MO Governor Parson Signs House Bill 3

On October 30th, Missouri Governor Mike Parson signed House Bill 3 into law at the Grand Center Arts Academy in St. Louis and at the Poplar Bluff High School in Poplar Bluff. House Bill 3 deals with expanding STEM education and computer science courses in Missouri high schools. This was the second bill that was passed out of legislature during a “Special Session” which the Governor ordained back in September. The first bill signed into law from Septembers special session was House Bill 2 which dealt with drug treatment courts.

Working Towards Long-Term Goals

“If we want to see long-term economic prosperity for our state, it’s critical that we develop a well-trained workforce that is ready and willing to fill jobs in the fastest growing fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics,” said Fitzwater, R-Holts Summit ^[1]

In Missouri today many computer science related jobs are left unfulfilled because people do not have the necessary skills for the job. By signing House Bill 3 into a law, Missouri representatives and senators believe, along with the Governor, that it will help highschoolers obtain the training required for computer science and STEM-related jobs.

Adding Opportunities for Students

“Improving our workforce is a top priority with this administration, and in order to help move Missouri forward, we need to expand opportunities for our students,” said Governor Parson. “Missouri currently has a high demand in this field, and by signing this bill, our students will be able to get the proper training to succeed in computing jobs.

Great to be in STL to sign a STEM Education & Computer Science bill — providing more opportunity for Missouri students. Currently we have over 10,000 vacant STEM jobs in the state. If we are serious about workforce development we start here. #MissouriForward #STEM #ShowMeSuccess pic.twitter.com/vdgnCbkIqm

— Governor Mike Parson (@GovParsonMO) October 30, 2018