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(1) The STEM board shall:
(a) establish a STEM Action Center;
(b) ensure that the STEM Action Center:
(i) is accessible to the public; and
(ii) includes the components described in Subsection (2);
(c) work cooperatively with the State Board of Education to:
(i) further STEM education; and
(ii) ensure best practices are implemented as described in Sections 9-22-107 and 9-22-108;
(d) engage private entities to provide financial support or employee time for STEM activities in schools in addition to what is currently provided by private entities; and
(e) work cooperatively with stakeholders to support and promote activities that align STEM education and training activities with the employment needs of business and industry in the state.
(2) As funding allows, the director of the STEM Action Center shall:
(a) support high quality professional development for educators regarding STEM education;
(b) ensure that the STEM Action Center acts as a research and development center for STEM education through a request for proposals process described in Section 9-22-107;
(c) review and acquire STEM education related materials and products for:
(i) high quality professional development;
(ii) assessment, data collection, analysis, and reporting; and
(iii) public school instruction;
(d) facilitate participation in interscholastic STEM related competitions, fairs, camps, and STEM education activities;
(e) engage private industry in the development and maintenance of the STEM Action Center and STEM Action Center projects;
(f) use resources to bring the latest STEM education learning tools into public education classrooms;
(g) identify at least 10 best practice innovations used in Utah that have resulted in a measurable improvement in student performance or outcomes in STEM areas;
(h) identify best practices being used outside the state and, as appropriate, develop and implement selected practices through a pilot program;
(i) identify:
(i) learning tools for kindergarten through grade 6 identified as best practices; and
(ii) learning tools for grades 7 through 12 identified as best practices;
(j) collect data on Utah best practices, including best practices from public education, higher education, the Utah Education and Telehealth Network, and other STEM related entities;
(k) keep track of the following items related to best practices described in Subsection (2)(j):
(i) how the best practices data are being used; and
(ii) how many individuals are using the data, including the demographics of the users, if available;
(l) as appropriate, join and participate in a national STEM network;
(m) work cooperatively with the State Board of Education to designate schools as STEM schools, where the schools have agreed to adopt a plan of STEM implementation in alignment with criteria set by the State Board of Education and the board;
(n) support best methods of high quality professional development for STEM education in kindergarten through grade 12, including methods of high quality professional development that reduce cost and increase effectiveness, to help educators learn how to most effectively implement best practice learning tools in classrooms;
(o) recognize achievement in the STEM competitions, fairs, and camps described in Subsection (2)(d);
(p) send student results from STEM competitions, fairs, and camps described in Subsection (2)(d) to media and ask the media to report on them;
(q) develop and distribute STEM information to parents of students in the state;
(r) support targeted high quality professional development for improved instruction in STEM education, including:
(i) improved instructional materials that are dynamic and engaging for students;
(ii) use of applied instruction; and
(iii) introduction of other research-based methods that support student achievement in STEM areas; and
(s) ensure that an online college readiness assessment tool be accessible by:
(i) public education students; and
(ii) higher education students.
(3) The STEM board may prescribe other duties for the STEM Action Center in addition to the responsibilities described in this section.
(4)
(a) The director shall work with an independent evaluator to track and compare the student performance of students participating in a STEM Action Center program to all other similarly situated students in the state, if appropriate, in the following activities:
(i) public education high school graduation rates;
(ii) the number of students taking a remedial mathematics course at an institution of higher education described in Section 53B-2-101;
(iii) the number of students who graduate from a Utah public school and begin a postsecondary education program; and
(iv) the number of students, as compared to all similarly situated students, who are performing at grade level in STEM classes.
(b) The State Board of Education and the Utah Board of Higher Education shall provide information to the STEM board to assist the STEM board in complying with the requirements of Subsection (4)(a) if allowed under federal law.