Section 158.846 - Legislative findings concerning academic achievement in STEM disciplinesThe General Assembly hereby finds that:
(1) The future of Kentucky depends upon the ability to develop intellectual capital that can drive the research and development activities that will allow the Commonwealth to successfully compete in the global knowledge-based economy;(2) Kentucky's natural resources, the nation's need for energy independence, and the worldwide movement toward the creation of cleaner and more sustainable energy technologies afford Kentucky the opportunity to become an international leader in energy diversification;(3) Strengthening Kentucky's position in key areas of the knowledge-based economy, including energy and environmental technology, biosciences, materials science, advanced manufacturing, information technology, human health and development, and other fields, requires a strong and steady stream of researchers, workers, policymakers, and entrepreneurs trained in the STEM disciplines;(4) The number of Kentucky's elementary and secondary students interested in pursuing, and adequately prepared for success in, the STEM disciplines in college and the workforce is insufficient to meet the challenges and opportunities with which Kentucky is confronted;(5) The number of Kentucky's elementary, middle, and secondary school teachers who are highly qualified to provide instruction in the STEM disciplines is insufficient to adequately prepare students for careers in the knowledge-based economy; and(6) Bold, collaborative, and strategic action is needed by all stakeholders in Kentucky's P-20 education system, business sector, and government to improve Kentucky's position for success in the knowledge-based economy by expanding and strengthening STEM educational opportunities from prekindergarten through the doctoral degree level, inspiring more Kentuckians to pursue those opportunities, and linking those opportunities with a coherent set of statewide economic and workforce development strategies.Effective:7/15/2008
Created 2008, Ky. Acts ch. 134, sec. 2, effective7/15/2008.