Students in the Kapor Center’s SMASH program, which provides training in STEM fields to high school and college students from marginalized backgrounds.
Courtesy: Kapor Center
Far too often, ZIP-code and socioeconomic status determine whether California students have access to a computer science education — and those who don’t live in the right school district often miss out on this key opportunity to thrive in the digital future.
In fact, only 39% of California high schools offer at least one computer science class, and the most recent data from the California Department of Education in 2018 indicates that only 5% of high schoolers are actually enrolled in a computer science course. Further examination reveals that Black, Indigenous, Latino, and Pacific Islander students, along with girls from almost every background, are vastly underrepresented in these courses. In other words, our current system helps perpetuate a deep digital divide by restricting access to students from only the most privileged backgrounds.
But let’s be clear: Parents from every background want students to learn computer science. In fact, recent polling shows that the majority of parents, including 78% of Black and 67% of Latinx parents, believe it is important for their children to learn computer science in the classroom. This is likely because parents recognize that computer science is a foundational skill. It’s increasingly necessary in today’s economy, invaluable in unlocking social and cultural capital, and critical to navigating daily digital life.
I see this data echoed in my own research on community and family engagement in computer science education. Parents across the state are making serious sacrifices to provide their children with these critical learning opportunities. They often have to rigorously plan and budget in order to enroll their children in computer science/STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) summer camps or invest time and resources to find affordable after-school programs. As parents increasingly recognize the value of in-school computer science opportunities for all students, they are beginning to fervently advocate for increased access to this foundational learning.
By providing computer science courses in every public school, we could ensure that all students have an opportunity to succeed and learn how to integrate technology into their daily lives while being conscious of its impact. Dozens of states already require computer science to be taught in their public high schools. California can, and should, join them.
Fortunately, the California state Senate is considering two pieces of legislation that will help meet this demand and ensure all high schoolers have access to a computer science course and an equitable opportunity to thrive in our digital society.
Assemblymember Marc Berman’s AB 1054 bill — also called the “All High Schools Offer” bill — requires California high schools to offer at least one computer science course, and Assemblymember Luz Rivas, a former engineer and founder of DIY Girls, introduced AB 1251 to widen the pool of teachers authorized to teach computer science.
These landmark bills will expand opportunities for students from underserved communities, actualize goals laid out by the California Department of Education back in 2019, and build on California’s Educator Workforce Investment Grant program, which supports professional learning opportunities for hundreds of educators across the state. Passing AB 1054 and AB 1251 is the next step in building a more equitable education system in California.
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Paula Nazario is the assistant director of the Computer Science Equity Project at UCLA Center X, which seeks to democratize K-12 computer science knowledge and to broaden participation in computing.
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