2015 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 162
BY SENATOR NEVERS
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request the state Department of Education, in consultation with the Board of
Regents, the Louisiana Workforce Commission, and the Department of Economic
Development, to study and make recommendations regarding the feasibility of
establishing the Advanced Placement Computer Science course as an equivalent
advanced mathematics course for purposes of satisfying high school graduation
requirements and for determining student eligibility to receive a Louisiana Taylor
Opportunity Program for Students award.
WHEREAS, computing is a major part of daily life and most occupations and is
transforming the way students think about, and interact with, the world; and
WHEREAS, "Computing in the Core", a non-partisan advocacy coalition that strives
to elevate computer science in K-12 education, notes that computer programming jobs
represent more than half of the jobs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
(STEM) fields, and projects that by the year 2020 there will be more than one million
unfilled jobs in this area; and
WHEREAS, wages in computer programming jobs are approximately seventy-five
percent higher than the national median salary; and
WHEREAS, the Advanced Placement Computer Science course introduces students
to computer science with topics that include problem solving, design strategies and design
methodologies, organization of data, approaches to processing data (algorithms), analysis
of potential solutions, and the ethical and social implications of computing; and
WHEREAS, successful math classes are those that produce students who are able to
mathematically model real-life problems and effectively communicate and represent
mathematical principles; and
WHEREAS, a report issued by "Transforming Post-Secondary Education in Math"
recommends that gateway math courses align with major programs of study and high school
graduation requirements and that multiple entry-level math pathways be developed for
students; and
Page 1 of 2 SR NO. 162 ENROLLED
WHEREAS, given current high school graduation requirements, and the TOPS core
curriculum, many students find it difficult to take a computer science course as an elective.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby urge and request the state Department of Education, in consultation with the
Board of Regents, the Louisiana Workforce Commission, and the Department of Economic
Development, to study and make recommendations regarding the feasibility of establishing
the Advanced Placement Computer Science course as an equivalent advanced mathematics
course for purposes of satisfying high school graduation requirements and for determining
student eligibility to receive a Louisiana Taylor Opportunity Program for Students award.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
state superintendent of education, the commissioner of higher education, the executive
director of the Louisiana Workforce Commission, and the secretary of the Department of
Economic Development.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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