Washington, D.C. —
TechNet, the national, bipartisan network of innovation economy CEOs and senior
executives, today announced a new partnership with the Technology and
Innovation Policy Group at Harvard’s Institute of Politics to identify
comprehensive policies for encouraging computer science education across the
country.

This partnership was announced in conjunction with the White
House Science Fair and is part of White House efforts to expand STEM – Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Math – education in our nation.

“Computer science is
fundamental in the modern, global economy and should be taught in every school
in America,” said Linda Moore, president and CEO of TechNet. “But
this won’t happen overnight. It’s a
generational challenge that requires action on the federal, state, and local
levels. We need to build on efforts to
expand the pool of students trained in computer science and other STEM
disciplines.”

“TechNet has been
working in numerous states to advance legislation that expands access to
computer science education and ensures that those classes count toward core
science or math high school graduation requirements. But today, it’s just a patchwork. That’s why we’ve launched this groundbreaking
partnership with Harvard to identify the core policy changes we need to make as
a nation to ensure that computer science is taught from coast to coast.”

A New
Collaboration
As detailed in a White
House fact sheet released today, TechNet will partner over the next year
with Technology and Innovation Policy Group at Harvard’s Institute of Politics. The collaboration will seek to define key
policy elements of a comprehensive computer science program at the state level
and review the progress of targeted states in implementing such programs.

TechNet and
Computer Science
TechNet has been working in California, Texas, Florida, and
other states to expand access to computer science education and ensure that
high school computer science classes count toward core science or math
graduation requirements. TechNet is also
developing model legislation that can be adopted by states across the
country.

Recently, TechNet laid out a comprehensive computer
science agenda that includes the following goals:

  • Every secondary school in America should be
    required to offer computer science, and those classes should count toward core
    science or math high school graduation requirements.
  • There should be robust programs to train and
    recruit high quality computer science teachers across the country.
  • Computer science programs should be available to
    students of all backgrounds, particularly to young women and students from
    underserved communities.
  • Digital content and tools should be integrated
    into classrooms to provide individualized, data-based learning and improve
    educational outcomes.
  • Within five years, high-speed wireless broadband
    should be made available in every U.S. classroom to ensure that students can
    connect to the Internet quickly, easily, and reliably.

About TechNet
TechNet is the
national, bipartisan network of technology CEOs and senior executives that
promotes the growth of the innovation economy by advocating a targeted policy
agenda at the federal and 50-state level.
TechNet’s diverse membership includes dynamic startups to the most
iconic companies on the planet and represents more than two million employees
in the fields of information technology, e-commerce, advanced energy,
biotechnology, venture capital, and finance.
TechNet has offices in Washington, D.C., Silicon Valley, Sacramento,
Seattle, Boston, and Austin.