Coalition Praises House Action on STEM Education Act
July 14, 2014
Washington, DC: The STEM Education Coalition issued the following statement on the STEM Education Act (H.R. 5031), a bipartisan bill developed by the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.
The bill would broaden the definition of STEM subjects to address related fields like computer science, expand programs at the National Science Foundation to support informal STEM education activities, and extend eligibility for the NSF’s Noyce Teacher Fellowship program to teacher pursuing master’s degrees in their fields. The Coalition testified before the Committee in November of 2013 on issues related to this bill and proposals to better coordinate STEM education programs across the federal government.
The Coalition’s statement:
“Our Coalition is pleased that a large and bipartisan group of House members has come together in support of the STEM Education Act. Ensuring that our students have the critical STEM skills they need to succeed in the global economy is essential to U.S. competitiveness – and the federal government plays a vital role in this endeavor. This targeted legislation will broaden the definition of the STEM subjects to include emerging fields like computer science, bolster research at the National Science Foundation to improve how students can learn in STEM subjects in informal and out-of-school settings, and offer more educators in STEM fields a chance to compete for the prestigious Noyce Teacher Fellowship.”
“The STEM Education Act is a great starting point to ensure that federal education and workforce programs are aligned with the needs of today’s students and our future economy. However, Congress has a great deal of work left to do on this front and we continue to urge members of Congress to work together to elevate STEM education as a national priority.”
More background:
About the Coalition
The STEM Education Coalition is an alliance of more than 500 education, business, and professional organizations from across the country that are united in the goal of promoting policies to improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education at every level. Our Coalition closely follows the development and evolution of policies across the federal government that seek to address the challenges our nation faces in educating the future STEM workforce. The Coalition is based in Washington, DC.
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