H.R. 10347: Data Science and Literacy Act of 2026

This bill would create a new federal grant program to help schools and colleges expand data literacy and data science education. In plain terms, it would direct the Secretary of Education to give competitive grants to states, school districts, tribal schools, colleges, or partnerships that want to improve how students learn to understand, use, and think critically about data.

What the grant program would support

The grants could be used for projects that:

• expand access to data literacy, data science, and statistics education from pre-kindergarten through postsecondary education;
• improve students’ ability to reason with data;
• serve as examples or models for data science education nationwide;
• develop curricula and course materials in data science, data literacy, and statistics;
• increase access to learning support, including online courses and interactive learning tools;
• train teachers and other educators to teach these subjects;
• hire staff with expertise in data science and statistics teaching;
• build partnerships with industry, nonprofits, out-of-school programs, and colleges;
• support efforts to broaden participation by students who are underrepresented in STEM;
• help two-year colleges connect students to jobs or to four-year degree programs in related fields.

Grant recipients would have to use the money for at least two of the listed activities, and no more than 15 percent of a grant could be spent on equipment.

Who could apply

Eligible applicants would include state educational agencies, local school districts, tribal schools, colleges and universities, and eligible consortia made up of those entities. Applicants would need to explain how they plan to increase access, evaluate their work over time, and continue the project after the grant ends.

How long grants could last

Grants could last for up to 5 years.

Reporting and review requirements

Grant recipients would have to report to the Department of Education at least twice a year. Those reports would include information about the students served, broken down by race, ethnicity, gender, and whether they qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Within 5 years after the first grant is awarded, the Department of Education would have to:

• submit a public report to Congress analyzing the grant reports and recommending whether the program should be expanded; and
• carry out and publish an evaluation of how effective the grants were at improving access, student skills, and the preparation and retention of qualified data science and statistics educators.

Funding

The bill would authorize $10 million per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2031. Up to 2.5 percent of that amount could be used for administrative expenses, technical assistance, and publishing the required reports. Up to 1 percent could be used for the program evaluation.

Other changes

The bill also amends an existing education law to require federal education statistics to include the number of STEM teachers in secondary schools in each state, along with:

• the subjects they teach;
• their educational backgrounds; and
• their race, ethnicity, and gender.

This teacher data would be collected and reported no more than once every 5 years, and that section would take effect 1 year after enactment.

Definitions

The bill defines terms like data literacy, data science, STEM fields, and underrepresented students. In general, it treats data literacy as the ability to understand and communicate claims based on data, and data science as the use of statistics, math, and computer science to analyze data.

Relevant Companies

None found