WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) reintroduced bipartisan legislation to modernize K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the United States.

The bipartisan Mathematical and Statistical Modeling Education Act would help schools better prepare students for STEM occupations that offer high wages and opportunities for career advancement and train educators to engage students in high-quality, research-based lessons applicable to real-world scenarios.

“STEM education plays a vital role in ensuring America’s competitiveness in the 21st century,” said Senator Blackburn. “Our students should have access to a mathematical and statistical problem-solving curriculum that is relevant in the workplace and prepares them to apply their passion to American research, defense, and technology.”

“Setting up our children for success requires making sure that they have the education and training needed to compete in the 21st century economy,” said Senator Hassan. “This bipartisan legislation will help prepare students for STEM careers, support our businesses by building a robust pipeline of qualified STEM workers, and strengthen our national security by allowing us to outcompete other countries. I urge my colleagues to support this important bill and will keep working to give students the resources that they need to thrive in school and in their future careers.”

The bipartisan Mathematical and Statistical Modeling Education Act would direct the National Science Foundation to provide competitive grants focused on modernizing mathematics in STEM education through mathematical and statistical modeling, including data-driven and computational thinking. It will also direct the National Academies to conduct a study on the same topic.

The bill is supported by the American Mathematical Society, Center for Innovation in Education, NS4ed, Data Science 4 Everyone, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, INFORMS, Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications, American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges, American Statistical Association, Association for Women in Mathematics, Mathematical Association of America, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, The Learning Agency, and the New Hampshire Learning Initiative (NHLI).