Statement from president and director Ioannis Miaoulis about STEM Education Act of 2015 (H.R. 1020)

We are thrilled that today President Obama signed the STEM Education Act of 2015 (H.R. 1020) into law and that the bill was recently passed unanimously by both the House and Senate.  As part of our ongoing mission to ensure that students are educated in science, technology, engineering and math, as well as computer science, we were happy to have the opportunity to work with Science, Space & Technology Committee Ranking Member Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-IL-03) on meaningful language to ensure that these subjects are expanded and supported at the federal level.  We were especially pleased to work with the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) on the inclusion of informal STEM education funding and support language.  The awarding of grants by the National Science Foundation to support informal STEM education programs will help us to improve our understanding of how to best engage K-12 students in STEM subjects, and improve their learning outcomes in these fields.  We feel strongly that expanding the role of informal learning environments will likewise expand and grow students' participation in STEM fields.