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Washington, D.C. -- Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) today introduced two bills designed to increase the number of college graduates with both degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and the pool of teachers certified to teach those subjects.
“Today, China and Japan graduate twice as many college students with science and engineering degrees than we do,” said Holt. “We’re losing the competition for tomorrow’s intellectual capital, which means we’re losing control of our national destiny. If we want to recapture our leadership in these fields and the economic productivity they generate, we must invest in our people today.”
The first component of the Accelerating the Creation of Teachers of Influence for Our Nation (ACTION) Act creates a merit-based national scholarship program for up to 10,000 students per year to obtain a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics degree with teacher certification (elementary or secondary) in order to meet the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act. This grant program would provide up to $20,000 per year for five years to pay for tuition, room and board, and associated fees. In return for the scholarship, each recipient would commit to being a teacher in her or his field, with the service requirement varying from three to five years, depending on the number of years the recipient received the scholarship.
The second component of the ACTION Act creates a university grant program designed to create degree programs which produce certified elementary and secondary teachers with degrees in math, engineering, or science with mentoring and professional development. Eligible universities can receive up to $1,000,000 for three consecutive years.
Holt’s second and related bill, the National Science Foundation Scholars Program Act, creates a merit-based undergraduate scholarship program for up to 10,000 students per year to obtain a bachelor of science in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics. Like the ACTION Act, this grant program would provide up to $20,000 per year for five years to pay for tuition, room and board, and associated fees. To the extent possible, the scholarships must be distributed among the states in proportion to their population.
The National Science Teacher Association has endorsed both bills.
“The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) is pleased to support the Accelerating the Creation of Teachers of Influence for Our Nation Act,” wrote Dr. Gerald Wheeler, executive director of the NSTA, in the group’s endorsement letter. “If enacted, we believe this legislation will create a new generation of highly qualified science and mathematics teachers.”
Wheeler also praised the National Science Foundation Scholars Program Act, writing in the endorsement letter “We salute your efforts to directly address the challenges we face and the leadership you have shown with this legislation, and in the past several years, in championing K-12 science and math education.”
Holt called for a renewed national commitment to math and science education.
“America has long been the world’s most inventive nation,” said Holt. “For more than a century, our people have given birth to technological innovations that have literally changed the world. After the launch of Sputnik, a national commitment to create a generation of scientists and engineers led to dividends that we are still reaping today. If we’re to continue our quest to improve the human condition, we need the same kind of commitment for the 21st century.”
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