Courtney Advocates for Increased STEM Focus in Sweeping Education Bill
WASHINGTON—Today, Congressman Joe Courtney spoke on the floor of the House to advocate for an amendment he offered to the Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization bill currently being debated, the Student Success Act. Courtney’s amendment would have improved access and availability for STEM education resources, encouraging students from all backgrounds to pursue higher education and careers in STEM. House Republican leadership declined to allow a vote on the Courtney amendment.
“In 1958, President Eisenhower signed the National Defense Education Act into law, strengthening STEM education across the country in an effort to prepare our education system to meet what he described as the ‘increasing demands imposed on it by consideration of national security.’ The demands of today’s global economy are no less urgent, and we need to raise our STEM focus to prepare students for the good jobs of the future,” Courtney said.
Click here to view video of Congressman Courtney’s floor speech.
Courtney’s amendment was developed with help from the STEM Education Coalition, a diverse group of employers and science educators, in order to boost critical academic curriculum for America’s workforce needs. It would help districts to hire STEM teachers, create a STEM master teacher corps, encourage STEM learning in early grades and focus on boosting currently underrepresented students in the STEM disciplines, including young women and minorities. The amendment would have also promoted collaboration between local school districts and STEM-related institutions.
The Courtney amendment, which was blocked from a vote by the House Rules Committee, would have improved current law by:
• Creating a separate funding stream to support STEM education. H.R. 5, the Republican bill, does not specifically fund STEM education.
• Strengthening the provisions formerly authorized under the current law program Mathematics and Science Partnerships and increasing its funding.