STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7088
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 20, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BICHOTTE HERMELYN -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Economic Development
AN ACT to amend the New York state urban development corporation act, in
relation to creating a grant program for school districts, insti-
tutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, other public
agencies and businesses to prepare students for postsecondary STEM
education and careers; and making an appropriation therefor
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 16-m of section 1 of chapter 174
2 of the laws of 1968, constituting the New York state urban development
3 corporation act, is amended by adding a new paragraph (p) to read as
4 follows:
5 (p) Assistance to effectively prepare students for postsecondary
6 education and careers in science and computer science, technology, engi-
7 neering and mathematics (STEM) by providing STEM grants.
8 (i) The chair of the corporation, in cooperation with the commissioner
9 of the state education department, shall encourage school districts and
10 other qualified applicants to establish new STEM programs and expand
11 existing STEM programs, and shall establish criteria for the development
12 and submission of grant applications and proposals and for the selection
13 of recipients of STEM grants, as provided in this paragraph.
14 (ii) Any school district or other qualified applicant that applies for
15 funding under this paragraph, shall work with relevant state and local
16 educational agencies to develop comprehensive plans for identifying,
17 developing, testing, and implementing evidence-based practices to
18 provide STEM learning opportunities for students and support the imple-
19 mentation of such plans by employing a wide range of strategies, includ-
20 ing the recruitment, preparation, and professional development of effec-
21 tive STEM educators. Qualified applicants include school districts,
22 institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, other public
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10986-01-5
A. 7088 2
1 agencies and businesses providing educational services to prepare
2 students for postsecondary STEM education and careers.
3 (iii) STEM grants shall be awarded on a competitive basis. First
4 priority shall be given to high need school districts and high need
5 schools. Grants shall be awarded based on factors including, but not
6 limited to, the following:
7 (A) measures of school district need;
8 (B) measures of the need of students to be served by each applying
9 school districts;
10 (C) the school district's proposal to target the highest need schools
11 and students;
12 (D) the extent to which the district's proposal would prioritize funds
13 to maximize the total number of eligible children in the district served
14 in STEM programs; and
15 (E) the quality of the proposal.
16 (iv) Recipients of STEM grants shall use the funds to:
17 (A) promote and develop in-school and out-of-school curricular tools
18 and professional development for STEM educators at the elementary school
19 and secondary school levels;
20 (B) provide instruction and mentoring services to new teachers in STEM
21 subjects;
22 (C) promote and develop rigorous undergraduate pre-service teacher
23 programs at institutions of higher education that emphasize STEM
24 contact;
25 (D) support the participation of elementary school and secondary
26 school students in competitions, out-of-school activities, and field
27 experiences related to STEM subjects;
28 (E) develop STEM related education and workforce training programs in
29 secondary schools and community colleges to reflect the needs of the
30 local community; and
31 (F) create after school programs to promote STEM education and
32 careers.
33 (v) Grants shall be made for a recurrent period of five years,
34 commencing with the two thousand twenty-five--two thousand twenty-six
35 school year. At the end of the five year period, the chair of the corpo-
36 ration shall evaluate the effectiveness of the STEM grants based on
37 criteria developed in cooperation with the commissioner of the state
38 education department.
39 (vi) This grant program will not mandate a testing or evaluative model
40 that is separate from current state testing and evaluative requirements
41 for primary and secondary students.
42 § 2. The sum of fifty million dollars ($50,000,000), or so much there-
43 of as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the urban development
44 corporation out of the moneys in the state treasury in the general fund
45 to the credit of the empire state economic development fund established
46 pursuant to section 16-m of the New York state urban development corpo-
47 ration act not otherwise appropriated, and made immediately available,
48 for the purpose of STEM grants and carrying out the provisions of this
49 act. Funds for STEM grants shall be distributed to each qualifying
50 school district in installments upon successful implementation of each
51 phase of the school district's approved proposal. No school district
52 shall receive more than forty percent of the total STEM grant allo-
53 cation. Within a school district, each individual STEM site shall be
54 limited to a maximum grant of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000).
55 Any portion of funding that is not awarded in a particular school year
56 shall remain available for awards in subsequent school years; provided
A. 7088 3
1 that in the event that the chair of the urban development corporation
2 elects to discontinue the program after the initial five year period
3 described in section one of this act, and remaining funding shall be
4 returned to the state treasury to the credit of the general fund.
5 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amend-
6 ments to subdivision 1 of section 16-m of section 1 of chapter 174 of
7 the laws of 1968, constituting the New York state urban development
8 corporation act made by section one of this act, shall not affect the
9 expiration of such section and shall be deemed to expire therewith.
