STEM Education in Accounting Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1705 To amend the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grant program to promote career awareness in accounting as part of a well-rounded STEM educational experience. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 18, 2023 Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Ms. ROSEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grant program to promote career awareness in account- ing as part of a well-rounded STEM educational experi- ence. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘STEM Education in 4 Accounting Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 The Congress finds as follows: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 Jun 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1705.IS S1705 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1705 IS (1) The accounting profession is working to en- 1 sure that it meets the needs of the public, busi- 2 nesses, governments, and not-for-profit organizations 3 in a technology-driven marketplace. 4 (2) Promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion 5 within the accounting profession fosters a field that 6 is reflective of the local, regional, and global commu- 7 nities it serves, and is better positioned to innovate 8 around the complex issues facing organizations of all 9 kinds and the evolving public interest. 10 (3) Early exposure to the accounting profession 11 through family, friends, and other community inter- 12 actions, or relevant elementary and secondary course 13 offerings, increases opportunity for students to rec- 14 ognize the limitless possibilities of a career in ac- 15 counting, and therefore inspires that professional 16 trajectory. 17 (4) This Act seeks to build on existing financial 18 literacy initiatives by establishing the significance of 19 early course offerings in accounting education as 20 drivers for improving career opportunity and diver- 21 sity within this STEM profession. 22 (5) There is a clear and logical integration be- 23 tween accounting and technology: as the profession 24 continues to advance its use of technology to serve 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 Jun 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1705.IS S1705 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1705 IS the public interest, accounting professionals, includ- 1 ing CPAs, are technological leaders who manage and 2 analyze big data, ensure data security, manage cy- 3 bersecurity risk, and work alongside Information 4 Technology professionals. 5 (6) The pipeline of accounting majors in higher 6 education, and accounting as a profession, will be 7 expanded through exposure to STEM-designated ac- 8 counting programs particularly in middle and sec- 9 ondary education curricula. 10 SEC. 3. ACCOUNTING AS PART OF A WELL-ROUNDED EDU- 11 CATIONAL EXPERIENCE. 12 Subpart 1 of part A of title IV of the Elementary 13 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7111 14 et seq.) is amended— 15 (1) in section 4104(b)(3)(A)(i), by— 16 (A) striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subclause 17 (VI); 18 (B) redesignating subclause (VII) as sub- 19 clause (VIII); and 20 (C) inserting after subclause (VI) the fol- 21 lowing new subclause: 22 ‘‘(VII) accounting education, in- 23 cluding accounting career awareness; 24 or’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 Jun 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1705.IS S1705 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1705 IS (2) in section 4107(a)(3), by— 1 (A) striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subpara- 2 graph (I); 3 (B) redesignating subparagraph (J) as 4 subparagraph (K); and 5 (C) inserting after subparagraph (I) the 6 following new subparagraph: 7 ‘‘(J) activities to promote the development, 8 implementation, and strengthening of programs 9 to teach accounting, including increasing access 10 to high-quality accounting courses for students 11 through grade 12 who are members of groups 12 underrepresented in accounting careers; or’’. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 Jun 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1705.IS S1705 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS