Codification
Section was enacted as part of the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act, and not as part of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 which comprises this chapter.
Amendments
2022—Subsecs. (e) to (h). [Pub. L. 117–167] added subsecs. (e) and (f) and redesignated former subsecs. (e) and (f) as (g) and (h), respectively.
2019—Subsec. (d)(3). [Pub. L. 116–102] added par. (3).
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Findings
[Pub. L. 116–102, § 2], Dec. 24, 2019, [133 Stat. 3263], provided that: “Congress finds the following:“(1)
The National Science Foundation is a large investor in STEM education and plays a key role in setting research and policy agendas.
“(2)
While studies have found that children who engage in scientific activities from an early age develop positive attitudes toward science and are more likely to pursue STEM expertise and careers later on, the majority of current research focuses on increasing STEM opportunities for middle school-aged children and older.
“(3)
Women remain widely underrepresented in the STEM workforce, and this disparity extends down through all levels of education.”
Supporting Early Childhood and Elementary STEM Education Research
[Pub. L. 116–102, § 3], Dec. 24, 2019, [133 Stat. 3263], provided that: “In awarding grants under the Discovery Research PreK–12 program, the Director of the National Science Foundation shall consider the age distribution of a STEM education research and development project to improve the focus of research and development on elementary and prekindergarten education.”
Definitions
For definitions of terms used in this section, see [section 2 of Pub. L. 114–329], set out as a note under section 1862s of this title.