Advancing Policy Change
We work to advance policy change through a research and policy agenda that supports best practice and expands youth access to high-quality STEM learning outside the classroom.
As a non-partisan non-profit organization, we sit at the center of communities nationwide making it the ideal home to develop and advance comprehensive STEM policy for all learners based on evidence and research.
As a grant-making entity, we can catalyze action aligned to a policy and best practices in out-of-school STEM that we know expand access and opportunity for young people.
In order to achieve lasting impact, we must change the systems and structures that have perpetuated ongoing exclusion for many young people in STEM.
Policy can remove barriers and create the conditions at the Federal, State and Local level to ensure all young people can find success, engagement and joy in their STEM learning experiences.
STEM Next is working to advance policy change in three mutually reinforcing ways:
Developing and enacting a research and policy agenda that expands youth access to high-quality STEM learning outside the classroom.
Deploying STEM Next Opportunity Fellows who are adding capacity to federal agencies to advance STEM learning and out-of-school learning.
Partnering with organizations to collectively advance policy changes that have the potential to impact millions of kids and communities across the country.
Latest Policy Ideas
Budget Appropriations Have Begun – Here’s What You Need to Know
The appropriations process takes a long time. Some years it takes longer than others. The budget process usually kicks off when the President announces budget
Youth Employment Works Launch – Centering Young People in Workforce Development Opportunities
On March 9th, the U.S. Department of Labor announced its Youth Employment Works strategy, a vision for how the workforce system serves young people across
FY24 Budget Recommendations: What Out-Of-School STEM Leaders Should Know
On Thursday, March 9th, the President released his budget request to Congress for fiscal year 2024. Additional details have continued to emerge, as agencies post
Afterschool and Summer Learning: An Unprecedented Opportunity to Engage Students in STEM
This month on the blog, we are thrilled to welcome one of the STEM Next Opportunity Fellows as a guest author. Dr. Holly Miller serves
Counting down 2022 with our favorite Federal STEM policy actions
As we close out 2022, STEM Next reflects on some of the big policy opportunities that the year brought for out-of-school time (OST) STEM learning.
Telling Your STEM Story: A Compelling Strategy for Sustainability
It’s midterm election time and that is the focus of most conversations in Washington, DC. Beyond encouraging everyone to vote, afterschool and summer programs can
Core Beliefs Driving Our Policy Agenda
STEM Next’s policy program that is grounded in four core beliefs:
Family and Youth Voice
We must center the voices of the individual and groups for whom the current policies and practices of STEM education are not working.
Collective Action
STEM Next believes deeply in collective action to catalyze bold changes on behalf of young people.
Capacity Building
We need the ideas and the guiding principles to reimagine STEM education as well as a group of experts to support making these changes at the Federal, State and Local level
Bridging Divides
STEM Next has unique expertise at bridging divides between informal and formal learning environments and works with school districts, community based non-profits, philanthropy and industry to advance change.