Provisions continue senators’ efforts to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Education and Training

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and John Hoeven (R-N.D.) today announced that legislation they introduced to bolster Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education has passed the House and Senate as part of the Every Student Succeeds Act and will now head to the president’s desk to be signed into law. The bill includes the senators’ provisions to promote STEM education and training.

“To stay competitive in the 21st century economy, we need a 21st century education system that prepares out students today for the jobs of tomorrow,” Klobuchar said. “By boosting STEM opportunities across the country, today’s action will help give our students the skills they need to be successful in high-tech, high-wage jobs.”  

“Quality STEM education is an increasingly important component in our students’ education,” said Hoeven. “The STEM initiatives Congress passed today will help provide greater access to STEM training and help ensure that our students have the skills they need to be competitive today and into the future.” 

The bipartisan legislation, modeled after a provision in Klobuchar and Hoeven’s Innovate America Act,  improves students’ access to STEM education by allowing school districts to award funding to create a STEM-focused specialty school or an enhance an existing STEM program within a school.

Klobuchar has been a leader in Congress on issues of economic innovation. She helped launch the Diversifying Tech Caucus that brings together lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, along with researchers and academics, to shape policy that will help increase diversity in the tech sector and move our economy forward. As Ranking Senate Member of the Joint Economic Committee and a member of the Senate Commerce Committee and the President’s Export Council, Klobuchar has been a leader in efforts to boost America’s ability to compete in the global economy, working to cut red tape for businesses and open up new markets to U.S. exports.

As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Hoeven has advocated for strengthened STEM education funding, which helps prepare our students for the jobs of both today and tomorrow. Hoeven is also a member of the Senate STEM Education and Workforce Caucus and the Senate GOP High-Tech Task Force, which works to ensure that the nation’s technology firms remain at the forefront of the world economy. 

In March, Klobuchar and Hoeven met with STEM students at Sheyenne High School in West Fargo and Horizon Middle School in Moorhead to highlight the schools’ work to prepare students for advanced STEM curriculum. This legislation continues the senators’ efforts to promote and support STEM education.

 

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