Sponsors (2)
The bill expands and professionalizes out‑of‑school STEM opportunities — particularly for underserved students and educators — by providing federal funding, standards, and infrastructure, but it increases federal spending, creates administrative requirements, and may favor better‑resourced providers while constraining local flexibility.
Students — especially girls, low‑income, rural, and underrepresented racial/ethnic groups — would gain greater access to organized after‑school, summer, and out‑of‑school STEM programs that are more engaging and skill‑building.
Teachers and out‑of‑school STEM educators would receive funded professional development, scholarships/coaching, substitute/travel support, and greater recognition — improving instruction, professional capacity, well‑being, and retention.
Students and communities in underserved, rural, and underinvested areas would be prioritized for funding, increasing equity in access to out‑of‑school STEM programming.
Taxpayers would face new federal spending and uncertainty because the bill authorizes funding without specifying total costs, creating budgetary pressure and potential needs for offsets.
Low‑resource communities and small nonprofits could be disadvantaged by the 25% non‑Federal match preference/requirement, limiting their ability to compete for funds and reducing equitable reach.
Intermediaries and program providers would face significant reporting, evaluation, and administrative burdens — and a 15% administrative cap could underfund necessary coordination, data systems, and overhead.
Based on analysis of 12 sections of legislative text.
Creates a competitive federal grant program funding intermediaries to support OST STEM educators with PD scholarships, peer networks, databases, and need‑based subgrants to providers.
Introduced March 9, 2026 by Jeanne Shaheen · Last progress March 9, 2026
Creates a federal grant program to fund intermediary organizations that support after‑school, summer, and other out‑of‑school‑time (OST) STEM educators by providing professional development scholarships, peer networks, centralized databases, and subgrants to local program providers. Grants run up to five years, prioritize need‑based subgrants (with an emphasis on smaller providers), may prefer applicants who secure non‑Federal matching funds, and authorize unspecified appropriations to carry out the program. The bill also sets findings on staffing shortages for OST STEM educators and the role of OST programs in reaching underrepresented students, defines key terms (including intermediaries, program providers, and STEM), and requires intermediary reporting and statewide peer support structures; it does not specify dollar amounts or a clear, consistent named federal administering official (the text contains an internal inconsistency about which “Secretary” administers the program).