STEM Education Legislation Passes House

The first major piece of legislation dealing directly with STEM education just passed the House of Representatives. H. R. 1709, the Stem Education Coordination Act of 2009, passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 353 to 39.

As written earlier on our blog, the legislation will coordinate the STEM education programs of such federal agencies as NASA, the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Education.

The Act calls for the coordination to be done by a committee to be established by the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) under the National Science and Technology Council. The Committee will then develop a five year “strategic plan” and annually report to Congress the progress of the strategic plan.

The National Science and Technology Council is made up of the President, Vice President, Director of OSTP, and secretaries and leaders of the Cabinet and other Federal agencies.