Dive Brief:

• Industry and education leaders at the U.S. News STEM Solutions Conference argue access to quality computer science classes will be a social justice issue of this generation.  
• Three experts led a panel discussion entitled "Giving Computer Science a Boost" at the conference, where they argued the current computer science curriculum is not only in a state of crisis, but popular companies like code.org may give the nation a false sense of success in the sector.  
• To bring insight to the current status quo, the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) —​which was represented on the panel —​​ created “Running on Empty" assembled a report that compares computer science education state by state.  

Dive Insight:

The three panelist who spoke on "Giving Computer Science a Boost" were Black Girls Code's founder and executive director Kimberly Bryant; Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) Chair Deborah Seehorn; and Oracle Academy Vice President Alison J. Derbenwick Miller. 

Having three woman on the panel is not only refreshing in a male dominated industry like computer science, but also gives insight into the hidden script that is often silenced or not seen when discussing the industry.

Black Girls Code's Bryant suggested people find programs like hers and find ways to incorporate them into the school day so it's not just relegated to "after school programing" status.

Some of the points the women argued: Educators and computer science experts need to work together more; students must know how to use technology —​ not just what it is used for; legislation must push for the certification of computer science teachers; computer science professional development needs more funding; high school is too late to inspire a STEM career, so computer science classes should start earlier; and parents are key in supporting computer science learning.