Tennessee among the first states to require computer science for high schoolers
Starting with the class of 2028, Tennessee high school students must take at least one computer science course before they can graduate.
Why it matters: The new policy, which state lawmakers approved unanimously in 2022, was designed to prepare students for an influx of jobs that require a deeper understanding of technology and AI.
The latest: Top business leaders are urging states nationwide to follow Tennessee's lead.
More than 200 CEOs signed a letter this month urging state leaders to mandate artificial intelligence and computer science classes as a high school graduation requirement.
Signees included leaders of American Express, Airbnb, Dropbox, LinkedIn, Salesforce, Microsoft, Yahoo, Zoom and Uber.
State of play: Tennessee is one of 12 states that already have a computer science mandate in place, per Code.org.
How it works: The new graduation requirement kicked in for freshmen who entered high school last fall.
In addition to the high school requirement, the law also required schools at every level to enhance their computer science offerings.
By the numbers: The state logged a massive uptick in computer science enrollment even before the graduation requirement began.
Middle and high school student enrollment in computer science courses sat at 32,893 statewide during the 2020-21 school year.
It shot to 60,217 by the 2023-24 school year.
What they're saying:"To be a full participant in the economy and the world, you have to be able to understand the technology that's driving the world," state Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) tells Axios.
Yarbro helped push Tennessee to draft a plan for its approach to computer science education. The plan called for more course options statewide.
"I want our students and people generally to be able to understand and shape these technologies more than be shaped by them."
The bottom line: Students who attend high schools that offer a computer science course end up earning 8% higher salaries than those who don't, regardless of career path or whether they attend college, according to a report by the Brookings Institution. (The study examined the impact of giving students access to computer science classes, not of requiring it.)
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