{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.casey.senate.gov/newsroom/releases/casey-kicks-off-hour-of-code-at-easton-area-high-school-pushes-for-passage-of-computer-science-jobs-act", "Casey Kicks Off ‘Hour of Code’ at Easton Area High School, Pushes for Passage of Computer Science Jobs Act", "2014-12-08", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "PA", "Bob Casey", "C001070", "www.casey.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Easton PA- U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) kicked off an \u2018hour of code\u2019 at Easton Area High School and pushed for passage of his bipartisan Computer Science Jobs and Education Act. Students learned how to code and Casey, joined by the school\u2019s educators, discussed the need to put a greater emphasis on computer science education in schools so Pennsylvania students can compete for future jobs.\r\n\u201cPutting more emphasis on computer science in the classrooms will help students compete for the next generation of jobs.\u201d Senator Casey said. \u201cI\u2019m hopeful that in the coming year Congress will move forward on this bipartisan legislation so that learning how to code isn\u2019t a once a year event but a consistent part of what students do throughout the year.\u201d\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nComputer Science Jobs and Education Act\r\nThe Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that in the year 2020, there will be 9.2 million jobs in the STEM fields.\u00a0 Of those jobs, half will be in computing and information technology.\u00a0 That\u2019s 4.6 million jobs\u2014lucrative, important and exciting jobs\u2014waiting for those who choose to study computer science. Despite the economy\u2019s reliance on computer science and the associated need to teach it, only 14 states count it toward a student\u2019s high school graduation requirements. In 2012, just fewer than 3,000 of the country\u2019s 40,000 high schools offered the AP Computer Science exam. Teacher certification processes for computer science teachers are broken or nonexistent, making it difficult to establish and nurture computer science preparation programs or attract computer science talent to a profession that seemingly doesn\u2019t value computer science expertise.\r\nWithout creating any new programs or requiring any new spending, the Computer Science Education Act would clarify that existing and currently funded federal programs should support the teaching and learning of a discipline that offers limitless opportunities to those who study it and support local and state educators who want to put computer science curriculum and teachers in more of the country\u2019s schools.\r\nThe legislation would:\r\n \r\nAmend the definition of \u201ccore academic subjects\u201d in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to add computer science, and define computer science.\r\nExpand the Advanced Placement Incentive Program to include the Advanced Placement computer science class and test.\r\nAmend state plan provisions so that states consider computer science when developing their Title I state improvement plans.\r\nClarify that computer science educators are covered by ESEA\u2019s Math Science Partnerships.\r\nSupport stronger computer science teacher preparation programs.\r\nModify the Noyce Teacher Fellowship program to explicitly include computer science teachers.\r\n \r\nThe bill is endorsed by code.org and Computing in the Core, whose members include: Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, Association for Computing Machinery, College Board, Computer Science Teachers Association, Computing Research Association, Google, IEEE Computer Society, Microsoft, National Center for Women and Information Technology, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, National Science Teachers Association, Oracle and SAS.\r\nCasey first introduced the bill with Senator Rubio (R-FL) in July 2013. It currently has 5 additional cosponsors including Senators Booker, Feinstein, Murray, Schumer, and Warner.\r\nMore information on the \u2018hour of code\u2019 can be found here: http://hourofcode.com/us#\r\n###\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\tPress Contact\r\n\t\t\t\t\tJohn Rizzo 202-228-6367", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.casey.senate.gov/newsroom/releases/casey-kicks-off-hour-of-code-at-easton-area-high-school-pushes-for-passage-of-computer-science-jobs-act"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4473169576376677, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}