Computer Science for All Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4174 To authorize the Secretary of Education to carry out a program to increase access to prekindergarten through grade 12 computer science education. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 15, 2023 Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Mr. FLEISCHMANN, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. EVANS, Ms. CHU, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, and Ms. CASTOR of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce A BILL To authorize the Secretary of Education to carry out a program to increase access to prekindergarten through grade 12 computer science education. 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 ‘‘Computer Science for 4 All Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:37 Jul 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4174.IH H4174 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4174 IH (1) Computer science is transforming industry, 1 creating new fields of commerce, driving innovation, 2 and bolstering productivity. By 2029, computer 3 science and information jobs are expected to grow by 4 11 percent, faster than the average of any other oc- 5 cupation. 6 (2) However, as of 2019, the more than 7 900,000 computing and tech jobs unfilled in the 8 United States suggests that our students are not 9 being prepared to meet the demands of a 21st cen- 10 tury economy. It is projected that there will be 11 8,000,000 new jobs in the technology sector by 2028 12 and 3,500,000 computing-related jobs by 2026, how- 13 ever, the current state of computer science education 14 will only prepare enough computer science profes- 15 sionals to fill 19 percent of these jobs. 16 (3) Knowledge of computer science and use of 17 technology is increasingly essential for all individ- 18 uals, not just those working or planning to work in 19 the technology sector. 20 (4) Providing students with computer science 21 education in elementary school and secondary school 22 is critical for student success, and strengthening the 23 workforce of a 21st century economy. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:37 Jul 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4174.IH H4174 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4174 IH (5) While an estimated 90 percent of parents 1 want computer science taught in their children’s 2 schools, just 45 percent of all elementary schools 3 and secondary schools offer high-quality computer 4 science instruction that includes programming and 5 coding. 6 (6) Black and Hispanic workers in the science 7 and engineering workforce continue to be underrep- 8 resented. Black employees represent 13 percent of 9 the United States workforce, but only 5.6 percent of 10 the science and engineering workforce. Hispanic em- 11 ployees represent 17 percent of the United States 12 workforce, but only 7.5 percent of the science and 13 engineering workforce. 14 (7) While underrepresented minority students 15 overall face an opportunity gap in STEAM edu- 16 cation, women of color particularly face an achieve- 17 ment gap in science and engineering education. In 18 2019, while women were conferred nearly a third of 19 all science and engineering degrees, women of color 20 received only 13 percent (Black: 3.2 percent; His- 21 panic: 3.9 percent; Native American or Alaskan Na- 22 tive: 0.2 percent; Asian or Pacific Islander: 4.5 per- 23 cent; and multiracial: 1.2 percent). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:37 Jul 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4174.IH H4174 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4174 IH (8) In 2018, of all engineering technologies and 1 engineering-related bachelor level-related studies, 2 only 3 percent of nationwide enrollment was rep- 3 resented by Black students, while just 10 percent 4 were represented by Hispanic students. 5 (9) Women overall face challenges in accessing 6 computer science education. Only 18 percent of all 7 bachelor’s degrees conferred in computer science 8 went to women in 2015, and women of color received 9 only 9 percent of degrees (Black: 3 percent; His- 10 panic: 2 percent; Native American or Alaska Native: 11 0.8 percent; and Asian or Pacific islander: 3 per- 12 cent). 13 (10) Disparities in enrollment and academic 14 achievement start early. In 2019, only 24 percent of 15 students taking either AP Computer Science exams 16 were women, and just 16 percent were African 17 American, Latino, or Native Hawaiian/other Pacific 18 Islander. 19 (11) Nationwide, only 88 Native American stu- 20 dents took the AP Computer Science exam in 2016, 21 a decrease from 2015. This means that while Native 22 Americans make up about 1.1 percent of the United 23 States student population, they made up 1/5 of a 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:37 Jul 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4174.IH H4174 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4174 IH percent of students who took AP Computer Science 1 exams in 2016. 2 (12) In 2019, just 18 percent of the Depart- 3 ment of Education discretionary and research grants 4 in STEAM were awarded to computer science-fo- 5 cused programs and less than half of high schools 6 offered any computer science classes. 7 (13) Lack of universal computer science edu- 8 cation is evident in the lack of a widespread tech in- 9 dustry, which is overwhelmingly concentrated in a 10 few cities nationwide. Tech industry entrepreneur- 11 ship is concentrated in just a few States and com- 12 puter science education is limited to affluent schools 13 and students, placing low-income, minority, and 14 rural communities at risk of being left behind. 15 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 16 In this Act: 17 (1) COMPUTATIONAL THINKING.—The term 18 ‘‘computational thinking’’ aims to capture the wide 19 range of creative processes that go into formulating 20 problems and their solutions in such a way that the 21 solutions can be carried out by a computer, and may 22 involve some understanding of software and hard- 23 ware design, logic and the use of abstraction and 24 representation, algorithm design, algorithm expres- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:37 Jul 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4174.IH H4174 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4174 IH sion, problem decomposition, modularity, program- 1 ming paradigms and languages, issues of informa- 2 tion security and privacy, the application of com- 3 putation across a wide range of disciplines, and the 4 societal impact of computing. Programming is a 5 hands-on, inquiry-based way in which computational 6 thinking may be learned. 7 (2) COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION.—The 8 term ‘‘computer science education’’ includes any of 9 the following: computational thinking; software de- 10 sign; hardware architecture and organization; theo- 11 retical foundations; use of abstraction and represen- 12 tation in problem solving; logic; algorithm design 13 and implementation; the limits of computation; pro- 14 gramming paradigms and languages; parallel and 15 distributed computing; information security and pri- 16 vacy; computing systems and networks; graphics and 17 visualization; databases and information retrieval; 18 the relationship between computing and mathe- 19 matics; artificial intelligence; applications of com- 20 puting across a broad range of disciplines and prob- 21 lems; cloud computing; and the social impacts and 22 professional practices of computing. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:37 Jul 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4174.IH H4174 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4174 IH (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this section, the 1 term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means a State, local edu- 2 cational agency, or eligible Tribal school that— 3 (A) demonstrates an ability to carry out an 4 ambitious computer science education expansion 5 effort for all students served by the State, agen- 6 cy, or school, respectively, including tradition- 7 ally underrepresented students; 8 (B) in the case of a State, serves local edu- 9 cational agencies that meet the requirements of 10 section 1003(f) of the Elementary and Sec- 11 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 12 6303(f)); and 13 (C) in the case of a local educational agen- 14 cy, meets the requirements of such section 15 1003(f) (20 U.S.C. 6303(f)). 16 (4) ELIGIBLE TRIBAL SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘eli- 17 gible Tribal school’’ means— 18 (A) a school operated by the Bureau of In- 19 dian Education; 20 (B) a school operated pursuant to the In- 21 dian Self-Determination and Education Assist- 22 ance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.); or 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:37 Jul 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4174.IH H4174 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 4174 IH (C) a tribally controlled school (as defined 1 in section 5212 of the Tribally Controlled 2 Schools Act of 1988 (25 U.S.C. 2511)). 3 (5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 4 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 5 meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher 6 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 7 (6) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 8 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 9 the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec- 10 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8101). 11 (7) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘‘poverty line’’ 12 has the meaning given the term in section 8101 of 13 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 14 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8101). 15 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 16 the Secretary of Education. 17 (9) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean- 18 ing given the term in section 8101 of the Elemen- 19 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 20 U.S.C. 7801). 21 (10) STEAM.—The term ‘‘STEAM’’ means the 22 subjects of science, technology, engineering, arts, 23 and mathematics, including computer science. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:37 Jul 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4174.IH H4174 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 4174 IH SEC. 4. GRANTS TO STATES, LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN- 1 CIES, AND ELIGIBLE TRIBAL SCHOOLS. 2 (a) GRANTS TO STATES, LOCAL EDUCATIONAL 3 AGENCIES, AND ELIGIBLE TRIBAL SCHOOLS.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 5 grants to eligible entities to serve as models for na- 6 tional replication of computer science education ex- 7 pansion efforts. 8 (2) CONSORTIA AND PARTNERSHIPS.—An eligi- 9 ble entity may apply for a grant under this section 10 as part of a consortium or in partnership with a 11 State educational agency or other partner. 12 (3) DURATION.—Grants awarded under this 13 section shall be for a period of not more than 5 14 years. 15 (b) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—An eligible enti- 16 ty that desires a grant under this section shall submit an 17 application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 18 and containing such information as the Secretary may re- 19 quire, including, at a minimum, plans for the following: 20 (1) Every high school student served by eligible 21 entity to have access to computer science education 22 not later than 5 years after receipt of grant funds. 23 (2) All students served by the eligible entity to 24 have access to a progression of computer science 25 education from prekindergarten through middle 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:37 Jul 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4174.IH H4174 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 4174 IH school that prepares students for high school com- 1 puter science education. 2 (3) Expansion of overall access to rigorous 3 STEAM classes, utilizing computer science as a cat- 4 alyst for increased interest in STEAM more broadly, 5 and reducing the enrollment and academic achieve- 6 ment gap for underrepresented groups such as mi- 7 norities, girls, and youth from families living at, or 8 below, the poverty line. 9 (4) Continuous monitoring and evaluation of 10 project activities. 11 (5) Effectively sustaining project activities after 12 the grant period ends, and the length of time which 13 the applicant plans to sustain the project activities. 14 (c) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.— 15 (1) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—An eligible entity 16 that receives a grant under this section shall use the 17 grant funds for the following activities: 18 (A) Training teachers to teach computer 19 science. 20 (B) Expanding access to high-quality 21 learning materials and online learning options. 22 (C) Creating plans for expanding overall 23 access to rigorous STEAM classes, utilizing 24 computer science as a catalyst for increased in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:37 Jul 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4174.IH H4174 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 4174 IH terest in STEAM more broadly, and reducing 1 course equity gaps for all students, including 2 underrepresented groups such as minorities, 3 girls, and youth from low-income families. 4 (D) Ensuring additional support and re- 5 sources, which may include mentoring for stu- 6 dents traditionally underrepresented in STEAM 7 fields. 8 (2) PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES.—An eligible enti- 9 ty that receives a grant under this section may use 10 the grant funds for the following activities: 11 (A) Building effective regional collabora- 12 tions with industry, nonprofit organizations, 2- 13 year and 4-year degree granting institutions of 14 higher education (including community colleges, 15 Historically Black Colleges and Universities, 16 Hispanic-serving institutions, Asian American 17 and Native American Pacific Islander-serving 18 institutions, American Indian Tribally con- 19 trolled colleges and universities, Alaska Native 20 and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, Pre- 21 dominantly Black Institutions, Native Amer- 22 ican-serving, Nontribal institutions, and other 23 minority-serving institutions), and out-of-school 24 providers. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:37 Jul 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4174.IH H4174 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 4174 IH (B) Recruiting and hiring instructional 1 personnel as needed, including curriculum spe- 2 cialists. 3 (C) Preparations for effectively sustaining 4 project activities after the grant period ends. 5 (D) Disseminating information about effec- 6 tive practices. 7 (3) LIMITATION.—Not more than 15 percent of 8 a grant may be used to purchase equipment. 9 (d) NATIONAL ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary may re- 10 serve not more than 2.5 percent of funds available for 11 grants under this section for national activities, in [Text truncated for display. 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