WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) has cosponsored legislation to help students gain access to courses and improve achievement in science, technology, engineering and math.
"With significant job creation over the next decade in industries fueled by science and technology, better K-12 instruction in STEM fields is critical to our economic competitiveness,” said Senator Casey. “This legislation helps to equip Pennsylvania students with the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in an innovative 21st-century economy.”
The Preparing Students for Success in the Global Economy Act is designed to increase student access to courses in STEM education subjects and provide additional resources to recruit, train and support teachers of these subjects. The measure will help improve student achievement in STEM education by improving instruction in STEM subjects. The measure aims to:
- Improve student engagement in, and increase student access to, courses in STEM subjects;
- Recruit, train, and support highly-effective teachers in STEM subjects and provide robust tools and supports for students and teachers;
- Close student achievement gaps and prepare more students to be on track to college and career readiness and success in these subjects.
Senator Casey was joined by Senator Jeff Merkley, Al Franken (D-MN), Mark Begich (D-AK) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) in introducing the bill. Casey, Merkley and Franken, members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee, will seek to include the bill in the HELP committee’s re-write of the No Child Left Behind Act later this year.
The legislation has been endorsed by the STEM Education Coalition, American Chemical Society, National Science Teachers Association, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Hands on Science Partnership, Microsoft Corporation, The Campaign for Environmental Literacy, Vernier, Education Development Center Inc. (EDC), Society of Women Engineers, Intel, Oregon Science Teachers Association, Illinois Math and Science Academy, American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Committee for the Advancement of STEM Specialty Schools.
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