Sponsors (2)
Introduced May 5, 2025 by Margaret Wood Hassan · Last progress May 5, 2025
The bill invests modest federal resources to expand K–12 mathematical and statistical modeling education and teacher training—improving student skills and workforce pathways—while imposing modest taxpayer costs, administrative burdens, and risks of uneven access and short-term funding uncertainty.
K–12 students nationwide would gain greater access to mathematical and statistical modeling, data science, and computational thinking through funded R&D and curriculum integration.
The bill provides dedicated federal support (approximately $10M/year for competitive grants plus up to $1M/year to the Directorate for STEM Education for study/activities, FY2026–2030) to sustain national efforts in modeling education and related research.
Teachers and teacher-preparation programs would receive professional development, targeted recommendations, and stronger pre-service/in-service training to teach modeling and data-driven instruction effectively.
Taxpayers would fund the effort (about $10M/year for grants plus up to $1M/year for the Directorate study, FY2026–2030), representing recurring federal costs that some may view as low-priority spending.
Smaller and rural school districts and districts lacking grant-writing capacity risk being left behind, while institutions with more capacity (IHEs/nonprofits) are more likely to win grants, creating uneven access and slower uptake in classrooms.
Detailed application, evaluation, and annual/final reporting requirements impose administrative burdens on applicants and recipients that could divert time and resources away from instruction and implementation.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes NSF grants and a NASEM-led study to expand K–12 mathematical and statistical modeling education, with award authority through Sept 30, 2029.
Creates a competitive NSF grant program to support research, development, and scaling of mathematical and statistical modeling education (including data science, operations research, and computational thinking) for K–12 students, and requires an independent study on how to implement such education nationwide. Grants are open to colleges, nonprofits, and consortia; applications must describe target student populations and transition-point strategies. The bill directs the NSF to arrange a study (via NASEM or similar) with public input and a report due within 24 months, authorizes $1 million per year for that study directorate from FY2026–FY2030, and requires that all funding come from existing Foundation funds; authority to make awards expires September 30, 2029.