SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 1625

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JANUARY 14, 2021

      The Senate Education Committee favorably reports Assembly Bill No. 1625 with committee amendments.

      As amended, this bill directs the Department of Education (department), in consultation with the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education and the Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology, to develop and administer an outreach program to encourage young women and minorities to pursue post-secondary degrees and careers in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. In developing and administering the outreach program, the department is to, at a minimum: 1) provide elementary and secondary school students, especially young women and minorities, with opportunities to increase their exposure to the STEM fields; 2) distribute various printed materials to schools, encouraging young women and minorities to pursue post-secondary degrees and careers in the STEM fields; 3) organize and conduct STEM mentoring sessions; 4) establish a STEM mentoring program; and 5) create programs to increase the recruitment and retention of underrepresented faculty in STEM subject areas.  For purposes of this bill, the term STEM includes, but is not limited to, science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and computer science.

      As amended and reported by the committee, this bill is identical to Senate Bill No. 2854, which also was amended and reported by the committee on this same date.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill to provide that STEM also includes computer science.