Senate advances Fischer-supported STEM education bill

The U.S. Senate on Sept. 26 gave voice vote approval to bipartisan legislation cosponsored by U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) to modify National Science Foundation grant programs that support science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.

“I am pleased that the Senate passed this bipartisan bill, which I was proud to help introduce,” Sen. Fischer said. “By expanding STEM education, this bill will ensure that more young people — especially young women and girls — can pursue careers in computer science and engineering.”

Sen. Fischer in March introduced the Building Blocks of STEM Act, S. 737, with bill sponsor U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) to expand upon the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) STEM education initiatives for young children. U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) also were original cosponsors of the bill.

If enacted, the bill would direct NSF, when awarding grants under the Discovery Research PreK-12 program, to improve the focus of research and development on early childhood education, according to the congressional record summary.

Additionally, S. 737 specifies that NSF grants to increase the participation of underrepresented populations in STEM fields may be used for research into various subjects regarding female students in prekindergarten through elementary school, and 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, according to the summary.

The U.S. House of Representatives in July approved the identical H.R. 1665, which also was introduced in March. Both chambers now will work to reconcile their versions of the bill.