MDE to require computer science curriculum in K-12 schools

A new law, House Bill 633, will require the Mississippi Department of Education to set a computer science curriculum for K-12 schools by the 2024-25 academic year. Gov. Tate Reeves signed the bill on Wednesday, and it will become law July 1st .

Mississippi-based telecommunications and technology company C Spire asked Mississippi legislators to make computer science classes available in all elementary schools, middle schools and high schools by 2024-25. A C Spire news release said 48% of Mississippi high schools currently teach computer science.

C Spire Foundation, a charity connected to the company, announced in January that it was committing $1 million to help Mississippi school districts start computer science classes. C Spire has been promoting computer science education in Mississippi since 2015 with coding challenges, coding academies and accelerated degree programs.

The release said that Mississippi employers have unfilled jobs because of a shortage of trained, qualified information technology and computing workers.

The bill states the State Department of Education is authorized and directed to implement K-12 computer science curriculum based on the 2018 Mississippi College and Career-Readiness Standards for computer science, which includes instruction in, but not limited to: Computational thinking; problem-solving; programming; cyber security; data science; robotics; artificial intelligence and machine learning; and other computer science and cyber-related content.