CEOs, Governors Ask Congress To Commit $250 Million for K-12 Computer Science
A
coalition of business leaders, governors and
educators has called on the United States Congress to provide funding that will
give
every student in America the opportunity to learn computer science.
U.S.
corporate CEOs are backing up their commitment
by offering nearly $50 million in private contributions in order to
increase
access to computer science.
Google
has promised to provide $10 million in new
funding to be spent by the end of next year and Microsoft has committed
$10
million to broaden access to K-12 computer science. Infosys Foundation USA has
committed to $5 million in grants to nonprofits that advance computer
science
education.
In
addition, BlackRock, AT&T, Mark Zuckerberg
and Priscilla Chan, Jeff Bezos, Omidyar Network and others have pledged
$23
million in contributions to Code.org, a nonprofit dedicated to
expanding access
and increasing participation among women and students of color in
coding.
On
April 26, CEOs of Fortune 100 companies and 27
governors from both parties, along with K12 education leaders, sent
Congress a letter noting that computer
science is increasingly foundational to 21st-century
careers.
"Ninety
percent of parents want their children to
have access to computer science education at school, and teachers
agree," the
letter read in part. "Despite this groundswell, three-quarters of U.S.
schools
do not offer meaningful computer science courses. This bipartisan issue
cannot
be addressed without growing the federal budget."
In
the letter organized by the Computer Science
Education Coalition in partnership with Code.org,
the coalition urged Congress
to provide school districts with $250 million to enhance computer
science
education in schools.
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.