All Michigan public high schools will need to offer at least one computer science course by the fall of 2027 — a mandate established by a new law that Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed this week.
The law will “increase access to impactful computer science skills that will lead to high-wage, high-demand career options for Michigan students,” according to a press release issued Monday by MiSTEM, a state office that works to promote STEM education in Michigan schools and more broadly. “Computer science opens the door for students to engage with the budding artificial intelligence industry, with cybersecurity literacy ensuring these tools are used safely, responsibly and ethically for generations to come. … Computer science is a pathway for students to connect their STEM coursework to real life problem-solving that prepares them for a successful future.”
Experts largely agreed with state officials that this is a good — and necessary — first step toward those goals. But some questioned whether the state has built the proper infrastructure, and is committing enough resources, to make it successful.
“We know that students need to be aware of computing broadly, but also understand how computing tools and practices like algorithms work, to be successful in today's society that's more and more driven by computing technologies,” said Aman Yadav, a professor of computing education at Michigan State University. “They need to have foundational literacy in computing, and I think this will allow us to get there.”
But Yadav cautioned the state needs to do more to ensure that outcome. His biggest concern: a lack of qualified instructors to teach computer science courses at the high school level.
Yadav pointed out that there’s an overall teacher shortage, one that’s especially acute in urban, rural, and high-poverty school districts. He said requiring computer science classes will likely highlight and exacerbate pre-existing inequities between districts.
“Well-resourced schools will have teachers who have enough computer science content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge [to] be able to offer high-quality and rigorous computer science instruction,” Yadav said.
But less affluent districts most likely won’t, he said. “And I think that it creates a huge inequity in terms of who has access to high-quality computer science instruction, and students who don't have access to that.”
Another of Yadav’s concerns is that the Michigan Department of Education is phasing out requirements for computer science teacher endorsements by next year. He argued that’s a mistake, and urged the state to reverse course.
“I'm hoping the state will develop mechanisms to train teachers, [to] develop licensure and certification pathways for teachers, so they can have a deep knowledge of computer science,” he said.
In an email to Michigan Public, MiSTEM Executive Director Megan Schrauben acknowledged that “there is concern” about a lack of qualified computer science teachers, but there are some potential “solutions” already in place.
“Our math and science state standards align well with the computer science standards, [so] our educator pool then extends to math and science teachers as well,” Schrauben said. She added that the state is already working with partners to provide “professional learning that would work for any current math or science-certified teacher to be appropriately placed (read – assigned) to teach a K-12 computer science course.”
But a lack of qualified teachers isn’t the only possible obstacle to providing high-quality computer science instruction in every high school, Yadav said. He noted that so far, the state has committed just $500,000 in its most recent education budget for “computer science professional development and learning programs” — which he argued is “a drop in the ocean” compared to what’s needed.
“$500,000 is not a lot of money,” Yadav said. “So we are requiring schools to offer this, but without any financial support for schools to be able to do it.”
Schrauben disputed that assertion to some extent. She said that “for the past four years, the MiSTEM Advisory Council grants have provided at least $1M annually in funds directly focused on building the capacity of our system to engage in a computer science collaborative.” She also noted that while high schools will be required to provide a computer science course, there’s no requirement that students have to take it, reducing the number of teachers needed to fulfill the requirement.
“We have solutions, and are happy to work with schools to find a solution that will meet their needs,” Schrauben said. “We have three years where professional learning can take place prior to the required implementation year, [and] the grant funds that are available should be targeted to those communities that are not offering a computer science course yet.”
There is no exact data on how many Michigan high schools currently offer computer science. But according to the Center for Educational Performance and Information, 68% of all high schools in the state reported students “taking at least one computer science-related course” during the 2022-23 school year.
