U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, on Thursday continued her push for STEAM when she successfully amended legislation under review in the House Education and Workforce Committee to add art and design "when appropriate" to federally funded career and technical education programs, according to her congressional Facebook page.
Stefanik is co-chairwoman of the House STEAM Caucus, which emphasizes incorporating arts in the emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math education, commonly called STEM.
The amendment was added to HR 5587, legislation to reauthorize and make changes to the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Act, a 2006 law that funds federal employment and technical education programs for high school students.
The legislation updates the program to adapt to changing needs of the workplace, according to a press release from the House Education and Workforce Committee, which unanimously advanced the legislation on Thursday.
The legislation provides more local control of how programs are designed, according to the press release.
Stefanik also co-sponsored the legislation on Thursday, according to the Library of Congress government information system.
Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., introduced the legislation, which had 15 co-sponsors, as of Friday -- eight Republicans and seven Democrats.