NSTA
Legislative Update
June 1, 2009
Ed Sec Testifies Before House Education and Labor Committee
On May 20 Education Secretary Arne Duncan testified before the House Education and Labor Committee on the President’s education agenda and budget for FY2010.
Of particular interest to the science education community are the questions posed by Rep. Rush Holt to Secretary Duncan about the flat funding for science education, made during the final minutes of the hearing, which you can watch online.
Rep. Vernon Ehlers, another key champion for science education in the House of Representatives, also released a statement for the record strongly supporting increased funding for science education.
As reported in earlier issues of NSTA Express, the President’s proposed budget for FY2010 included flat funding for the Math and Science Partnerships, ($179M for FY2010).
STEM Legislation Introduced in the House
Several pieces of legislation to note were introduced in the House of Representatives recently.
On May 11, Representatives John Sarbanes and Senators Durbin and Reed introduced No Child Left Inside Act of 2009, a new $100 million-a-year initiative to strengthen environmental education in America’s classrooms and reconnect more kids with nature.
On May 20, Rep. Vernon Ehlers introduced the Science Accountability Act (H.R. 2511). The bill would require schools to include science in their accountability assessments by the 2011-12 school year. The bipartisan bill is cosponsored by Reps. Rush Holt (D-NJ) and Michael Honda (D-CA).
Finally, H.R. 1709, the STEM Education Coordination Act of 2009, has passed the Science and Technology Committee and is expected to be on the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote sometime in the next few weeks. This bill, introduced by Rep. Bart Gordon, Chairman of the Science and Technology Committee, would establish a committee under the National Science and Technology Council with the responsibility to coordinate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education programs of all Federal agencies.
Two of the bills, the No Child Left Inside Act and the Science Accountability Act, were also introduced in the last Congress.
Watch for more information on this legislation in coming issues of NSTA Express.