12 2 STA T .480 2 PUBLIC LA W 110 – 422 —O CT. 1 5, 2008 (4)aconti n ge nc ypl anint h ee v ent the r eco m men d ed alter - native s descri b ed in paragraph ( 3 ) are not available w hen needed .TI T LEV II — E DUCA TI ONSEC.701 . R ES PON SE T ORE VI E W . (a) PLAN . —T he A dministrator shall prepare a plan identi f ying actions ta k en or planned in response to the recommendations of the N ational Academies report ,‘ ‘NA S A ’ s E lementary and Secondary Ed u cation Program
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eview and C riti q ue’’. F or those actions that have not been implemented, the plan shall include a schedule and budget required to support the actions. (b) R EPORT .—The plan prepared under subsection (a) shall be transmitted to the Committee on Science and Technology of the H ouse of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act. SEC. 70 2 .E X TERN AL REVIEW O F EXPLORER SC H OOLS PRO G RA M . (a) RE VI E W .—The Administrator shall make arrangements for an independent e x ternal review of the Explorer Schools program to evaluate its goals, status, plans, and accomplishments. (b) REPORT.—The report of the independent external review shall be transmitted to the Committee on Science and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act. SEC. 70 3 . SENSE OF CONGRESS ON EARTH K AM AN D RO B OTICS COM - PETITIONS. I t is the sense of Congress that NASA’s educational programs are important sources of inspiration and hands-on learning for the next generation of engineers and scientists and should be sup- ported. In that regard, programs such as Earth K A M , which brings NASA directly into American classrooms by enabling students to talk directly with astronauts aboard the International Space Station and to take photographs of Earth from space, and NASA involve- ment in robotics competitions for students of all levels, are particu- larly worthy undertakings and NASA should support them and look for additional opportunities to engage students through NASA’s space and aeronautics activities. SEC. 70 4 . ENHANCEMENT OF ED U CATIONAL ROLE OF NASA. (a) SEN S EO F CON G RESS.—It is the sense of Congress that the International Space Station offers a unique opportunity for Federal agencies to engage students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. Congress encourages NASA to include other Federal agencies in its planning efforts to use the International Space Station National L aboratory for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics educational activities. (b) E X PERI M ENTAL PROGRAM TO STIM U LATE COMPETITIVE RESEAR CH .—In order to ensure that research expertise and talent throughout the Nation is developed and engaged in NASA research and education activities, NASA shall, as part of its annual budget submission, detail additional steps that can be taken to further 42USC17 7 8 1 .
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