Bill Signed into Law to Expand Grants for Early STEM Education
The bipartisan Building Blocks of STEM Act was signed into law just before the Congress’ holiday recess to encourage the National Science Foundation (NSF) to improve and expand STEM education initiatives in schools around the country. The legislation, introduced by U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), focuses on early childhood STEM education and introducing more women to computer science programs.
The Building Blocks of STEM Act, or S. 737, instructs the NSF, when awarding grants under the Discovery Research PreK-12 program, to improve the focus of research and development on early childhood education.
The bill also directs NSF grants to place greater focus on research regarding the role of teachers and caregivers in encouraging or discouraging underrepresented populations to consider STEM fields, as well as the types of STEM activities that encourage greater participation by underrepresented students.
The bill further notes that NSF grants to research computer science education and computational thinking may be used to support the development and implementation of various tools and models for teaching and learning. These may include developing and offering gender-inclusive computer science enrichment programs and acquainting female students in prekindergarten through elementary school with careers in computer science.
“Despite significant strides women are making in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and computer science fields, barriers to gender equity still exist. This is particularly true for girls, especially girls of color,” said Kimberly Churches, Chief Executive Officer of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) in a press release provided by Senator Rosen’s office. “The bipartisan Building Blocks of STEM Act takes important steps toward identifying systematic barriers and biases affecting young girls in STEM and computer science.”
The Building Blocks of STEM Act is endorsed by Girl Scouts of the USA, Save the Children Action Network, American Association of University Women (AAUW), National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE), National Organization for Women, Stop Sexual Assault in Schools (SSAIS), Girls, Inc., BSA The Software Alliance, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), Code.org, BlackRidge Technology, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), Third Way, Center for Excellence in Education (CEE), CompTIA, TechNet, Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), Common Sense Kids Action, ISACA, Girls Who Code, and Microsoft, according to Senator Rosen’s office.
