By Della Cronin

November 2018

Members of the House and Senate are on the campaign trail in the run-up to the November 6 mid-term elections. This means that the halls of Congress are quiet. Although pundits predict that leadership of the House could go to the Democrats and that the Senate will stay in Republican hands, no one will know for sure until November 7. Regardless, there are some legislative issues that NCTM is watching for potential action in the lame-duck session that will convene later in the month. Investments in federal research agencies still need to be resolved, and there is a possibility that the Senate could act on higher education policy.

In December, the White House is expected to unveil its 5-year strategic plan for STEM education programs. The plan, which is in draft form now, reflects the Administration’s perspective on the importance of investing in programs that produce skilled workers for the country’s employers versus general exposure to STEM subjects.

At the Department of Education, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos recently announced awards for the Education Innovation and Research (EIR) program and the Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) program. EIR, a $120 million program, is intended to help test and scale up promising practices at the state and district levels. The SEED grant program provides funding to increase the number of highly effective educators by supporting the implementation of evidence-based preparation, development, or enhancement opportunities for educators. Both sets of awards reflect an emphasis on STEM and computer science, and there are several that invest in efforts to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics.

What Can You Do?
Vote! After that, figure out who will represent you in the 116th Congress, which will begin in January. Then, pay attention to what they do and say about the issues important to NCTM members and mathematics classrooms nationwide.