Education Policy Committee

The ACM Education Policy Committee is a high-level committee of acclaimed computer scientists and educators dedicated to improving opportunities for quality education in computer science and computing-related fields. Chaired by Bobby Schnabel, Dean of the School of Informatics and Computing at Indiana University, the Education Policy Committee develops initiatives aimed at shaping education policies that impact the computing field. A primary goal of the EPC is to ensure that computer science education is recognized in educational initiatives at all levels of the educational pipeline.

The Education Policy Committee will engage educators, industry, policymakers, and the public on public policy issues in computer science and computing-related education. It will focus on steps to ensure that high-quality computer science education is identified as a critical component of education policy.
The Education Policy Committee will:

• Review, research and gather data and information on issues that impact computer science and computing-related education in primary, secondary, and higher education systems
• Determine if current education policies and the education systems generally are adequately serving the computing field and recommend improvements
• Comment on proposals before governmental bodies that impact computer science education and the computing field
• Educate policymakers and the public on the foundational role and importance of computer science education, its importance as a core discipline within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, and its importance to the labor market and the economy
• Provide expertise on key computer science education policy issues to education, industry, and policy leaders

• Letter from the Education Policy Committee and USACM to the House Science and Technology Committee in support of the America COMPETES Act.
• Letter from ACM, the Computer Science Teachers Association, the Computing Research Association and the National Center for Women & Information Technology to a National Research Council study committee on its new Framework for Science Education.
• Letter from the Education Policy Committee to the President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology (PCAST) extending on comments submitted to the May 2010 PCAST meeting.
• Comments by ACM and the Computer Science Teachers Association in response to the House Committee on Science and Technology survey of K-12 STEM education programs.
• Letter to the Board of Regents in the State of Kansas recommending the inclusion of computer science courses in the core curriculum students must take.
• Comments made by ACM, the Computer Science Teachers Association, the Computing Research Association, and the National Center for Women & Information Technology on the Obama Administration's proposed Notice of Proposed Priorities for the Race to the Top Fund
• Education Policy Committee's comments (and letter on the final version) on the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Act of 2009
• Education Policy Committee's transition paper to President-Elect Obama on K-12 Computer Science Education
• ACM's Computing Degrees and Careers website
• ACM's Education Board
• Computer Science Teachers Association
• ACM's K-12 Model Computer Science Curriculum
• ACM, AIS and IEEE-CS Undergraduate Computing Curricula

• ​ Jeffrey Forbes (Chair)
  • Duke University
• ​ Joanna Goode
  • University of Oregon
• ​ Susanne Hambrusch
  • Purdue University
• ​ Elizabeth Hawthorne
  • Union County College
• ​ J Strother Moore
  • University of Texas
• ​ Mark Nelson
  • Computer Science Teachers Association
• ​ Kelly Powers
  • Education Development Center
• ​ Susan Rodger
  • Duke University
• ​ Deborah Seehorn
  • Computer Science Teachers Association
• ​ Chris Stephenson
  • Google
• ​ Mark Stehlik Senior Adviser
  • Carnegie Mellon University
• ​ Eugene Spafford ex officio
  • ACM U.S. Public Policy Council Chair
  • Purdue University

• Rebooting the Pathway to Success: Preparing Students for Computing Workforce Needs in the United States (2014)
• Running on Empty: The Failure to Teach K–12 Computer Science in the Digital Age (2010)
• Globalization and Offshoring of Software (2006)

• The Case for Computer Science Education
• What is Computer Science?
• Why Teach Computer Science?