NATIONAL DEFENSE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING EDUCATION

SEC. 247. NATIONAL DEFENSE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING EDUCATION (a) In General.— (1) Chapter 111 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: “§ 2192. Science, mathematics, and engineering education “(a) The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, shall, on a continuing basis— “(1) identify actions which the Department of Defense may take to improve education in the scientific, mathematics, and engineering skills necessary to meet the long-term national defense needs of the United States for personnel proficient in such skills; and “(2) establish and conduct programs to carry out such actions. “(b) The Secretary shall designate an individual within the Office of the Secretary of Defense to advise and assist the Secretary regarding matters relating to science, mathematics, and engineering education and training. “§ 2193. Science and mathematics education improvement program “(a) (1) The Secretary of Defense may, in accordance with the provisions of this subsection, carry out a program for awarding grants to students who have been accepted for enrollment in, or who are enrolled in, an institution of higher education as undergraduate or graduate students in scientific and engineering disciplines critical to the national security functions of the Department of Defense. “(2) Grant proceeds shall be disbursed on behalf of students awarded grants under this subsection to the institutions of higher education at which the students are enrolled. No grant proceeds shall be disbursed on behalf of a student until the student is enrolled at an institution of higher education. “(3) The amount of a grant awarded a student under this subsection may not exceed the student’s cost of attendance. “(4) The amount of a grant awarded a student under this subsection shall not be reduced on the basis of the student’s receipt of other forms of Federal student financial assistance, but shall be taken into account in determining the eligibility of the student for those other forms of Federal student financial assistance. “(5) The Secretary shall give priority to awarding grants under this subsection in a manner likely to stimulate the interest of women and members of minority groups in pursuing scientific and engineering careers. The Secretary may consider the financial need of applicants in making awards in accordance with such priority. “(b) The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of Education, may establish programs for the purpose of improving the mathematics and scientific knowledge and skills of elementary and secondary school students and faculty members. “(c) In this section: 104 STAT. 1522 “(1) The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the meaning given such term in section 1201(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1141(a)). “(2) The term ‘cost of attendance’ has the meaning given such term in section 472 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 108711). “§ 2194. Education partnerships “(a) The Secretary of Defense shall authorize the director of each defense laboratory to enter into one or more education partnership agreements with educational institutions in the United States for the purpose of encouraging and enhancing study in scientific disciplines at all levels of education. The educational institutions referred to in the preceding sentence are local education agencies, colleges, universities, and any other nonprofit institutions that are dedicated to improving science, mathematics, and engineering education. “(b) Under a partnership agreement entered into with an educational institution under this section, the director of a defense laboratory may provide assistance to the educational institution by— “(1) loaning defense laboratory equipment to the institution; “(2) transferring to the institution defense laboratory equipment determined by the director to be surplus; “(3) making laboratory personnel available to teach science courses or to assist in the development of science courses and materials for the institution; “(4) involving faculty and students of the institution in defense laboratory research projects; “(5) cooperating with the institution in developing a program under which students may be given academic credit for work on defense laboratory research projects; and “(6) providing academic and career advice and assistance to students of the institution. “(c) The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that the director of each defense laboratory shall give a priority under this section to entering into an education partnership agreement with one or more historically Black colleges and universities and other minority institutions referred to in paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) of section 312(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058(b)). “(d) The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that, in entering into education partnership agreements under this section, the director of a defense laboratory gives a priority to providing assistance to educational institutions serving women, members of minority groups, and other groups of individuals who traditionally are involved in the engineering and science professions in disproportionately low numbers. “(e) In this section, the term ‘local education agency’ has the meaning given such term in section 1471(12) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 2891(12)). “§ 2195. Department of Defense cooperative education programs “(a) The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that the director of each defense laboratory establishes, in association with one or more public or private colleges or universities in the United States or one or more consortia of colleges or universities in the United States,104 STAT. 1523 cooperative work-education programs for undergraduate and graduate students. “(b) Under a cooperative work-education program established under subsection (a), a director referred to in that subsection may, without regard to any applicable non-statutory limitation on the number of authorized personnel or on the aggregate amount of any personnel cost— “(1) make an offer for participation in the cooperative work-education program directly to a student and appoint such student to an entry-level position of employment in the laboratory of such director; “(2) pay such person a rate of basic pay, not to exceed the maximum rate of pay provided for grade GS-9 under the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5, that is competitive with compensation levels provided for entry-level positions in similar industry-sponsored cooperative work-education programs; “(3) pay all travel expenses between the college or university in which the student is enrolled and the laboratory concerned for not more than six round trips per year; and “(4) pay all or part of such fees, charges, and costs related to the participation of such student in the cooperative work-education program as tuition, matriculation fees, charges for library and laboratory services, materials, and supplies, and the purchase or rental price of books. “(c) A director of a defense laboratory may— “(1) require a student, as a condition for receiving payments referred to in subsection (b)(4), to enter into a written agreement to continue employment in such defense laboratory for a period of service specified in the agreement; or “(2) make such payments without requiring such an agreement. “§2196. Definition “In this chapter, ‘defense laboratory’ means a laboratory operated by the Department of Defense or owned by the Department of Defense and operated by a contractor or a facility of a Defense Agency at which research and development activities are conducted.”. (2) (A) The heading of chapter 111 of such title is amended to read as follows: “CHAPTER 111— SUPPORT OF SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, AND ENGINEERING EDUCATION”. (B) The tables of chapters at the beginning of subtitle A of such title and at the beginning of part III of such subtitle are each amended by striking out the item relating to chapter 111 and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “111. Support of Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education 2191”. (C) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following: “2192. Science, mathematics, and engineering education. “2193. Science and mathematics education improvement program. “2194. Education partnerships. 104 STAT. 1524 “2195. Department of Defense cooperative education programs. “2196. Definition.”. (b) Recommendations of the Secretary of Defense to the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy.— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall transmit to the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy the Secretary’s determinations regarding measures initially identified pursuant to section 2192(a)(1) of title 10, United States Code (as added by subsection (a)), as actions which the Department of Defense may take to improve education in the scientific, mathematics, and engineering skills necessary to meet the long-term national defense needs of the United States for personnel proficient in those skills.