,,ii #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #cgj ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,february #ad1 #bjac ,mr4 ,cochran 7for himself and ,ms4 ,mikulski7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to improve and expand geographic literacy among kindergarten through grade #ab students in the ,united ,states by improving professional development programs for kindergarten through grade #ab teachers offered through institutions of higher education4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,teaching ,geography ,is ,fundamental ,act4 #b4 ,geography education ,title ,,ii of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajba et seq47 is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating part ,c 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajda7 as part ,d2 7#b7 by redesignating section #bfa 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajda7 as section #bia2 and 7#c7 by inserting after part ,b 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajca et seq47 the following3 ,c ,geography education #bfa4 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,the economic stature and competitiveness of the ,united ,states requires increasingly sophisticated levels of geographic knowledge and mastery of geographic tools4 7#b7 ,it is estimated that the ,united ,states geospatial industry generated #gc1jjj1jjj1jjj in revenue last year1 with #ejj1jjj high-wage jobs and that the industry is growing at between #be-cj percent per year4 ,this burgeoning industry will not be able to maximize its growth potential without a sustained ,federal investment in geography education4 7#c7 ,a #bjab report by a ,council on ,foreign ,relations task force1 ,u4,s4 ,education ,reform and ,national ,security1 states that the lack of global awareness among ,united ,states citizens increasingly jeopardizes their ability to interact with local and global peers1 or participate meaningfully in business1 diplomatic1 and military situations4 7#d7 ,geographic literacy is essential to a well prepared citizenry in the #bast century because geographic factors assume greater importance as the world's economies1 societies1 and political structures grow more global in scale4 7#e7 ,the #bjaj ,national ,assessment of ,educational ,progress in geography shows that fewer than #cj percent of students tested in grades #d1 #h1 and #ab scored at grade-level or above4 ,these scores have stayed the same or gotten worse1 since the last time the test was administered in #bjja4 7#f7 ,the ,national ,academy of ,sciences urged creation of a national program to improve the geographic competence of the ,united ,states general population and the school age population4 7#g7 ,geography is one of the core academic subjects defined under the ,elementary and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife4 7#h7 ,a recent ,national ,geographic ,society survey found that all #ej ,states and the ,district of ,columbia recognize geography in their curricula or content standards1 and an increasing number require geography for graduation and include geography in mandated statewide assessments4 7#i7 ,seven of #aj educators responding to a ,national ,geographic survey felt their professional development opportunities in geography were inadequate and half believed their schools had inadequate basic materials for teaching geography4 7#aj7 ,the ,national ,geographic ,society has spent more than #be years pioneering an extraordinarily effective national program for improving the teaching of geography by engaging university faculty geographers and highly trained teachers in ,state ,geographic ,alliances dedicated to providing high-quality professional development opportunities for kindergarten through grade #ab teachers4 7#aa7 ,more than #hj colleges and universities in all #ej ,states have received grants from the ,national ,geographic ,society to support ,state ,geographic ,alliances and their professional development programs4 ,alliance-trained kindergarten through grade #ab teachers and their higher education partners conduct workshops1 develop localized teaching materials1 and facilitate communication among thousands of teachers whose responsibilities include teaching of geography in various formats and grade levels4 7#ab7 ,a study by ,mid-continent ,research for ,education and ,learning that assessed student academic achievement in geography on the ,national ,assessment of ,educational ,progress showed that students taught by ,alliance-trained teachers outperformed other students by almost #aj percent4 7#ac7 ,we live in a changing world with multiple and evolving threats to national security1 including terrorism1 asymmetrical warfare1 and social unrest4 ,as the nature of the threat evolves1 so do the tools1 knowledge1 and skills needed to respond4 ,a #bjac ,national ,academies report states that it is likely that qualified ,,gis 7,geography ,information ,systems7 and remote sensing experts are already hard to find4 ,long before #bjcj1 competition and a small number of graduates will likely result in shortages in all emerging areas and in the core areas of cartography1 photogrammetry1 and geodesy4 #bfb4 ,purpose and objectives 7a7 ,purpose ,the purpose of this part is to-- 7#a7 promote geographic literacy and improved understanding of global cultures among kindergarten through grade #ab students by expanding programs that employ the geographic knowledge and expertise of faculty members in institutions of higher education for the benefit of kindergarten through grade #ab teachers2 and 7#b7 otherwise advance geographic literacy4 7b7 ,objectives ,the objectives of this part are the following3 7#a7 ,to increase students' knowledge of1 and achievement in1 standards-based geography to enable the students to become better informed and more productive citizens4 7#b7 ,to increase the number of highly qualified teachers of ,united ,states and world geography and to enable the teachers-- 7,a7 to improve student mastery of geographic principles2 and 7,b7 to increase practical applications of those principles4 7#c7 ,to encourage geographic education research1 to develop and disseminate effective instructional materials1 and to promote replication of best practices and exemplary programs that foster geographic literacy4 7#d7 ,to assist ,states in measuring the impact of education in geography4 7#e7 ,to leverage and expand private and public support for geography education partnerships at national1 ,state1 and local levels4 #bfc4 ,grant program authorized 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary is authorized to award a grant to a national nonprofit education organization or a consortium of national nonprofit education organizations 7referred to in this part as an eligible entity7 that has as its primary purpose the improvement of the quality of student understanding of geography through effective teaching of geography in the ,nation's classrooms4 7b7 ,application ,an eligible entity that desires a grant under this part shall submit an application to the ,secretary at such time1 in such manner1 and accompanied by such information as the ,secretary may require4 #bfd4 ,use of funds 7a7 ,direct activities ,an eligible entity that receives a grant under this part shall use not more than #be percent of the funds made available through the grant for a fiscal year to-- 7#a7 strengthen and expand the eligible entity's relationships with institutions of higher education and with ,state and local agencies and other public and private organizations with a commitment to geography education and the benefits of geography education2 7#b7 support and promote research-based training of teachers of geography and related disciplines in kindergarten through grade #ab as a means of broadening student knowledge of the world1 including the dissemination of information on effective practices and research findings concerning the teaching of geography2 7#c7 support research on effective geography teaching practices and the development of assessment instruments and strategies to document student understanding of geography2 7#d7 convene national conferences on geography education to assess the current ,state of geographic literacy and to identify strategies for improvement2 and 7#e7 develop and disseminate appropriate research-based materials to foster geographic literacy4 7b7 ,subgrants 7#a7 ,in general ,an eligible entity that receives a grant under this part shall use not more than #ge percent of the funds made available through the grant for a fiscal year to award subgrants to eligible recipients4 7#b7 ,eligible recipient defined ,in this part1 the term eligible recipient means an institution of higher education associated with-- 7,a7 a ,state geographic alliance2 7,b7 a nonprofit educational organization2 7,c7 a ,state educational agency or local educational agency2 or 7,d7 a partnership between or among an alliance1 organization1 or agency described in subparagraph 7,a71 7,b7 or 7,c74 7#c7 ,eligible recipient applications 7,a7 ,submission ,an eligible recipient that desires to receive a subgrant under this part shall submit an application to the eligible entity at such time1 in such manner1 and accompanied by such information as the eligible entity may require4 7,b7 ,review 7i7 ,in general ,the eligible entity shall invite individuals described in clause 7ii7 to review all applications from eligible recipients for a subgrant under this part and to make recommendations to the eligible entity regarding the approval of the applications4 7ii7 ,reviewers ,the individuals the eligible entity shall invite to review applications are the following3 7,i7 ,leaders in the field of geography education4 7,,ii7 ,such other individuals as the eligible entity may determine are necessary or desirable4 7#d7 ,subgrant uses of funds ,an eligible recipient that receives a subgrant under this part shall use the subgrant funds for #a or more of the following activities3 7,a7 ,conducting teacher training programs that use effective and research-based approaches to the teaching of geography at the kindergarten through grade #ab level4 7,b7 ,applying ,geographic ,information ,system 7,,gis7 or other geographic technological tools to the teaching of geography4 7,c7 ,applying ,internet and other distance learning technology to the teaching of geography or to the continuing education of teachers4 7,d7 ,promoting rigorous academic standards and assessment techniques to guide and measure student performance in geography4 7,e7 ,promoting research in geography education1 emphasizing research that leads to improving student achievement4 7,f7 ,carrying out local1 field-based activities for teachers and students to improve their knowledge of the concepts and tools of geography while enhancing understanding of their home region4 7,g7 ,promoting comparative studies of world cultures1 economies1 and environments4 7,h7 ,encouraging replication of best practices and model programs to promote geographic literacy4 7,i7 ,developing and disseminating effective1 research-based geography learning materials4 7,j7 ,convening ,state-based conferences to assess the state of geographic literacy and to identify strategies for improvement4 7#e7 ,matching requirements 7,a7 ,in general ,in order to be eligible to receive a subgrant under this part1 an eligible recipient shall provide assurances in the application submitted under paragraph 7#c7 to provide matching funds as described in subparagraph 7,b7 towards the costs of the activities assisted under the subgrant4 7,b7 ,amount ,an eligible recipient shall provide matching funds in an amount equal to #bj percent of the subgrant funds received under this part for the second and each succeeding fiscal year for which subgrant funds are received4 7,c7 ,source of matching funds ,matching funds may be provided in cash or in kind1 fairly evaluated1 including facilities1 staffing salaries1 and educational materials4 #bfe4 ,administrative costs ,an eligible entity that receives a grant under this part for a fiscal year1 and each eligible recipient receiving a subgrant under this part for a fiscal year1 may use not more than #ae percent of the funds made available through the grant or subgrant1 respectively1 for administrative costs4 #bff4 ,authorization of appropriations ,there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part #ae1jjj1jjj for fiscal year #bjad and each of the #d succeeding fiscal years4 4