42 U.S.C. § 19115 — Scaling innovations in PreK–12 STEM education

(a) In general: Taking into account recommendations from a related study, the Director must make competitive, merit-reviewed awards to establish multidisciplinary Centers for Transformative Education Research and Translation ("Centers") that research the widespread and sustained implementation of STEM education innovations. (b) Eligibility: An applicant for a Center award must be a college, a nonprofit, or a consortium of them, which may include a STEM ecosystem. (c) Application: An eligible applicant must submit an application, at the time and in the manner the Director requires, describing at minimum how the Center will: (1) build partnerships among colleges, local or state education agencies, and other stakeholders to spread proven, evidence-based STEM education practices, models, programs, curricula, and technologies; (2) support enhanced STEM education infrastructure, including cyberlearning technologies, to spread proven practices; (3) research scaling practices, partnerships, and alternative models — including approaches sensitive to different localities', educators', and learners' capabilities, resources, and needs; (4) focus on under-resourced schools and learners in low-resource or underachieving districts, in urban and rural communities, and on developing high-quality curriculum for them; (5) focus on the learning needs and unique challenges of students with disabilities; (6) support research, development, or education on one or more key technology focus areas; (7) research scaling practices and models to support and keep highly qualified STEM educators in urban and rural communities; and (8) meet any other requirement the Director adds, at the Director's discretion, based on the related study. (d) Additional considerations: The Director may also weigh whether a proposed Center will: (1) build on existing Foundation collaborations, tools, and strategies, such as NSF INCLUDES and the Convergence Accelerators; (2) research and scale innovative approaches to distance learning for various student populations; (3) support education innovations using new technologies or that deepen understanding of technology's impact on education systems; and (4) show a commitment from local or state education administrators to prioritize the proposed reforms. (e) Partnership: The Director must explore opportunities to partner with the Department of Education, including jointly funding activities under this section. (f) Duration: Each award lasts no more than 5 years. (g) Annual meeting: The Director must encourage and facilitate an annual meeting of the Centers, as appropriate, to foster collaboration and share results. (h) Existing programs: The Director may use existing NSF programs to establish and run this section. (i) Report: Not later than 5 years after August 9, 2022, the Director must submit to Congress, and make widely available to the public, a report that includes: (1) a description of each Center's focus and proposed goals; (2) an assessment, using a common set of benchmarks and tools, of the Centers' success in promoting scalable solutions in PreK–12 STEM education; and (3) recommendations for administrative and legislative action to improve the Centers' effectiveness.