CONGRESSMAN Jared Polis 2nd DISTRICT OF COLORADO

With the need to strengthen the American economy at the top of their agendas, Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) and Senator Robert Casey (D-PA) today introduced the Computer Science Education Act, which will help prepare Americans for the more than 1.5 million high-wage computing jobs that are expected to be created in the U.S. by 2018. The bill will help states to increase and strengthen their computer science offerings in K-12 education.

"Computer science careers will provide good paying jobs for Americans and prepare our economy to compete and win in the global market," said Polis. "America can only succeed economically if our workforce is prepared for the best paying jobs, such as those in computer science. If we’re to remain an economic superpower—and if we’re to support jobs for the middle class—we must be the world’s leader in computer science education."

"With significant job creation over the next decade in industries fueled by computer science, better K-12 instruction in this STEM field is critical to our economic competitiveness," added Casey. "To help our schools improve computer science instruction, I am proud to introduce the Computer Science Education Act in the Senate. This legislation will give more students the opportunity to study computer science and position themselves for the jobs of the future."

"The Computer Science Education Act encourages states to examine what is going on in local computer science classrooms and consider how to give students educational opportunities that support lucrative, rewarding careers and contribute to the most dynamic, innovative industry in the United States," according to Maggie Johnson, Google’s Director of Education and University Relations. "Computer science must be accommodated in our nation’s classrooms if we want to be successful in the 21st Century."

"Continued U.S. competiveness in information technology and emerging areas like cloud computing is dependent on tomorrow’s highly skilled workforce; therefore, it’s imperative that access to quality computer science education be expanded across the country," said Dan Reed, corporate vice president, Technology Policy Group, Microsoft Corp. "By exposing students to computing early on, we are preparing them with the analytical and technical skills that are in high demand today, while also helping to foster a new generation of innovators and job creators."

Between 2004 and 2008, the number of computer-related bachelor's degrees granted in the U.S. fell from roughly 60,000 to 38,000. The availability of introductory secondary school computer science courses has also decreased—by 17 percent since 2005—and the number of Advanced Placement computer science courses has decreased by 33 percent.

"Computer science classes and teachers are preparing the next generation of innovators, young women and men who will invent the next Facebook or Google," said Lucy Sanders, CEO and co-founder of the National Center for Women and Information Technology at the University of Colorado. "If we do not have the capability to educate these youth in the discipline that excites them and gives them incredible opportunities, we are doing our country and these students a disservice."

"The ability to apply technology in the sciences is critical to the future job market, and K-12 education can play an important role in exposing students to the uses of technology in science," added Lesley Smith, associate director of the University of Colorado’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences’ Education and Outreach Program and Boulder Valley School Board member. "In our K-12 program, we start in 5th grade and teach students about environmental monitoring sensors that are located at the University of Colorado’s Mountain Research Station, how they can access the data on the web and make graphs and show them how to develop hypotheses and test them using the real-time data."

While some states allow computer science courses to count toward a secondary school core graduation requirement, most states that have specific course requirements for graduation count computer science courses only as electives. Many states also do not have a certification process for computer science teachers, and where certification processes do exist, such processes often have no connection to computer science content.

To reverse these troubling trends and prepare Americans for jobs in this high-wage, high-growth field, the Computer Science Education Act will:

• Ensure computer science offerings are an integral part of the curriculum;
• Develop state computer science standards, curricula, and assessments;
• Improve access to underserved populations;
• Create professional development and teacher certification initiatives, including computer science teacher preparation programs in higher education;
• Form a commission on computer science education to bring states together to address the computer science teacher certification crisis; and,
• Establish an independent, rigorous evaluation of state efforts with reporting back to Congress and the administration.

The bill would provide two-year competitive planning grants to states of at least $250,000 per state, as well as five-year competitive implementation grants to states to support their plans to increase and strengthen schools’ capacity to offer effective computer science education.