President Donald Trump is calling on the U.S. Department of Education to put a new focus on STEM education, especially computer science education—even as his budget seeks to scrap federal grants that schools can use for those programs.
The White House wants U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and her team to steer more competitive-grant money, some $200 million, from programs like the Education Innovation and Research fund toward recipients that have a science, technology, engineering, and math focus.
Ironically, though, the administration’s proposed budget for fiscal 2018 eliminates one of the main federal programs in the department that districts can use for computer science: the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants, which can be used for health, safety, arts, technology programs, and more.
Congress didn’t take the administration up on its suggestion to scrap the program, but lawmakers aren’t seeking to fund it at the level federal law recommends.
