships to respond to those challenges for transition to United States manufacturing; and (7) develop and update a national strategic plan for advanced manufacturing in accord- ance with subsection (c). (c) National strategic plan for advanced manu- facturing (1) In general The President shall submit to Congress, and publish on an Internet website that is acces- sible to the public, the strategic plan devel- oped under paragraph (2). (2) Development The Committee shall develop, and update as required under paragraph (4), in coordination with the National Economic Council, a stra- tegic plan to improve Government coordina- tion and provide long-term guidance for Fed- eral programs and activities in support of United States manufacturing competitiveness, including advanced manufacturing research and development. (3) Contents The strategic plan described in paragraph (2) shall— (A) specify and prioritize near-term and long-term objectives, including research and