[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2536 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2536

    To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to 
strengthen elementary and secondary computer science education, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 27, 2013

Mrs. Brooks of Indiana (for herself, Mr. Polis, Mr. Hanna, Ms. DelBene, 
Mrs. McMorris Rodgers, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Honda, Mrs. Davis of California, 
    Mr. Langevin, Mr. Johnson of Ohio, Mr. Messer, and Mr. Delaney) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                      Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to 
strengthen elementary and secondary computer science education, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Computer Science Education Act of 
2013''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Computer science is transforming industry, creating new 
        fields of commerce, driving innovation in all fields of 
        science, and bolstering productivity in established economic 
        sectors.
            (2) Computer science underpins the information technology 
        sector of the United States, which is a significant contributor 
        to the economic output of the United States.
            (3) The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that there will 
        be 9,200,000 jobs in the fields of science, technology, 
        engineering, and mathematics by the year 2020. Half of these, 
        or 4,600,000 jobs, will be in computing.
            (4) The average annual salary in computer science is 
        $76,000.
            (5) Elementary and secondary computer science education 
        gives students a deeper knowledge of the fundamentals of 
        computing, yielding critical thinking skills that will serve 
        students throughout their lives in numerous fields.
            (6) Students who take the College Board's AP computer 
        science test are 8 times more likely to major in computer 
        science in college. Unfortunately, the College Board reports 
        that of the 3,400,000 AP exams given in 2011, just under 
        1,000,000 of those were in the sciences. About 20,000 of those 
        were in computer science, accounting for 2 percent of the 
        science exams and 1 percent of all AP exams. Of the 20,000 
        computer science AP test takers in 2011, only 4,000 were 
        females.
            (7) In the 2012-2013 school year, only 9 states allowed 
        computer science courses to count toward secondary school core 
        graduation requirements, chilling student interest in computer 
        science courses.
            (8) The Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) has 
        found that many States do not have a certification or licensure 
        process for computer science teachers. Where processes do 
        exist, they often have no connection to rigorous computer 
        science content.
            (9) Computer science education has been encumbered by 
        confusion regarding the related but distinct concepts of 
        computer science education, technology education, and the use 
        of technology in education.
            (10) The Association for Computing Machinery and the CSTA 
        have established a clear 4-part, grade-appropriate framework of 
        standards for computer science education to guide State reform 
        efforts.
            (11) With the growing importance of computing in society, 
        the need for students to understand the fundamentals of 
        computing and the significant challenges elementary and 
        secondary computer science education faces, broad support for 
        computer science education is needed to catalyze reform.

SEC. 3. COMPUTER SCIENCE DEFINITIONS.

    Section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7801) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (7) through (43) as 
        paragraphs (8) through (44), respectively;
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following:
            ``(7) Computer science.--The term `computer science' means 
        the study of computers and algorithmic processes and includes 
        the study of computing principles, computer hardware and 
        software design, computer applications, and the impact of 
        computers on society.'';
            (3) in paragraph (12), as so redesignated, by striking 
        ``and geography'' and inserting ``geography, and computer 
        science''; and
            (4) in subparagraph (A)(i) of paragraph (35), as so 
        redesignated, by inserting ``(including computer science)'' 
        after ``academic subjects''.
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