STEM Education in the CHIPS+ Science and Competitiveness Bill
On On July 28, 2022, Congress passed the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (“CHIPS bill”), which President Joe Biden signed into law on August 9, 2022. The bill includes many STEM education provisions and authorized investments that the Coalition and its members advocated for over the last 15 months since official consideration of the bill began in Congress. Below is a summary of the STEM education-related provisions in the bill.
K-12 Education:
Sec. 10111. Increased Collaboration with Teachers and Scientists.
Authorizes the Director of the Office of Science to support the development of a scientific workforce. Authorizes programs that foster collaboration between teachers at elementary schools and secondary schools, students and faculty at institutions of higher education, early-career researchers, and the National Laboratories. Authorizes the use of proven techniques to expand the number of individuals from underrepresented groups pursuing and attaining skills or undergraduate and graduate degrees relevant to the mission of the Office of Science.
Sec. 10233. Sustainable Chemistry Research and Education.
Requires NIST to conduct activities in support of sustainable chemistry.
Sec. 10311. PreK-12 STEM Education
Supports National Academies study on barriers to the widespread implementation of STEM education innovations. Supports research and development to improve informal STEM education. Establishes a 10 year National STEM Teacher Corps program to recruit and retain high-quality STEM teachers to increase STEM student achievement and participation rates.
Sec. 10319. Incorporation of art and design into certain STEM education.
Supports research to develop STEM educational curriculums that incorporate art and design to promote creativity and innovation.
Sec. 10395. Scaling Innovations in PreK-12 STEM education.
Supports multidisciplinary research and translation centers to scale effective innovations in STEM education. Included “STEM ecosystems” as a potential eligible partner in such grants.
Higher Education
Sec. 10235. Dr. David Satcher Cybersecurity Education Grant Program.
Authorizes a grant program to establish or expand cybersecurity programs for institutions of higher education that have a high enrollment of needy students, historically Black colleges and universities, Tribal colleges and universities, and minority serving institutions
Sec. 10312. Undergraduate STEM education
Supports research and development to improve the alignment of undergraduate STEM education and training with workforce needs, and awards to advance research on effective STEM education practices at community colleges, provide students with hands-on training and research experiences, and support career and technical education. Updates the Advanced Technological Education program to establish a network of centers for science and technical education and supports research and development to improve STEM education at community colleges. Supports in STEM fields. Establishes a pilot program to develop and scale up successful models for providing students with hands-on course-based research experiences.
Sec. 10313. Graduate STEM education.
Expands requirement for funding proposals to include a mentoring plan for graduate students. Supports activities to facilitate career exploration for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. Creates a requirement for funding proposals to include individual development plans for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers and provides supplemental funding to facilitate professional development activities. Supports research on the graduate education system. Updates the Graduate Research Fellowship Program to increase the number of new graduate fellows supported annually, address workforce demand, increase the cost of education allowance, and recruit a more diverse pool of applicants.
Sec. 10504. Collection of data on demographics of faculty.
Requires NSF to carry out a survey of STEM faculty demographics at institutions of higher education and to summarize and publish data collected under this section
Sec. 10525. Tribal Colleges and Universities Program.
Requires NSF to award grants through the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program to increase participation in computer science and computational thinking education programs.
Sec. 10725. Cost-share waiver extension.
Extends the cost-share waiver pilot program for non-profit institutions and institutions of higher education granted in Section 108 of the Department of Energy Research and Innovation Act by 2 years.
Workforce Development:
Sec. 10318. Microelectronics workforce development activities.
Directs the National Science Foundation to make awards, including through existing programs, supporting the development and expansion of microelectronics education and workforce development activities at all levels of education, including traineeships.
Sec. 10313. Graduate STEM education.
(See Higher Education for summary)
Sec. 10537. National academies assessment.
Requires NSF to enter into agreement with the National Academies to undertake a follow-on study to examine the influence of sexual harassment in institutions of higher education on the career advancement of individuals in the STEM workforce and assess programs
Sec. 10661. Quantum Networking and Communications.
Requires the Subcommittee to create a report and Federal strategy for quantum networking and communications research. Directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology to conduct research and standardization activities to support quantum networking and communications technologies. Directs the National Science Foundation (“NSF”) to conduct quantum information science education and workforce development activities
Sec. 102. $50 billion allocated over 5 years for a CHIPS for America Fund.
Funding must be used to implement the Commerce Department semiconductor incentive and research and development and workforce development programs authorized by the FY21 NDAA.
Sec. 10109. Accelerator Research and Development.
Amends the Department of Energy Research and Innovation Act by authorizing a program to advance particle accelerator science and technology of relevance to the mission of the Department; foster partnerships to develop, demonstrate, and enable the commercial application of such technologies; support associated workforce development activities; and provide access to accelerator design and engineering resources.
Sec. 10251. Establishment of expansion awards pilot program as a part of the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
Establishes a pilot program of expansion awards for Hollings Manufacturing Extension centers to provide services for workforce development, resiliency of domestic supply chains, and expanded support for adopting advanced technology upgrades at small and medium manufacturers. Awards can be used to connect manufacturers with services provided in their community, as is currently done by groups such as institutions of higher education, public private partnerships, State governments, and collections of entities and individuals.
Sec. 10315. Cyber workforce development research and development.
Supports research on the cyber workforce, including paths to entry and re-entry into the cyber workforce.
Sec. 10325. Expanding geographic and institutional diversity in research.
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Foundation should continue to support research and education capacity building through the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) program. Amends the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 to direct Federal agencies administering an EPSCoR program to consider modifications to EPSCoR award structures to build the STEM education and workforce development capacity of rural communities.
Sec. 10356. Clean water research and technology acceleration.
Supports clean water system research, and related technology and workforce development.
Sec. 10691. Foundation for Energy Security and Innovation.
Establishes a Foundation affiliated with the Department of Energy to engage with the private sector to raise funds that support the creation, development, and commercialization of innovative technologies that address tomorrow’s energy challenges.
Sec. 10718. Small business voucher program.
Revises section 1003 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16393), which authorizes a program for the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Directors of the National Laboratories, to provide small businesses with vouchers to perform research, development, demonstration, technology transfer, skills training and workforce development, or commercial application activities at the national laboratories.
Sec. 10731. Microelectronics research for energy innovation.
Requires the Department of Energy to establish a program on the research, development, demonstration, and commercial application of microelectronics to meet the mission needs of the Department and to drive the nation’s global competitiveness in the field of microelectronics. This provision also establishes up to four Microelectronics Science Research Centers to conduct mission driven research to address foundational challenges in the design, development, and fabrication of microelectronics and to facilitate the translation of research results to industry. Authorizes workforce development and educational outreach efforts to accompany research activities.
Sec. 10742. Purposes.
Upgrades nuclear research capabilities of U.S. universities; ensures the continued operation of university research reactors; coordinates available resources to enable the establishment of new nuclear science and engineering facilities; and supports nuclear energy workforce development and the establishment or enhancement of nuclear science and engineering capabilities at historically Black colleges and universities, Tribal colleges or universities, minority-serving institutions, Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research universities, and junior or community colleges.
Diversity in STEM:
Sec. 10235. Dr. David Satcher Cybersecurity Education Grant Program
(See Higher Education for summary)
Sec. 10241. Educational outreach and support for underrepresented communities.
Expands NISTS’s educational activities and outreach focused on underrepresented communities.
Sec. 10322. Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program update.
Requires outreach to Black colleges and universities, minority institutions, higher education programs that serve veterans and rural communities, labor organizations, and emerging research institutions
Sec. 10325. Expanding geographic and institutional diversity in research.
(See Workforce Development for Summary)
Sec. 10525. Tribal Colleges and Universities Program.
(See Higher Education for Summary)
Sec. 10661. Quantum Networking and Communications.
(See Workforce Development for Summary)
Industry / Agency Specific
Sec. 10303: Authorization of appropriations
Authorizes $81 billion for the National Science Foundation over five years, including for key activities such as research and related activities, STEM education, and major research equipment
Sec. 10350. Sustainable chemistry research and education.
Establishes a program to support research related to sustainable chemistry practices.
Sec. 10361. Advancing IoT for Precision Agriculture Capabilities Act.
Supports research to improve the use of advanced sensing systems in rural and agricultural areas, highlights improving productivity in agriculture as a goal for activities funded under the Advanced Technological Education program and supports a Government Accountability Office technology assessment of precision agriculture technologies.
Sec. 10383. Activities.
Describes activities to be supported by the directorate, including support for use-inspired research and translation, the translation of research into innovations and products, the development of partnerships and collaborations that include traditional and nontraditional players, use-inspired and translational research infrastructure and capacity building, education and training of students, and identifying social, behavioral, and economic drivers and consequences of technological innovations that could enable advances in the challenges and key technology focus areas.
Sec. 10513. Opportunity for online education.
Authorizes NSF to support research on online education and mentoring in rural communities
Sec. 10514. National Academies evaluation.
Directs NSF to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine for an evaluation of Federal investments in rural STEM education, an assessment of research and data needs, and recommendations for improving STEM education in rural communities.
Sec. 10522. Agency responsibilities.
Directs OSTP to issue uniform policy guidance for Federal research agencies to improve outreach to MSIs with the goal of increasing awareness among MSIs of funding opportunities and building MSI capacity to submit competitive proposals and successfully manage awards.
Sec. 10661. Quantum Networking and Communications.
(See Workforce Development for Summary)
Sec. 10851. Office of STEM Engagement.
Authorizes NASA’s Office of STEM engagement and require that it continue to coordinate NASA STEM educational activities
Grants/Scholarships:
Sec. 10248. Standards Development Organization Grants
Directs NIST to establish a grants program for nongovernmental standards organizations
Sec. 10251. Establishment of expansion awards pilot program as a part of the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
(See Workforce Development for Summary)
Sec. 10235. Dr. David Satcher Cybersecurity Education Grant Program.
(See Higher Education for summary)
Sec. 10322. Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program update.
(See Diversity in STEM for Summary)
Sec. 10391. Planning and capacity building awards.
Supports technology transfer capacity building for research institutions, including support for identifying academic research with potential for technology transfer and commercialization, ensuring availability of technology transfer expert staff, helping to offset cost of patenting and licensing, developing private sector partnerships, and supporting education and training of entrepreneurial students and faculty.
10402. National Engineering Biology Research and Development Initiative.
Establishes a National Engineering Biology Research and Development Initiative to advance engineering biology research; support risk research to address ethical, safety, security and other societal implications of engineering biology; support the development of tools to accelerate engineering biology research; expand the number of engineering biology researchers; accelerate the translation and commercialization of engineering biology research; and improve interagency planning and coordination of federal engineering biology research initiatives.
Sec. 10745. Science education and human resources scholarships, fellowships, and research and development projects. Adds nontechnical nuclear research to the scope for the University Nuclear Leadership Program; increases authorization of appropriations for this program by $15M for fiscal years 2023 through 2025
