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
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
Decoding D.C.’s Alphabet Soup of Legislation – Implications for STEM Learning for Back to School Season 2022
A lot of new legislation has been passed recently and it can feel a bit like sinking into the alphabet soup of acronyms coming from
Introducing the STEM Next Opportunity Fund STEM and Tech Equity Fellow Network
Introducing the STEM Next Opportunity Fund STEM and Tech Equity Fellow Network Each year, the Federal Government spends an estimated $3B on STEM education.
White House Celebrates International Day of Women & Girls in Science
In celebration of International Day of Women and Girls in Science, STEM Next joins an esteemed panel hosted by the White House Office of Science
Trump’s new budget seeks to end funding for afterschool and other STEM education programs
The Trump Administration has decided to double-down on funding cuts in education that would be devastating for the millions of young people and their families who rely on afterschool programs. This is particularly true for afterschool STEM learning. The Administration’s new FY18 budget proposal once again seeks to eliminate funding for the 21st Century Learning Centers program that supports afterschool learning opportunities. Their proposal is all the more stunning knowing that an overwhelming majority of Americans are opposed to eliminating funding for programs that support afterschool and summer learning.
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.