On Friday, December 23, Congress passed the FY 2023 Omnibus spending package, funding the government for the fiscal year through September 2023. James Brown, Executive Director of the STEM Education Coalition, stated: “This bill is a historic win for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. The funding levels in this bill for STEM programs at the National Science Foundation in particular are a massive, positive step forward towards scaling up innovations in education to reach a broader range of communities students with the greatest needs. Thank you to Congress for delivering a big down payment on our nation’s future.“
While the bill didn’t hit the authorization levels established in the CHIPS and Science Act (which were VERY aspirational), it does deliver a substantial boost to STEM program as NSF and to the education programs we target generally.
Here are some of the highlights:
NSF Total Funding: $9.9 billion (+12% over FY22)
NSF STEM Education Directorate: $1.25 billion (+$140 million)
NIST Total Funding: $1.63 billion (+32%)
DOE Office of Science: $8.1 billion (+8%)
Regional Innovation Technology Hubs: $500 million (new)
Dept. of Education:
Pell Grants: $7.395 billion (+7.3%)
Title IV.A Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants: $1.38 billion (+7.8%) – this is the largest source at ED for STEM program support
21st Century Community Learning Centers: $1.33 billion (+3.1%)
Teacher Quality Partnerships: $70 million (+18.5%)
Minority Science and Engineering Improvement: $16 million (+12.6%)
