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Bill
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Data Science and Literacy Act of 2023

H.R. 1050 · 118th Congress · Feb 14, 2023 · Lineage

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Education to make grants for the purpose of increasing access to data literacy education, and for other purposes.

Section 1 Short title; table of contents

(a)
Short title— This Act may be cited as the “Data Science and Literacy Act of 2023”.
(b)
Table of contents— The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Sec. 2 Findings

Congress finds the following:
(1)
Data science and literacy are vital for United States residents in an era of intense global competition and growing reliance on data.
(2)
The American people constantly interact with and are affected by data. For example, they—
(A)
regularly consume data, such as educational data, business data, financial data, medical data, sports statistics, and data-based claims in news media;
(B)
are included in a variety of data sets, such as medical and credit histories, web searches, social media activity, and purchase histories; and
(C)
interact with products that are the result of data-driven processes. For example, medications and other medical interventions are tested in randomized trials to assess their efficacy and safety. Similarly, data are often used to inform policy decisions that have considerable impact on citizens.
(3)
Data literacy is increasingly integral in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and other fields.
(4)
Data literacy is essential for both effective citizenship and personal well-being. Data literacy is an integral skill for understanding data-driven claims and making personal decisions in the 21st century. This includes the need to—
(A)
contribute to the digital economy as a productive member of the workforce;
(B)
interpret and synthesize data displays and summaries, such as polls, surveys, and study outcomes; and
(C)
critically evaluate claims based on data both in consuming news media, advertising, and social media and in making personal decisions, such as those related to medical care or financial well-being.
(5)
Access to high-quality data science and literacy education is vital for building the United States STEM workforce and United States competitiveness in the 21st century in the following ways:
(A)
STEM fields are a well-known driver of the United States economy, job growth, and competitiveness. A 2022 government report from the National Science Foundation underscores this point and also notes growing STEM competition from around the globe.
(B)
Accessing talent and ideas from across the socioeconomic spectrum and from diverse geography is critical for building a vibrant United States STEM workforce.
(C)
Concerted efforts to cultivate such talent in the data-driven fields of statistics, data science, mathematical modeling, computer science, machine learning, artificial intelligence, operations research, and analytics are critical to United States competitiveness efforts.
(D)
Data scientist, statistician, and operations researcher roles are among the fastest growing positions in the United States. However, United States companies often struggle to fill their data scientist, statistician, and operations researcher positions, a situation not expected to change this decade.
(E)
The STEM workforce is projected to grow at a faster pace than the non-STEM workforce; however, some have expressed concern that the domestic supply of STEM workers will not meet future workforce needs.
(F)
More and earlier access to quality education that includes data-intense disciplines is necessary to meet industry demands and competitiveness pressures.
(G)
Access to high-quality data literacy education with ongoing support is critical as an entry point to STEM fields for students from populations traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields, including Native Hawaiians, Alaska Natives, and American Indians.
(H)
Such accessibility should also include community colleges, which are often more accessible to diverse groups.
(6)
The expanded focus on data science and literacy would have several benefits, such as—
(A)
helping the United States compete in the emerging field of data science and growing discipline of statistics;
(B)
expanding the STEM workforce by accessing talent across the socioeconomic spectrum; and
(C)
diversifying the STEM workforce by bringing access and support to populations traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields, including female students, students of color, and students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Studies have identified positive associations between diversity and performance for companies.
(7)
Increased attention to data science and literacy supports the burgeoning emphasis on evidence-based policymaking and data-driven decision, including in government as exemplified by the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–435).
(8)
Effective data science and statistics education at the pre-kindergarten through postsecondary levels would—
(A)
ensure graduates have the skills and knowledge necessary to compete in the workforce of the 21st century, with its burgeoning growth of and dependence on data, and acquire the self-efficacy and motivation to embrace careers in data science, statistics, and other STEM fields;
(B)
contribute to student learning and problem-solving skills across multiple disciplines; and
(C)
equip students with the knowledge needed to be responsible and engaged citizens.