STEM EDUCATION ACT OF 2014

GAGNIER FOR CONGRESS LEGISLATIVE SNAPSHOT

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STEM Education Act of 2014 On July 14, 2014, the STEM Education Act of 2014, H.R. 5031, passed through the House of Representatives. The bill was introduced by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX). The STEM Education Act will promote the increase of qualified STEM teachers by allowing teachers that are in the process of acquiring their master’s degree to attend training programs provided by the National Science Foundation. Prior to the bill, these training programs were solely available to instructors that had completed their graduate education. The bill is one of several efforts that have been introduced to support and increase the availability of STEM education nationally in our schools. A concerted effort is beginning to be placed in trying to increase the number of U.S. students who have the education and skills to enter into the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math). STEM education is critical to American competitiveness and innovation. Many companies have turned outside of the United States to find the workforce they need to fill their increasingly technical positions. Both Congress and the President have made it a goal to increase funding and support for these programs since our future heavily depends on student’s exposure to technical education today. This includes computer science education, career technical education and vocational training to ensure all students can meet the demands of today’s, and tomorrow’s, jobs. Organizations like Code.org have been leading the way to ensure that curriculum, such as computer science education, is a requirement for students in K-12 education. Digital literacy is receiving national attention since many students lack even the basic word processing and Internet use skills necessary to search for employment, nonetheless possess the technical skills required of today’s workforce. Computer Science is one of the fastest growing fields, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics projecting that there will be 4.2 million jobs in computing and information technology emerging on the horizon in the United States alone. Schools face a desperate need for not only teachers who possess computer science skills, but also education in math and engineering. This deficit in qualified teachers impacts the ability of students to have access to STEM education opportunities. Prior legislative efforts to support STEM education have included the STEM Education Opportunity Act (H.R. 1353), the 21st Century STEM Competitive Jobs Act (H.R. 2159) and the Computer Science Education and Jobs Act of 2013 (S. 1407). With the number of STEM occupations growing faster than non-STEM occupations, STEM education needs to be a priority to increase American competitiveness for technical jobs.