Utah Code 9-22-113. Computer science initiative for public schools
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(1) As used in this section:
Terms Used In Utah Code 9-22-113
- Educator: means the same as that term is defined in Section 53E-6-102. See Utah Code 9-22-102
- High quality professional development: means professional development that meets high quality standards developed by the State Board of Education. See Utah Code 9-22-102
- Institution of higher education: means an institution listed in Section 53B-1-102. See Utah Code 9-22-102
- Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of a judicial proceeding. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
- STEM: means science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. See Utah Code 9-22-102
- STEM board: means the STEM Action Center Board created in Section 9-22-103. See Utah Code 9-22-102
- Writing: includes :(48)(a) printing;(48)(b) handwriting; and(48)(c) information stored in an electronic or other medium if the information is retrievable in a perceivable format. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5(1)(a) “Computational thinking” means the set of problem-solving skills and techniques that software engineers use to write programs that underlie computer applications, including decomposition, pattern recognition, pattern generalization, and algorithm design.(1)(b) “Computer coding” means the process of writing script for a computer program or mobile device.(1)(c) “Educator” means the same as that term is defined in Section 53E-6-102.(1)(d) “Endorsement” means a stipulation, authorized by the State Board of Education and appended to a license, that specifies the areas of practice to which the license applies.(1)(e)(1)(e)(i) “Institution of higher education” means the same as that term is defined in Section 53B-3-102.(1)(e)(ii) “Institution of higher education” includes a technical college described in Section 53B-2a-105.(1)(f) “Employer” means a private employer, public employer, industry association, union, or the military.(1)(g) “License” means the same as that term is defined in Section 53E-6-102.
(2) Subject to legislative appropriations, on behalf of the STEM board, the staff of the STEM board and the staff of the State Board of Education shall collaborate to develop and implement a computer science initiative for public schools by:
(2)(a) creating an online repository that:
(2)(a)(i) is available for school districts and charter schools to use as a resource; and
(2)(a)(ii) includes high quality computer science instructional resources that are designed to teach students in all grade levels:
(2)(a)(ii)(A) computational thinking skills; and
(2)(a)(ii)(B) computer coding skills;
(2)(b) providing for professional development on teaching computer science by:
(2)(b)(i) including resources for educators related to teaching computational thinking and computer coding in the STEM education high quality professional development application described in Section 9-22-110; and
(2)(b)(ii) providing statewide or regional professional development institutes; and
(2)(c) awarding grants to a school district or charter school, on a competitive basis, that may be used to provide incentives for an educator to earn a computer science endorsement.
(3) A school district or charter school may enter into an agreement with one or more of the following entities to jointly apply for a grant under Subsection (2)(c):
(3)(a) a school district;
(3)(b) a charter school;
(3)(c) an employer;
(3)(d) an institution of higher education; or
(3)(e) a non-profit organization.
(4) To apply for a grant described in Subsection (2)(c), a school district or charter school shall submit a plan to the State Board of Education for the use of the grant, including a statement of purpose that describes the methods the school district or charter school proposes to use to incentivize an educator to earn a computer science endorsement.
(5) The State Board of Education and the STEM board shall encourage schools to independently pursue computer science and coding initiatives, subject to local school board or charter school governing board approval, based on the unique needs of the school’s students.
(6) The STEM board shall include information on the status of the computer science initiative in the annual report described in Section 9-22-109.