21st Century STEM for Girls and Underrepresented Minorities Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6375 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6375

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide
      grants to local educational agencies to encourage girls and
   underrepresented minorities to pursue studies and careers in STEM
                                fields.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 3, 2025

   Mrs. Beatty (for herself, Mrs. McIver, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Johnson of
Georgia, Ms. Norton, Mr. Bell, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Mr. Foster, Ms.
  Brown, and Mrs. Grijalva) introduced the following bill; which was
          referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide
      grants to local educational agencies to encourage girls and
   underrepresented minorities to pursue studies and careers in STEM
                                fields.

    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 ``21st Century STEM for Girls and
Underrepresented Minorities Act''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS TO PREPARE GIRLS AND UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES.

    Title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``PART G--PREPARING GIRLS AND UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES FOR THE 21ST
                                CENTURY

``SEC. 4701. PROGRAM AUTHORITY.

    ``(a) In General.--Beginning not later than 90 days after the date
of the enactment of this part, the Secretary shall carry out a program
under which the Secretary makes grants to qualified local educational
agencies, on a competitive basis, to pay the costs of carrying out STEM
education activities for girls and underrepresented minorities as
described in subsection (c).
    ``(b) Application.--
            ``(1) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
        this part, a qualified local educational agency shall submit to
        the Secretary an application at such time, in such form, and
        containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably
        require. At minimum, the application shall include a
        description of the following:
                    ``(A) The educational program that will be carried
                out by the local educational agency using the grant,
                including the content of the program and the research
                and models used to design the program.
                    ``(B) How elementary and secondary schools served
                by the agency will collaborate to fulfill goals of the
                program.
                    ``(C) How the agency will ensure that there is a
                comprehensive plan to improve STEM education for girls
                and underrepresented minorities in grades kindergarten
                through grade 12.
                    ``(D) The process that will be used for the
                recruitment and selection of students for participation
                in the program.
                    ``(E) The instructional and motivational activities
                that will be included as part of the program.
                    ``(F) Any expected collaboration among local,
                regional, or national institutions and organizations
                for the purpose of fulfilling the goals of the program.
            ``(2) Priority.--In selecting among applications, the
        Secretary shall give priority to qualified local educational
        agencies that partner or coordinate, to the extent practicable,
        with local, regional, or national institutions and
        organizations that have extensive experience and expertise in--
                    ``(A) increasing the participation of girls or
                underrepresented minorities in STEM fields; or
                    ``(B) conducting research on methods to increase
                such participation.
    ``(c) Use of Funds.--A qualified local educational agency that
receives a grant under this part shall use the grant to carry out a
STEM education program for girls and underrepresented minorities from
elementary and secondary schools served by the agency. The program may
include the following activities:
            ``(1) Preparing girls and underrepresented minorities for
        careers in STEM fields and the advantages of pursuing careers
        in such fields.
            ``(2) Educating the parents of girls and underrepresented
        minorities about the opportunities and advantages of STEM
        careers.
            ``(3) Enlisting the help of the parents of girls and
        underrepresented minorities--
                    ``(A) to overcome the obstacles faced by such
                groups; and
                    ``(B) to encourage their child's continued interest
                and involvement in STEM subjects.
            ``(4) Providing tutoring and mentoring programs in STEM
        subjects.
            ``(5) Establishing partnerships and other opportunities
        that expose girls and underrepresented minorities to role
        models in the STEM fields.
            ``(6) Enabling female and underrepresented minority
        students and their teachers to attend events and academic
        programs in STEM subjects.
            ``(7) Providing after school activities designed to
        encourage interest and develop the skills of girls and
        underrepresented minorities in STEM subjects.
            ``(8) Summer programs designed to help girls and
        underrepresented minorities--
                    ``(A) develop an interest in STEM subjects;
                    ``(B) develop skills in such subjects; and
                    ``(C) understand the relevance and significance of
                such subjects.
            ``(9) Purchasing--
                    ``(A) educational instructional materials or
                software designed to help girls and underrepresented
                minorities develop an interest in STEM subjects; or
                    ``(B) equipment, instrumentation, or hardware for
                teaching STEM subjects to girls and underrepresented
                minorities and encouraging their interest in such
                subjects.
            ``(10) Field trips to locations, including institutions of
        higher education, to expose girls and underrepresented
        minorities to STEM activities, encourage their interest in such
        activities, and acquaint them with careers in STEM fields.
            ``(11) Providing academic advice and assistance in high
        school course selection to encourage girls and underrepresented
        minorities to take advanced courses in STEM subjects.
            ``(12) Paying up to 50 percent of the cost of an internship
        in a STEM discipline for female and underrepresented minority
        students.
            ``(13) Providing professional development for teachers and
        other school personnel, including with respect to--
                    ``(A) eliminating gender and racial bias in the
                classroom;
                    ``(B) sensitivity to gender and racial differences;
                    ``(C) engaging students in the face of gender-based
                and racial peer pressure and parental expectations;
                    ``(D) creating and maintaining a positive
                environment; and
                    ``(E) encouraging girls and underrepresented
                minorities through academic advice and assistance to
                pursue advanced classes and careers in STEM fields.
            ``(14) Such other STEM-related activities as the local
        educational agency determines to be appropriate.
    ``(d) Grant Duration and Amount.--
            ``(1) Duration.--Each grant under this section shall be
        made for a period of 4 years.
            ``(2) Amount.--The amount of each grant under this section
        shall be $250,000 for each year of the grant period.
    ``(e) Supplement, Not Supplant.--A qualified local educational
agency that receives a grant under this section shall use the grant
only to supplement, and not to supplant, other assistance and funds
made available from non-Federal sources for the activities supported by
the grant.
    ``(f) Annual Evaluations.--
            ``(1) Evaluation required.--Not later than 30 days after
        last day of each school year for which a qualified local
        educational agency receives a grant under this section, the
        agency shall submit to the Secretary a written evaluation of
        the program carried out using the grant.
            ``(2) Elements.--The evaluation required under subsection
        (a) shall include--
                    ``(A) a description of the program and activities
                carried out using the grant;
                    ``(B) a description of the curriculum and any
                partnerships developed using the grant;
                    ``(C) the percentage of time that students who
                participated in the program spent directly engaged in
                STEM activities;
                    ``(D) an assessment of the academic progress made
                by such students during the program, which shall be
                based on an evaluation of each student at the beginning
                of the program and after the student completes the
                program; and
                    ``(E) such other information as the Secretary may
                require.
    ``(g) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) The term `STEM' means science, technology,
        engineering, and mathematics.
            ``(2) The term `qualified local educational agency' means a
        local agency that--
                    ``(A) receives funds under part A of title I; and
                    ``(B) serves a total student population of which
                not less than 40 percent are children 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.).

``SEC. 4702. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part
$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2029.''.
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