The House, passing a Senate-approved measure, has cleared for the President’s signature a bill extending for three years the Education for Economic Security Act, which includes the main federal mathematics- and science-education initiative and the Education Department’s magnet-schools program.
The bill, HR 1210, also drops the ban on the teaching of secular humanism in programs underwritten by the $75-million magnet-school program (see related story on page XX). The measure is part of a bill reauthorizing the National Science Foundation.
Earlier this year, the House passed an nsf reauthorization--4although without the education programs’ extension added by the Senate. Last last month, though, the House passed the Senate bill, avoiding the need for a House-Senate conference.
The bill authorizes $50.5 million for mathematics and science education sponsored by the science foundation, and sets an nsf budget ceiling at $1.5 billion.
There had been some concern over the status of the math-science program. Because it had not been reauthorized, the House did not include any funding for it in its appropriations bill. The Senate, however, had funded the programs at $90 million, a level that the House is expected to adopt in conference on the fiscal 1986 appropriations bill.
The Education Department published in the Oct. 25 Federal Register final regulations for $90 million in grants to states under the mathematics- and science-education program authorized by the Congress last year in the Education for Economic Security Act.
Formula grants will be distributed based on the number of students between the ages of 5 and 17.
According to the department, 75 percent of the funds will be used by local educational agencies and institutions of higher education; state agencies will use the rest to support exemplary programs, technical assistance, and administration. lea’s will receive about $63 million from the grants, the department estimated.
The lea’s must use their money for inservice training of mathematics and science teachers and retraining of other personnel for these fields. After meeting needs in mathematics and science, districts can use funds for computer and foreign-language instruction.
For more information, call Allen Schmieder at the Education Department, (202) 755-0410.
