Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson signed legislation to establish a State Computer Science and Cybersecurity Task Force. 

The task force will be composed of leaders in education, industry, and government. Members will assess the state’s computer science and cybersecurity education programs and make recommendations to continue and enhance the progress made in computer science education over the past five years.

“When we passed the Computer Science Initiative during my first month in office in 2015, Arkansas moved ahead of the pack nationally in computer science education,” Governor Hutchinson said. “But we can’t rest on that success. Technology moves quickly. If we are going to give our students the best computer science education possible, we must constantly assess our progress and implement the programs that will attract and inspire our students and educators.  When our goal is a first-rate computer science education for our students, our educational innovation will continue as a model for the rest of the nation.”

Members of the task force will provide guidance on improving and establishing updated large-scale goals and strategies; industry pathways and relevant certifications for major areas of computer science and computing; post-secondary alignment strategies and goals; work-based learning opportunities for students; teacher credentialing; correct placement and focus on data sciences and cybersecurity in curricula; potential funding usage and future needs; and outreach and development of educational materials. 

A progress report will be submitted to the Governor by June 30, 2020 and a final report will be submitted November 30, 2020.