STEM Education Coalition Urges State Policymakers to Support STEM Education in Use of Federal Education Relief Funds

On Tuesday, June 8, the STEM Education Coalition sent a letter to state policymakers encouraging them to include STEM education in their plans for using federal education relief funds enacted by Congress.

“The American Rescue Plan Act includes $123 billion to K-12 education through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER).  The ESSER program provides states and districts with the flexibility to utilize recovery funds to address the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the Nation’s students. It also allows states and district to use these funds for any authorized purpose under current federal law (Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA).”

The decisions being made now about how these funds will be used to prepare our children in STEM will have an enormous impact on your state’s economy, America’s national security, and our nation’s continued leadership in science and technology in a post-pandemic world.   The STEM Education Coalition has worked for many years with education, business, and industry stakeholders gathering extensive input on the needs of STEM stakeholders across our nation and to help make STEM education a priority at the federal, state, and local levels.  The goal of the remainder of this letter is to convey to your our recommendations on how best to employ American Rescue Plan Act funds for the betterment of STEM education,” the letter states. View the full letter below. We encourage STEM education advocates and stakeholders to share the letter with their state and local policymakers as they consider federal relief spending plans.