STEM Education Coalition Expresses Disappointment with Senate Education Subcommittee Funding Level

June 7, 2016

The STEM Education Coalition issued the following statement on today’s Senate Labor, HHS, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee bill to fund the Department of Education and the nation’s new education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA):

“We are very disappointed in the Subcommittee funding level of $300 million for the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grant program, Title IV, Part A.  This critical program, included by overwhelming bipartisan consensus in the Every Student Succeeds Act, would provide schools with the flexible resources they need to support wide range of activities like science, technology, engineering, and math competitions, hands-on learning, and bringing high-quality STEM courses – including computer science – to high-need schools.  The Subcommittee funding level is more than a BILLION dollars below the level authorized under ESSA and this is unacceptable.  We look forward to working with the members of the full committee to increase this funding level going forward.”