S. 4133 — 21st Century Entrepreneurship Act

This section states congressional findings that (1) entrepreneurship creates jobs, grows the economy, increases productivity, and improves quality of life; (2) U.S. entrepreneurship rates have declined over recent decades; (3) children from disadvantaged communities are less likely to become entrepreneurs or inventors; (4) children with entrepreneurship and inventorship mentors are more likely to pursue those fields; and (5) SCORE program volunteers should engage children in community learning centers to promote growth in disadvantaged communities.

This section defines the following terms for purposes of the Act: (1) Administration and Administrator, meaning the Small Business Administration and its Administrator, respectively; (2) community learning center, as defined in section 4201(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7171(b)); (3) inventorship, meaning the activity of creating, designing, or otherwise originating a new product or service; (4) SCORE program, meaning the Service Corps of Retired Executives described in section 8(b)(1)(B) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(b)(1)(B)); and (5) small business development center, as defined in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632).

This section directs the Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator to (1) develop a curriculum for SCORE program volunteers (i.e., SBA-sponsored volunteer business mentors) to teach entrepreneurship and inventorship to female students, minority students, English learners, children with disabilities, students from rural areas, and low-income students through 21st Century Community Learning Centers (i.e., after-school programs under part B of title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965); (2) develop and implement a strategy to encourage SCORE partnerships with such centers; and (3) collaborate with education specialists, entrepreneurship groups, business groups, and groups serving underrepresented children in curriculum development. The section encourages SCORE volunteers to collaborate with other entrepreneurial programs, including small business development centers, women's business centers, Minority Business Development Agency centers, and the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (15 U.S.C. 3719). This section amends section 8(b)(1)(B) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(b)(1)(B)) to authorize SCORE to carry out these programs; amends sections 4201(a)(2) and 4205(a) of the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 7171(a)(2), 7175(a)) to include such entrepreneurship and inventorship programs as allowable activities; requires biennial reports to the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and House Committee on Small Business on implementation, partnerships, student reach, barriers, and improvements; and authorizes $2.5 million for each of FY2026 through FY2030, with authority to transfer funds to SCORE.