House advances rural STEM education bill
The House passed legislation by Rep. Frank Lucas on Wednesday that would en list various federal agencies in the effort to improve science, technology, engineering and math education
in rural schools.
Lucas, R-Cheyenne, said a third of the students in Oklahoma attend rural schools and face “a number of barriers to accessing high quality STEM learning, including a shortage of trained science and math teachers.”
The bill he sponsored, which was approved by voice vote and now goes to the Senate, includes roles for the National Science Foundation, the Government Accountability Office, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Institute of Standards and
Technology, and the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Much of the work by the federal agencies would be in researching and developing ways to improve STEM education in rural areas; expanding broadband access is another element of the legislation.
“Since the start of the pandemic, we have seen further proof that rural students are at a disadvantage given the unreliable or non-existent broadband access many must deal with while distance learning,” Lucas said.
The House also approved a bill co-sponsored by Lucas and Rep. Kendra Horn, D-Oklahoma City, that would focus U.S. government efforts on improving the forecasting of “space weather” events.
“Space weather such as solar flares, solar wind, geomagnetic storms of energized and charged particles can affect everything from our electric power grid to satellites to aviation operations, human space flight operations and much more,'' Horn said.
Without better forecasting, she said ,“we run the risks of potential disruptions to our critical infrastructure."
Lucas said the potential impacts of space weather have increased with the growing reliance on technology. He said he modified the bill to give private companies a role in providing forecast data.