Licensure Emphasized in New Legislation to Develop Engineering Workforce

Date: 
Thursday, October 12, 2017

NSPE has played a critical role in the development of a recently introduced bill that would bolster early engineering education. The Developing Tomorrow’s Engineering and Technical Workforce Act was introduced on October 11, by Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) and cosponsors Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY) and Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY). NSPE secured a bill provision explicitly emphasizing early engineering education as a vital component in attaining licensure as a professional engineer. This bipartisan legislation, H.R. 4023, would award grants to state and local education agencies to support, develop, and implement formal and informal engineering education programs in elementary and secondary schools. It also would help provide school districts the resources to incorporate engineering education into their science standards.