Sec. 2. Findings

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Congress finds the following: Technological advancement has increased the types of jobs available now and for the foreseeable future. Over the next 10 years, employers will be looking to fill an estimated 2,600,000 openings for the top 10 occupations in the collective fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (referred to in this section as STEM ). STEM jobs pay well; STEM workers earn an average of $14,000 per year more than non-STEM workers at every education level.

However, projections suggest that the United States won’t have enough skilled workers to fill STEM jobs. STEM skills and knowledge are now required in a wide range of occupations, including many that are not traditionally considered to be science or engineering-related, such as sustainable agriculture, management of natural resources, and health care. Because of the growing use of STEM skills across all job sectors, the distinction between a “rural” as compared to an “urban” job is blurring.

For instance, renewable energy development and bio-based product manufacturing employ workers in a variety of areas of the United States. Known as the “new collar” economy, the phenomenal growth in job opportunities for those who are prepared will also support the growth of communities: places to raise families and invest in the future. While students at all grade levels can benefit from STEM education, the evidence points to ensuring quality STEM education for middle school students during school and non-school hours.

Good STEM experiences in middle school will lead to positive attitudes toward and expectations of STEM experiences in high school. In the middle grades, students begin to demonstrate formal logical operations (critical thinking). Further, middle school students have been shown to be highly susceptible to developing opinions about their competence and interest in STEM learning. Providing students with additional time in after school and summer STEM programs allows students opportunities to engage in hands-on learning that sparks interest in STEM fields and careers.

Students who engage in well-designed laboratory experiences develop problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, and gain exposure to reactions, materials, and equipment in a lab setting. Sustained investments in hands-on experiences help inspire students to further their education and prepare them for high-technology careers by fostering skills sought by potential employers. Hands-on experiences significantly advance learning at all levels of science education when appropriately designed and guided by qualified educators, in a safe learning environment that is student-centered and curriculum-driven.

The classroom should contain enough resources, space, and storage to permit long-term multidisciplinary projects, individual and small-group learning, inquiry and project-based learning. Native American communities, including American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian populations, have a long history of discrimination and poverty and have higher high school drop-out rates than other underserved groups. In assessments of mathematics and reading throughout elementary and secondary school grades, American Indian and Alaska Native children score lower in mathematics and reading proficiency as compared to other groups.

Only 28 percent of Native Hawaiian students in Hawaii demonstrate mathematics proficiency as compared with 49 percent of non-Native Hawaiian students. In reading, 34.8 percent of Native Hawaiian students tested proficient compared to 54.3 percent of non-Native Hawaiian students. Further, the United States is obligated under the Federal trust responsibility to help raise the standard of living and educational achievement of Native Americans to a level comparable to non-Natives.

To meet the challenge of educating youth to fulfill the demand for STEM workers, public schools in the United States must be equipped to educate all youth in STEM skills, especially youth who are underserved or socially disadvantaged. The median age of United States schools is 65 years. Nearly 50 percent of school buildings in the United States need significant repairs or upgrades, including clean and safe classrooms and laboratory spaces, up-to-date technology, and broadband.

Moreover, the condition of school facilities has a measurable effect on student achievement. For all of these reasons, the future workforce of the United States needs safe, clean, well-equipped school facilities where, regardless of historic or current disadvantages, students can reach their full potential and learn the knowledge and skills that place students on a secure pathway to enhance the capacity of the United States to compete globally.