I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3602 

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 

MAY 28, 2021 

Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Mr. FLEISCHMANN, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. 

BUTTERFIELD, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Ms. 

PRESSLEY, Ms. TITUS, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. 

BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. DELBENE, Ms. CHU, 

Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. KAHELE, Ms. WILSON of Florida, 

Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. 

MCGOVERN, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. SOTO, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, and 

Mrs. HAYES) 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 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Computer science is transforming industry, 

4 creating new fields of commerce, driving innovation, 

5 and bolstering productivity. By 2029, computer 

6 science and information jobs are expected to grow by 

7 11 percent, faster than the average of any other oc8 cupation. 

9 (2) However, as of 2019, the more than 

10 900,000 computing and tech jobs unfilled in the 

11 United States suggests that our students are not 

12 being prepared to meet the demands of a 21st cen13 tury economy. It is projected that there will be 

14 8,000,000 new jobs in the technology sector by 2028 

15 and 3,500,000 computing-related jobs by 2026, how16 ever, the current state of computer science education 

17 will only prepare enough computer science profes18 sionals to fill 19 percent of these jobs. 

19 (3) Knowledge of computer science and use of 

20 technology is increasingly essential for all individ21 uals, not just those working or planning to work in 

22 the technology sector. 

23 (4) Providing students with computer science 

24 education in elementary school and secondary school 

25 is critical for student success, and strengthening the 

26 workforce of a 21st century economy. 


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1 (5) While an estimated 90 percent of parents 

2 want computer science taught in their children’s 

3 schools, just 45 percent of all elementary schools 

4 and secondary schools offer high-quality computer 

5 science instruction that includes programming and 

6 coding. 

7 (6) Black and Hispanic workers in the science 

8 and engineering workforce continue to be underrep9 resented. Black employees represent 13 percent of 

10 the United States workforce, but only 5.6 percent of 

11 the science and engineering workforce. Hispanic em12 ployees represent 17 percent of the United States 

13 workforce, but only 7.5 percent of the science and 

14 engineering workforce. 

15 (7) While underrepresented minority students 

16 overall face an opportunity gap in STEAM edu17 cation, women of color particularly face an achieve18 ment gap in science and engineering education. In 

19 2019, while women were conferred nearly a third of 

20 all science and engineering degrees, women of color 

21 received only 13 percent (Black: 3.2 percent; His22 panic: 3.9 percent; Native American or Alaskan Na23 tive: 0.2 percent; Asian or Pacific Islander: 4.5 per24 cent; and multiracial: 1.2 percent). 


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1 (8) In 2018, of all engineering technologies and 

2 engineering-related bachelor level-related studies, 

3 only 3 percent of nationwide enrollment was rep4 resented by Black students, while just 10 percent 

5 were represented by Hispanic students. 

6 (9) Women overall face challenges in accessing 

7 computer science education. Only 18 percent of all 

8 bachelor’s degrees conferred in computer science 

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

10 only 9 percent of degrees (Black: 3 percent; His11 panic: 2 percent; Native American or Alaska Native: 

12 0.8 percent; and Asian or Pacific islander: 3 per13 cent). 

14 (10) Disparities in enrollment and academic 

15 achievement start early. In 2019, only 24 percent of 

16 students taking either AP Computer Science exams 

17 were women, and just 16 percent were African 

18 American, Latino, or Native Hawaiian/other Pacific 

19 Islander. 

20 (11) Nationwide, only 88 Native American stu21 dents took the AP Computer Science exam in 2016, 

22 a decrease from 2015. This means that while Native 

23 Americans make up about 1.1 percent of the United 

24 States student population, they made up 1/5 of a 


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1 percent of students who took AP Computer Science 

2 exams in 2016. 

3 (12) In 2019, just 18 percent of the Depart4 ment of Education discretionary and research grants 

5 in STEAM were awarded to computer science-fo6 cused programs and less than half of high schools 

7 offered any computer science classes. 

8 (13) Lack of universal computer science edu9 cation is evident in the lack of a widespread tech in10 dustry, which is overwhelmingly concentrated in a 

11 few cities nationwide. Tech industry entrepreneur12 ship is concentrated in just a few States and com13 puter science education is limited to affluent schools 

14 and students, placing low-income, minority, and 

15 rural communities at risk of being left behind. 

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) COMPUTATIONAL THINKING.—The term 

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

20 range of creative processes that go into formulating 

21 problems and their solutions in such a way that the 

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

23 involve some understanding of software and hard24 ware design, logic and the use of abstraction and 

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1 sion, problem decomposition, modularity, program2 ming paradigms and languages, issues of informa3 tion security and privacy, the application of com4 putation across a wide range of disciplines, and the 

5 societal impact of computing. Programming is a 

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

7 thinking may be learned. 

8 (2) COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION.—The 

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

10 the following: computational thinking; software de11 sign; hardware architecture and organization; theo12 retical foundations; use of abstraction and represen13 tation in problem solving; logic; algorithm design 

14 and implementation; the limits of computation; pro15 gramming paradigms and languages; parallel and 

16 distributed computing; information security and pri17 vacy; computing systems and networks; graphics and 

18 visualization; databases and information retrieval; 

19 the relationship between computing and mathe20 matics; artificial intelligence; applications of com21 puting across a broad range of disciplines and prob22 lems; cloud computing; and the social impacts and 

23 professional practices of computing. 


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1 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this section, the 

2 term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means a State, local edu3 cational agency, or eligible Tribal school that— 

4 (A) demonstrates an ability to carry out an 

5 ambitious computer science education expansion 

6 effort for all students served by the State, agen7 cy, or school, respectively, including tradition8 ally underrepresented students; 

9 (B) in the case of a State, serves local edu10 cational agencies that meet the requirements of 

11 section 1003(f) of the Elementary and Sec12 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

13 6303(f)); and 

14 (C) in the case of a local educational agen15 cy, meets the requirements of such section 

16 1003(f) (20 U.S.C. 6303(f)). 

17 (4) ELIGIBLE TRIBAL SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘eli18 gible Tribal school’’ means— 

19 (A) a school operated by the Bureau of In20 dian Education; 

21 (B) a school operated pursuant to the In22 dian Self-Determination and Education Assist23 ance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.); or 


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1 (C) a tribally controlled school (as defined 

2 in section 5212 of the Tribally Controlled 

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

4 (5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

6 meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher 

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

8 (6) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

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

10 the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec11 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8101). 

12 (7) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘‘poverty line’’ 

13 has the meaning given the term in section 8101 of 

14 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

15 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8101). 

16 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of Education. 

18 (9) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean19 ing given the term in section 8101 of the Elemen20 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

21 U.S.C. 7801). 

22 (10) STEAM.—The term ‘‘STEAM’’ means the 

23 subjects of science, technology, engineering, arts, 

24 and mathematics, including computer science. 


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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 eligible entities to serve as models for na7 tional replication of computer science education ex8 pansion efforts. 

9 (2) CONSORTIA AND PARTNERSHIPS.—An eligi10 ble entity may apply for a grant under this section 

11 as part of a consortium or in partnership with a 

12 State educational agency or other partner. 

13 (3) DURATION.—Grants awarded under this 

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

15 years. 

16 (b) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—An eligible enti17 ty that desires a grant under this section shall submit an 

18 application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 

19 and containing such information as the Secretary may re20 quire, including, at a minimum, plans for the following: 

21 (1) Every high school student served by eligible 

22 entity to have access to computer science education 

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

24 (2) All students served by the eligible entity to 

25 have access to a progression of computer science 

26 education from prekindergarten through middle 


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1 school that prepares students for high school com2 puter science education. 

3 (3) Expansion of overall access to rigorous 

4 STEAM classes, utilizing computer science as a cat5 alyst for increased interest in STEAM more broadly, 

6 and reducing the enrollment and academic achieve7 ment gap for underrepresented groups such as mi8 norities, girls, and youth from families living at, or 

9 below, the poverty line. 

10 (4) Continuous monitoring and evaluation of 

11 project activities. 

12 (5) Effectively sustaining project activities after 

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

14 the applicant plans to sustain the project activities. 

15 (c) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.— 

16 (1) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—An eligible entity 

17 that receives a grant under this section shall use the 

18 grant funds for the following activities: 

19 (A) Training teachers to teach computer 

20 science. 

21 (B) Expanding access to high-quality 

22 learning materials and online learning options. 

23 (C) Creating plans for expanding overall 

24 access to rigorous STEAM classes, utilizing 

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1 terest in STEAM more broadly, and reducing 

2 course equity gaps for all students, including 

3 underrepresented groups such as minorities, 

4 girls, and youth from low-income families. 

5 (D) Ensuring additional support and re6 sources, which may include mentoring for stu7 dents traditionally underrepresented in STEAM 

8 fields. 

9 (2) PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES.—An eligible enti10 ty that receives a grant under this section may use 

11 the grant funds for the following activities: 

12 (A) Building effective regional collabora13 tions with industry, nonprofit organizations, 2- 

14 year and 4-year degree granting institutions of 

15 higher education (including community colleges, 

16 Historically Black Colleges and Universities, 

17 Hispanic-serving institutions, Asian American 

18 and Native American Pacific Islander-serving 

19 institutions, American Indian Tribally con20 trolled colleges and universities, Alaska Native 

21 and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, Pre22 dominantly Black Institutions, Native Amer23 ican-serving, Nontribal institutions, and other 

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

25 providers. 


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1 (B) Recruiting and hiring instructional 

2 personnel as needed, including curriculum spe3 cialists. 

4 (C) Preparations for effectively sustaining 

5 project activities after the grant period ends. 

6 (D) Disseminating information about effec7 tive practices. 

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

9 a grant may be used to purchase equipment. 

10 (d) NATIONAL ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary may re11 serve not more than 2.5 percent of funds available for 

12 grants under this section for national activities, including 

13 technical assistance, evaluation, and dissemination. 

14 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

15 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

16 a total of $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2022 and the suc17 ceeding 4 fiscal years. 

18 SEC. 5. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

19 (a) GRANTEE REPORTS.—Each eligible entity that 

20 receives a grant under this Act shall submit to the Sec21 retary a report, not less than twice a year during the grant 

22 period, on the use of grant funds that shall include data 

23 on the numbers of students served through activities fund24 ed under this Act, disaggregated by race (for Asian and 

25 Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students using the 


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1 same race response categories as the decennial census of 

2 the population), ethnicity, gender, and eligibility to receive 

3 a free or reduced price lunch under the Richard B. Russell 

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

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

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

7 Secretary shall submit to Congress a report based on the 

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

9 recommendation on how to expand the program under this 

10 Act. 

11 SEC. 6. AMENDMENTS TO OTHER LAWS. 

12 (a) DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ORGANIZATION

13 ACT.—Section 203(c)(1) of the Department of Education 

14 Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3413(c)(1)) is amended by 

15 inserting before the semicolon the following: ‘‘, which shall 

16 include information with respect to the existence of com17 puter science education (as defined in section 3 of the 

18 Computer Science for All Act of 2021), disaggregated by 

19 the type of computer science education and by State, local 

20 educational agency, and eligible tribal school (as such 

21 terms are defined in such section 3)’’. 

22 (b) THE EDUCATION SCIENCES REFORM ACT OF

23 2002.—Section 153(a)(1) of the Education Sciences Re24 form Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9543(a)(1)) is amended— 

25 (1) in subparagraph (N), by striking ‘‘and’’; 


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1 (2) in subparagraph (O), by adding ‘‘and’’ at 

2 the end; and 

3 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(P) the existence of computer science 

5 education (as defined in section 3 of the Com6 puter Science for All Act of 2021) in elemen7 tary schools and secondary schools, and the de8 gree of competency in computer science fields 

9 among such students.’’. 

Æ 


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