Washington, DC (January 29, 2007) – This January, Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (TX-15), chair of the Subcommittee on Higher Education, introduced legislation that will help reinvigorate and modernize America’s ailing high school science laboratories.
“For more than 150 years, lab experiments have been an essential ingredient in a comprehensive science education,” said Rep. Hinojosa. “Unfortunately, the quality of today’s laboratory instruction is woefully under-par in most schools. Our future scientists and engineers are attending institutions that lack the resources required to develop their talents.” 

H.R. 524, the Partnerships for Access to Laboratory Science Act, will authorize a $5 million grant to establish a laboratory science pilot program at the National Science Foundation. Projects funded by the grant will go toward enhancing the quality of instruction and developing models for redesigning laboratories in high-poverty high schools. Original co-sponsors include Rep. Bart Gordon, chair of the House Committee on Science and Technology, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, the third-ranking Democrat on the Science and Technology Committee, and Rep. Joe Baca, chair the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Rep. Hinojosa’s legislation could not have come at more critical time: The National Research Council recently released a report concluding that the current state of laboratory experiences is poor for most students. The group also found that schools with higher concentrations of non-Asian minorities and schools with higher concentrations of poor students are less likely to have adequate laboratory facilities than other schools. In addition, the Government Accountability Office noted that approximately 40 percent of those college students who left the science fields reported problems with their high school science preparation. Cited issues included a lack of laboratory experience and no introduction to theoretical or analytical modes of thought.

“It is a matter of national importance that we remain competitive in the fields of science, technology, mathematics, and engineering,” said Rep. Hinojosa. “We must increase the number of students who are equipped pursue these subjects by providing the hands-on, inquiry-based laboratory experiences they will need to excel.”