President Barack Obama has unveiled a new initiative to expand access to computer science education at K-12 schools across the U.S. as part of efforts to prepare students for college and career in technical fields.
The White House said Thursday Obama will request $4 billion from Congress to fund  implementation of his Computer Science for All Initiative and another $100 million in program-related competitive grants.
The funds would help U.S. states and district schools to train teachers to teach computer science as well as increase access to hands-on CS courses in public high schools.
The National Science Foundation and the Corporation for National and Community Service have pledged a combined $137 million to support CS teacher development programs.
Google, Salesforce.org and Cartoon Network committed to invest more than $60 million in the Computer Science for All Initiative, while Code.org plans to train an additional 25,000 teachers on computer science this year, the White House added.
Microsoft President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith, wrote in a blog article published Saturday the company supports the White House’s initiative.