PUBLIC LAW 107-368—DEC. 19, 2002 116 STAT. 3043 shall be in a position of administrative leadership at the institution of higher education, and at least 1 principal investigator shall be a faculty member from an academic department included in the work of the project. For each grant awarded to a consortium or partnership, at each institution of higher education participating in the consortium or partnership, at least 1 of the individuals responsible for carrying out activities authorized under this paragraph at that institution shall be in a position of administrative leadership at the institution, and at least 1 shall be a faculty member from an academic department included in the work of the project at that institution. (F) In this paragraph, the term "eligible applicant" means— (i) an institution of higher education; (ii) a consortium of institutions of higher education; or (iii) a partnership between— (I) an institution of higher education or a consortium of such institutions; and (II) a nonprofit organization, a State or local government, or a private company, with demonstrated experience and effectiveness in science, mathematics, engineering, or technology education. (8) SECONDARY SCHOOL SYSTEMIC INITIATIVE.— A program of competitive, merit-based grants for State educational agencies or local educational agencies that supports the planning and implementation of agency-wide secondary school reform initiatives designed to promote scientific and technological literacy, meet the mathematics and science education needs of students at risk of not achieving State student academic achievement standards, reduce the need for basic skill training by employers, and heighten college completion rates through activities, such as— (A) systemic alignment of secondary school curricula and higher education freshman placement requirements; (B) development of materials and curricula that support small, theme-oriented schools and learning communities; (C) implementation of enriched mathematics and science curricula for all secondary school students; (D) strengthened teacher training in mathematics, science, and reading as it relates to technical and specialized texts; (E) laboratory improvement and provision of instrumentation as part of a comprehensive program to enhance the quality of mathematics, science, engineering, and technology instruction; or (F) other secondary school systemic initiatives that enable grantees to leverage private sector funding for mathematics, science, engineering, and technology scholarships. In awarding grants under this paragraph, the Director shall give priority to agencies that serve high poverty communities. (9) EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH. —The Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, established under section 113 of the National
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