H.R. 730 — 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 of innovative approaches to support high-quality mathematical modeling education—including statistical modeling, data science, operations research, and computational thinking—in schools operated by local educational agencies. The Director shall encourage partnerships addressing critical student transitions, such as middle school to high school, high school to college, and school to internships or jobs. Applications must describe (1) target populations, including subgroups historically underrepresented in STEM (as defined 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 via problem-based learning with contextualized data and computational tools; and (4) for partnerships with local educational agencies and researchers, a plan for sustainability.

This section directs the National Science Foundation (NSF) Director to seek an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM)—or another entity if NASEM declines—within 180 days of enactment to conduct a study on factors affecting implementation of mathematical and statistical modeling in prekindergarten through grade 12 education (including integration across the curriculum, K-to-workplace pathways, community-based and service learning, and best practices in problem-, project-, and performance-based approaches); characteristics of effective teacher preparation programs and capacity-building needs; and stakeholder communication mechanisms. In conducting the study, NASEM or the other entity must hold at least one public stakeholder meeting and, within 24 months of the agreement's effective date, submit a report to the NSF Director, Secretary of Education, and Congress containing study results, recommendations to modernize relevant processes, and legislative and administrative recommendations. The section authorizes $1 million annually for FY2026 through FY2030 for NSF's Directorate for STEM Education to carry out these requirements.

This section (1) requires amounts made available to carry out sections 2 and 3 to be derived from funds appropriated to the National Science Foundation, and (2) sunsets authority to provide awards under the Act after September 30, 2029.