Congress finds that as the lead Federal agency for building the research knowledge base for computer science education, the Foundation is well positioned to make investments that will accelerate ongoing efforts to enable rigorous and engaging computer science throughout the Nation as an integral part of STEM education.

The research described in paragraph (1) may include the development or adaptation, piloting or full implementation, and testing of—

(1) In general The Director of the Foundation shall award grants to eligible entities to research computer science education and computational thinking.

The research described in paragraph (1) may include the development or adaptation, piloting or full implementation, and testing of—

(A) models of preservice preparation for teachers who will teach computer science and computational thinking;

(B) scalable and sustainable models of professional development and ongoing support for the teachers described in subparagraph (A);

(C) tools and models for teaching and learning aimed at supporting student success and inclusion in computing within and across diverse populations, particularly poor, rural, and tribal populations and other populations that have been historically underrepresented in computer science and STEM fields; and

(D) high-quality learning opportunities for teaching computer science and, especially in poor, rural, or tribal schools at the elementary school and middle school levels, for integrating computational thinking into STEM teaching and learning.

In carrying out the grants established in subsection (b), eligible entities may collaborate and partner with local or remote schools to support the integration of computing and computational thinking within pre-kindergarten through grade 12 STEM curricula and instruction.

The Director of the Foundation shall develop metrics to measure the success of the grant program funded under this section in achieving program goals.

The Director of the Foundation shall report, in the annual budget submission to Congress, on the success of the program as measured by the metrics in subsection (d).

In this section, the term “eligible entity” means an institution of higher education or a nonprofit research organization.

(Pub. L. 114–329, title III, § 310, Jan. 6, 2017, 130 Stat. 3012.)