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FYI
The American Institute of Physics Bulletin of Science Policy News
Number 43: April 1, 2003

Final FY 2003 Appropriations: Science Education Programs

Below, information is provided on the final FY 2003 appropriations
for science education programs within the Department of Education,
and within the National Science Foundation.  It is of note that the
Mathematics and Science Partnership program within the Education
Department received $100.4 million for fiscal year 2003.  This
program was authorized at $450 million but only received minimal
funding of $12.5 million in FY 2002.  The FY 2003 appropriation
represents an increase of over 700 percent, surpassing the threshold
of $100 million needed to ensure that funding reaches all states. The
complementary Math and Science Partnership program within NSF
received $126.7 million, a decrease of 20.8 percent from the FY 2002
level. 

As indicated in previous FYIs, the numbers provided in the final
conference report, House Report 108-10, were then reduced by
rescissions made elsewhere in the report.  When possible, an attempt
has been made to take rescissions into account when presenting the
numbers below.  When rescissions are not accounted for, it is so
noted.  Some explanatory quotes from the report language are also
provided. 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION:

The IMPROVING TEACHER QUALITY budget increases $80.0 million, or 2.8
percent, from $2.85 billion in FY 2002 to $2.93 billion in FY 2003.
Of the FY 2003 appropriation, $1.15 billion "is provided as a fiscal
year 2004 advance."  This program funds state grants for teacher
development in all fields, including science and math.

The MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE PARTNERSHIPS budget increases $87.9
million, or 703.2 percent, from $12.5 million in FY 2002 to $100.4
million in FY 2003. 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION:

The entire EDUCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCES budget for NSF increases
$8.9 million, or 1.0 percent, from $894.3 million in FY 2002 to
$903.2 million in FY 2003.

Below, quotes from H. Rpt. 108-10 are provided for the programs
within the Education and Human Resources budget.  These quotes do not
take rescissions into account; all amounts below are subject to a
reduction of 0.65 percent: 

MATH AND SCIENCE PARTNERSHIPS: "$127,500,000 for the Math and Science
Partnership program. The Foundation is strongly urged to provide
regular, detailed information to the Committees on Appropriations
regarding the planning and execution of this initiative."

EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM REFORM: "$40,250,000 for Educational System
Reform."

EPSCoR: "$90,000,000 for the Experimental Program to Stimulate
Competitive Research (EPSCoR) program."

ELEMENTARY, SECONDARY, AND INFORMAL EDUCATION: "$177,440,000 for
Elementary, Secondary and Informal Education. Within this level of
funding, $61,000,000 has been provided for the Informal Science
program, an increase of $6,000,000 above the budget request."

UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION: "$160,600,000 for Undergraduate Education.
Of the amount appropriated herein, $43,160,000 has been provided for
the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program, $22,000,000 is
for the STEM Talent Expansion Program (STEP), and $7,000,000 is for
the Robert Noyce Scholarship Program. These funding levels represent
increases above the budget submission of $5,000,000, $20,000,000 and
$3,000,000, respectively."

GRADUATE EDUCATION: "$140,880,000 for Graduate Education. The
conferees have provided an increase of $12,500,000 above the budget
request to increase graduate level stipends for the research and
teaching fellowship programs and the trainee program administered by
the Foundation through its Graduate Education program. The conferees
support increasing the graduate stipend level to $27,500 during
fiscal year 2003 as the first of what is expected to be a two-year
process to reach a stipend level of $30,000." 

HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT: "$105,210,000 for Human Resource
Development. Within this funding level, $31,530,000 is provided for
the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP)
program, an increase of $5,000,000 above the budget request. In
addition, $18,900,000, an increase of $5,000,000 above the request,
has been provided for the Historically Black Colleges and
Universities Undergraduates Program (HBCU-UP).  The conference
agreement additionally provides for an increase of $5,000,000 for the
HBCU Research University Science and Technology (THRUST) initiative
within the Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology
(CREST) program. While the conferees agree that eligibility for
THRUST should not exclude CREST recipients, NSF is directed to first
use fiscal year 2003 program funds to fully fund multi-year awards to
recipients of THRUST awards in the program's first year."

RESEARCH, EVALUATION AND COMMUNICATION: "$67,200,000 for Research,
Evaluation and Communication."

###############
Audrey T. Leath
Media and Government Relations Division
The American Institute of Physics
fyi{at}aip.org
(301) 209-3094
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