S. 1602 — Mathematical and Statistical Modeling Education Act

This section directs the Director of the National Science Foundation to make merit-reviewed, competitive awards to institutions of higher education and nonprofit organizations (or consortia thereof) for research and development to advance innovative approaches supporting high-quality mathematical modeling education—including statistical modeling, data science, operations research, and computational thinking—in schools operated by local educational agencies. The Director must encourage partnerships addressing critical transitions, such as middle school to high school, high school to college, and school to internships or jobs. Award applications must describe (1) the target population, including students from groups historically underrepresented in STEM (as described in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965), homeless students, and foster youth; (2) recruitment and selection processes for students, educators, or local educational agencies; (3) how the activity promotes prekindergarten through grade 12 student engagement and achievement in mathematical and statistical modeling using problem-based learning, contextualized data, and computational tools; and (4) for partnerships with local educational agencies and researchers, a plan for establishing sustainability.

This section directs the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to seek an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM)—or another appropriate entity if NASEM declines—not later than 180 days after enactment under which NASEM conducts a study on (1) factors enhancing or impeding implementation of mathematical and statistical modeling in prekindergarten through grade 12 education (including pathways from kindergarten to the workplace, community-based problems, service learning, internships, and best practices in problem-, project-, and performance-based learning); (2) characteristics of successful teacher education programs, along with gaps and capacity-building suggestions; and (3) stakeholder communication mechanisms. In conducting the study, NASEM must hold at least one public meeting and submit a report with study results and recommendations for modernizing such processes and for legislative and administrative actions to the NSF Director, Secretary of Education, and Congress not later than 24 months after the agreement's effective date. This section authorizes $1 million annually for FY2026 through FY2030 for NSF's Directorate for STEM Education to carry out this section.

This section (1) limits funding for sections 2 and 3 to amounts appropriated or otherwise made available to the Foundation and (2) sunsets authority to provide awards under this Act on September 30, 2029.