Updates from D.C.: STEM Legislation and Changes in STEM Funding
From Mike Kaspar
The 13th annual Triangle Coalition for STEM Education Conference was recently held in D.C. Advocating for the improvement of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the U.S., the Triangle Coalition is a membership organization that represents business, education, and STEM societies nationwide.

At the conference, representatives from the legislative offices of Klein, Gillibrand and (Joseph) Kennedy reported on STEM as related to the reauthorization of ESEA (the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, aka “No Child Left Behind.”) Of note was a discussion around the loss of AYP (annual yearly progress), as well as the loss of the designation of the “highly qualified teacher” in Klein’s House bill. In addition, they highlighted their attempts to include and incentivize STEM programs in ESEA and other bills as the 113th Congressional session comes to a close.

The Senior Advisor on STEM Education in the Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development at the US Department of Education discussed the Committee on STEM Education’s (CoSTEM) 5-year Federal Strategic Plan on STEM Education, and provided a status report on the administration’s plan and federal budget provisions. This plan includes a consolidation of certain STEM programs under the control of the Department of Education, National Science Foundation, and the Smithsonian Institution. The report did indicate that the Math-Science Partnership (MSP) grants at the US Department of Education would be retained, but the name will change from MSP to Effective Teaching and Learning grants that focus on STEM education.

What is important to know is that many sources of government agency funding for informal science education may be cut or reduced due to the forced budget cuts of sequestration. When so much emphasis has been placed on the STEM educational pipeline, this hardly seems the time for major budget cuts. However, policy makers are creating legislation to stave the financial decline to support STEM education. Perhaps some of those bills will make it through the legislative process.

Mike Kaspar, Ph.D. is Senior Policy Analyst at the National Education Association.

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