S. 3398 – STEM Education in Accounting Act

AI-Generated Summary

Updated February 8, 2026 at 8:39 AM UTC

The STEM Education in Accounting Act amends the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grant program under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to include accounting education and career awareness as part of a STEM curriculum. It aims to give K‑12 students, especially those from underrepresented groups, early exposure to accounting and related technology skills. The changes affect schools that receive federal education grants and the programs they fund.

Key Provisions

Adds a new subclause for “accounting education, including accounting career awareness” to the list of STEM activities eligible for grant funding.
Creates a new subparagraph authorizing activities that develop, implement, and strengthen accounting programs and increase access to high‑quality accounting courses for students through grade 12, focusing on underrepresented groups.
Updates the grant language by removing redundant “or” wording and renumbering existing subclauses to accommodate the new accounting provisions.

Legislative Activity

Stay on top of the latest movement without scrolling through every action

1 earlier action

SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S9214-9215)

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee

December 15, 2021

View full timeline

SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

December 15, 2021

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S9214-9215)

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee

December 15, 2021

Floor Debate

1 member

What members said about S. 3398 on the floor

1 Republican

Sen. Susan M. CollinsR-ME · Dec 15, 2021

Mr. President, I rise to introduce the STEM Education in Accounting Act with my colleague Senator Rosen. Our bill would recognize accounting as part of a well-rounded STEM education and allow school…

Mr. President, I rise to introduce the STEM Education in Accounting Act with my colleague Senator Rosen. Our bill would recognize accounting as part of a well-rounded STEM education and allow school districts to use their Federal education

block grant resources to develop and improve instruction in accounting. It also aims to introduce more students to accounting and improve career awareness and workforce diversity in the field. In today's rapidly changing world, improving students' access to a STEM-based curriculum is increasingly vital to ensure they are prepared to succeed in the 21st-century workforce.

Mathematics--the ``M'' in ``STEM''--is a critical skill that can help students unlock countless doors to high-paying, in-demand fields. One of those doors leads to the accounting profession, whose work has a direct impact on employers, employees, retirees, investors, and the global economy. Certified professional accountants, or CPAs, play a key role in providing capital markets with confidence in financial reporting. Modern accounting increasingly requires cutting-edge math and technology skills, including IT auditing, artificial intelligence, data analytics, and cyber security, to keep up with the market's needs.

Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, which is current law, school districts may use funds from the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Program to support a host of curricular and extracurricular activities that deliver a well-rounded education to students in all grade levels. Specifically, the STEM Education in Accounting Act would add ``activities to promote the development, implementation, and strengthening of programs to teach accounting'' to the list of courses and activities supported by this flexible block grant. Our bill would also promote high-quality accounting instruction for members of groups underrepresented in the accounting profession.

Encouraging a robust pipeline of future accounting professionals is paramount. I encourage my colleagues to join us in supporting this bill to promote accounting education, improve students' finance skills, and strengthen the pipeline of future accountants, who play such a vital role in our financial system.

Sen. Susan M. CollinsR-ME · Dec 15, 2021

Mr. President, I rise to introduce the STEM Education in Accounting Act with my colleague Senator Rosen. Our bill would recognize accounting as part of a well-rounded STEM education and allow school…

Mr. President, I rise to introduce the STEM Education in Accounting Act with my colleague Senator Rosen. Our bill would recognize accounting as part of a well-rounded STEM education and allow school districts to use their Federal education

block grant resources to develop and improve instruction in accounting. It also aims to introduce more students to accounting and improve career awareness and workforce diversity in the field. In today's rapidly changing world, improving students' access to a STEM-based curriculum is increasingly vital to ensure they are prepared to succeed in the 21st-century workforce.

Mathematics--the ``M'' in ``STEM''--is a critical skill that can help students unlock countless doors to high-paying, in-demand fields. One of those doors leads to the accounting profession, whose work has a direct impact on employers, employees, retirees, investors, and the global economy. Certified professional accountants, or CPAs, play a key role in providing capital markets with confidence in financial reporting. Modern accounting increasingly requires cutting-edge math and technology skills, including IT auditing, artificial intelligence, data analytics, and cyber security, to keep up with the market's needs.

Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, which is current law, school districts may use funds from the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Program to support a host of curricular and extracurricular activities that deliver a well-rounded education to students in all grade levels. Specifically, the STEM Education in Accounting Act would add ``activities to promote the development, implementation, and strengthening of programs to teach accounting'' to the list of courses and activities supported by this flexible block grant. Our bill would also promote high-quality accounting instruction for members of groups underrepresented in the accounting profession.

Encouraging a robust pipeline of future accounting professionals is paramount. I encourage my colleagues to join us in supporting this bill to promote accounting education, improve students' finance skills, and strengthen the pipeline of future accountants, who play such a vital role in our financial system.

Bill Text

Latest available legislative text

Reading Mode

Raw Text PDF XML

Introduced in SenateIssued December 15, 2021

II

117th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 3398

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

December 15, 2021

Ms. Collins (for herself and Ms. Rosen) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

A BILL

To amend the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grant program to promote career awareness in accounting as part of a well-rounded STEM educational experience.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the STEM Education in Accounting Act .

2.

Findings

The Congress finds as follows:

(1)

The accounting profession is working to ensure that it meets the needs of the public, businesses, governments, and not-for-profit organizations in a technology-driven marketplace.

(2)

Promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within the accounting profession fosters a field that is reflective of the local, regional, and global communities it serves, and is better positioned to innovate around the complex issues facing organizations of all kinds and the evolving public interest.

(3)

Early exposure to the accounting profession through family, friends, and other community interactions, or relevant elementary and secondary course offerings, increases opportunity for students to recognize the limitless possibilities of a career in accounting, and therefore inspires that professional trajectory.

(4)

This Act seeks to build on existing financial literacy initiatives by establishing the significance of early course offerings in accounting education as drivers for improving career opportunity and diversity within this STEM profession.

(5)

There is a clear and logical integration between accounting and technology: as the profession continues to advance its use of technology to serve the public interest, accounting professionals, including CPAs, are technological leaders who manage and analyze big data, ensure data security, manage cybersecurity risk, and work alongside Information Technology professionals.

3.

Accounting as part of a well-rounded educational experience

Subpart 1 of part A of title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7111 et seq.) is amended—

(1)

in section 4104(b)(3)(A)(i), by—

(A)

striking or at the end of subclause (VI);

(B)

redesignating subclause (VII) as subclause (VIII); and

(C)

inserting after subclause (VI) the following new subclause:

(VII)

accounting education, including accounting career awareness; or

; and

(2)

in section 4107(a)(3), by—

(A)

striking or at the end of subparagraph (I);

(B)

redesignating subparagraph (J) as subparagraph (K); and

(C)

inserting after subparagraph (I) the following new subparagraph:

(J)

activities to promote the development, implementation, and strengthening of programs to teach accounting, including increasing access to high-quality accounting courses for students through grade 12 who are members of groups underrepresented in accounting careers; or

.