I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1485 

To authorize the Secretary of Education to carry out a program to increase 

access to prekindergarten through grade 12 computer science education. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 4, 2019 

Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Ms. DELBENE, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. 

JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. CISNEROS, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. HILL of California, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. 

JACKSON LEE, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Ms. TITUS, 

Mr. GRIJALVA, and Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Education to carry out a 

program to increase access to prekindergarten through 

grade 12 computer science education. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Computer Science for 

5 All Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that: 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 1485 IH

1 (1) Computer science is transforming industry, 

2 creating new fields of commerce, driving innovation, 

3 and bolstering productivity. It is projected that computing will make up 2 4 ⁄3 of new science and engineer5 ing jobs. 

6 (2) However, the more than 500,000 computing 

7 jobs unfilled in the United States suggests that our 

8 students are not being prepared to meet the de9 mands of a 21st century economy. It is projected 

10 that there will be 1,400,000 new jobs in the tech11 nology sector by 2020; however, 70 percent of those 

12 jobs will be unfulfilled at the rate American univer13 sities are producing qualified graduates. 

14 (3) Knowledge of computer science and use of 

15 technology is increasingly essential for all individ16 uals, not just those working or planning to work in 

17 the technology sector. 

18 (4) Providing students with computer science 

19 education in elementary school and secondary school 

20 is critical for student success, and strengthening the 

21 workforce of a 21st century economy. 

22 (5) While an estimated 90 percent of parents 

23 want computer science taught in their children’s 

24 schools, just 25 percent of all elementary schools 

25 and secondary schools offer high-quality computer 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 1485 IH

1 science instruction that includes programming and 

2 coding. 

3 (6) Black and Hispanic workers in the science 

4 and engineering workforce continue to be underrep5 resented. Black employees represent 11 percent of 

6 the U.S. workforce, but only 9 percent of the science 

7 and engineering workforce. Hispanic employees rep8 resent 16 percent of the U.S. workforce, but only 7 

9 percent of the science and engineering workforce. 

10 (7) While underrepresented minority students 

11 overall face an opportunity gap in STEAM edu12 cation, women of color particularly face an achieve13 ment gap in science and engineering education. In 

14 2015, while women were conferred nearly a third of 

15 all science and engineering degrees, women of color 

16 received only 13 percent (Black: 3.2 percent; His17 panic: 3.9 percent; Native American or Alaskan Na18 tive: 0.2 percent; Asian or Pacific Islander: 4.5 per19 cent; and multi-racial: 1.2 percent). 

20 (8) Women overall face challenges in accessing 

21 computer science education. Only 18 percent of all 

22 bachelor’s degrees conferred in computer science 

23 went to women in 2015, and women of color received 

24 only 9 percent of degrees (Black: 3 percent; His25 panic: 2 percent; Native American or Alaska Native: 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 1485 IH

1 0.8 percent; and Asian or Pacific islander: 3 per2 cent). 

3 (9) Disparities in enrollment and academic 

4 achievement start early. In 2018, only 28 percent of 

5 students taking either AP Computer Science exams 

6 were women, and just 21 percent were African 

7 American, or Latino. 

8 (10) Nationwide, only 88 Native American stu9 dents took the AP Computer Science exam in 2016, 

10 a decrease from 2015. This means that while Native 

11 Americans make up about 1.1 percent of the U.S. 

student population, they made up 1 12 ⁄5 of a percent of 

13 students who took AP Computer Science exams in 

14 2016. 

15 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this Act: 

17 (1) COMPUTATIONAL THINKING.—The term 

18 ‘‘computational thinking’’ aims to capture the wide 

19 range of creative processes that go into formulating 

20 problems and their solutions in such a way that the 

21 solutions can be carried out by a computer, and may 

22 involve some understanding of software and hard23 ware design, logic and the use of abstraction and 

24 representation, algorithm design, algorithm expres25 sion, problem decomposition, modularity, programVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Mar 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1485.IH H1485

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 1485 IH

1 ming paradigms and languages, issues of informa2 tion security and privacy, the application of com3 putation across a wide range of disciplines, and the 

4 societal impact of computing. Programming is a 

5 hands-on, inquiry-based way in which computational 

6 thinking may be learned. 

7 (2) COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION.—The 

8 term ‘‘computer science education’’ includes any of 

9 the following: computational thinking; software de10 sign; hardware architecture and organization; theo11 retical foundations; use of abstraction and represen12 tation in problem solving; logic; algorithm design 

13 and implementation; the limits of computation; pro14 gramming paradigms and languages; parallel and 

15 distributed computing; information security and pri16 vacy; computing systems and networks; graphics and 

17 visualization; databases and information retrieval; 

18 the relationship between computing and mathe19 matics; artificial intelligence; applications of com20 puting across a broad range of disciplines and prob21 lems; and the social impacts and professional prac22 tices of computing. 

23 (3) ELIGIBLE TRIBAL SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘eli24 gible Tribal school’’ means— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 1485 IH

1 (A) a school operated by the Bureau of In2 dian Education; 

3 (B) a school operated pursuant to the In4 dian Self-Determination and Education Assist5 ance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.); or 

6 (C) a tribally controlled school (as defined 

7 in section 5212 of the Tribally Controlled 

8 Schools Act of 1988 (25 U.S.C. 2511)). 

9 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

10 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

11 meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher 

12 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 

13 (5) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

14 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 

15 the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec16 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8101). 

17 (6) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘‘poverty line’’ 

18 has the meaning given the term in section 8101 of 

19 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

20 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8101). 

21 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

22 the Secretary of Education. 

23 (8) STEAM.—The term ‘‘STEAM’’ means the 

24 subjects of science, technology, engineering, arts, 

25 and mathematics, including computer science. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 1485 IH

1 SEC. 4. GRANTS TO STATES, LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN2 CIES, AND ELIGIBLE TRIBAL SCHOOLS. 

3 (a) GRANTS TO STATES, LOCAL EDUCATIONAL

4 AGENCIES, AND ELIGIBLE TRIBAL SCHOOLS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

6 grants to States, local educational agencies, and eli7 gible Tribal schools— 

8 (A) that demonstrate an ability to carry 

9 out an ambitious computer science education 

10 expansion effort for all students served by the 

11 State, agency, or school, including traditionally 

12 underrepresented students; and 

13 (B) to serve as models for national replica14 tion of computer science education expansion 

15 efforts. 

16 (2) CONSORTIA AND PARTNERSHIPS.—A State, 

17 local educational agency, or eligible Tribal school 

18 may apply for a grant under this section as part of 

19 a consortium or in partnership with a State edu20 cational agency or other partner. 

21 (3) DURATION.—Grants awarded under this 

22 section shall be for a period of not more than 5 

23 years. 

24 (b) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—A State, local 

25 educational agency, or eligible Tribal school that desires 

26 a grant under this section shall submit an application to 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 1485 IH

1 the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con2 taining such information as the Secretary may require, in3 cluding, at a minimum, plans for the following: 

4 (1) Every high school student served by the 

5 State, local educational agency, or eligible Tribal 

6 school to have access to computer science education 

7 not later than 5 years after receipt of grant funds. 

8 (2) All students served by the State, local edu9 cational agency, or eligible Tribal school to have ac10 cess to a progression of computer science education 

11 from prekindergarten through middle school that 

12 prepares students for high school computer science 

13 education. 

14 (3) Expansion of overall access to rigorous 

15 STEAM classes, utilizing computer science as a cat16 alyst for increased interest in STEAM more broadly, 

17 and reducing the enrollment and academic achieve18 ment gap for underrepresented groups such as mi19 norities, girls, and youth from families living at, or 

20 below, the poverty line. 

21 (4) Continuous monitoring and evaluation of 

22 project activities. 

23 (5) Effectively sustaining project activities after 

24 the grant period ends, and the length of time which 

25 the applicant plans to sustain the project activities. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 1485 IH

1 (c) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.— 

2 (1) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—A State, local edu3 cational agency, or eligible Tribal school that re4 ceives a grant under this section shall use the grant 

5 funds for the following activities: 

6 (A) Training teachers to teach computer 

7 science. 

8 (B) Expanding access to high-quality 

9 learning materials and online learning options. 

10 (C) Creating plans for expanding overall 

11 access to rigorous STEAM classes, utilizing 

12 computer science as a catalyst for increased in13 terest in STEAM more broadly, and reducing 

14 course equity gaps for all students, including 

15 underrepresented groups such as minorities, 

16 girls, and youth from low-income families. 

17 (D) Ensuring additional support and re18 sources, which may include mentoring for stu19 dents traditionally underrepresented in STEAM 

20 fields. 

21 (2) PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES.—A State, local 

22 educational agency, or eligible Tribal school that re23 ceives a grant under this section may use the grant 

24 funds for the following activities: 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 1485 IH

1 (A) Building effective regional collabora2 tions with industry, nonprofit organizations, 2- 

3 year and 4-year degree granting institutions of 

4 higher education (including community colleges, 

5 Historically Black Colleges and Universities, 

6 Hispanic-serving institutions, Asian American 

7 and Native American Pacific Islander-serving 

8 institutions, American Indian Tribally con9 trolled colleges and universities, Alaska Native 

10 and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, Pre11 dominantly Black Institutions, Native Amer12 ican-serving, Nontribal institutions, and other 

13 minority-serving institutions), and out-of-school 

14 providers. 

15 (B) Recruiting and hiring instructional 

16 personnel as needed, including curriculum spe17 cialists. 

18 (C) Preparations for effectively sustaining 

19 project activities after the grant period ends. 

20 (D) Disseminating information about effec21 tive practices. 

22 (3) LIMITATION.—Not more than 15 percent of 

23 a grant may be used to purchase equipment. 

24 (d) NATIONAL ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary may re25 serve not more than 2.5 percent of funds available for 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 1485 IH

1 grants under this section for national activities, including 

2 technical assistance, evaluation, and dissemination. 

3 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

5 a total of $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 and the suc6 ceeding 4 fiscal years. 

7 SEC. 5. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

8 (a) GRANTEE REPORTS.—Each State, local edu9 cational agency, and eligible Tribal school that receives a 

10 grant under this Act shall submit to the Secretary a re11 port, not less than twice a year during the grant period, 

12 on the use of grant funds that shall include data on the 

13 numbers of students served through activities funded 

14 under this Act, disaggregated by race (for Asian and Na15 tive Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students using the same 

16 race response categories as the decennial census of the 

17 population), ethnicity, gender, and eligibility to receive a 

18 free or reduced price lunch under the Richard B. Russell 

19 National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.). 

20 (b) REPORT BY THE SECRETARY.—Not later than 5 

21 years after the first grant is awarded under this Act, the 

22 Secretary shall submit to Congress a report based on the 

23 analysis of reports received under subsection (a) with a 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 1485 IH

1 recommendation on how to expand the program under this 

2 Act. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS