Today the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) approved the state’s first-ever academic content standards for computer science. The new standards, which will be implemented for the 2025-2026 school year, are designed to ensure graduates apply analytical and critical thinking skills to real-world situations, demonstrate digital literacy and digital citizenship skills, and utilize technology skills as employable citizens to meet present and future workforce needs.
“The value of computer science education in developing students’ analytical skills cannot be overstated,” said BESE President Ronnie Morris. “Every day, each of us interact with an ever-increasing number of computing systems that impact how we live and work, and the importance of digital literacy will only increase in the years ahead. The standards BESE adopted today will apply at every grade level, so every student benefits. We are particularly excited about mapping these standards to the core curriculum so students can appreciate the practical application.”
The standards are organized into five core concepts from the Louisiana Computer Science Framework, which include computing skills, networks and the internet, data and analysis, algorithms and programming, and impacts of computing. The framework assists teachers in structuring student learning, providing cohesion to the components that make up computer science educational programs, and is adaptable to varying teaching styles and specific computer science content topics. An overview of the new standards and final policy language is available for viewing here.
“Computer science education is an investment in both the present and future,” said Louisiana Department of Education Deputy Chief of Policy Ashley Townsend, who chaired the computer science commission and standards committee. “It supports problem solving across the curriculum; regardless of a student’s future engagement with computing. As we expand computer science throughout grades K-12, more students will also have the opportunity to prepare for in-demand computing careers -- or for careers that may not even exist yet.”
The Board’s approval of the standards marks the culmination of a process that began with the passage of the Computer Science Education Act in the 2022 Louisiana Regular Legislative Session (Act 541). The Act established the Computer Science Education Advisory Commission (CSEAC), which produced recommendations for the development of a state action plan for computer science education in all public schools. The group met six times during 2022 and 2023, delivering its recommendations to BESE in October of 2023. The full report of CSEAC in response to Act 541 is available for viewing here.
BESE approved the timeline, structure, and processes for the LDOE’s K-12 Computer Science Education Standards Writing Committee in December of 2023. The committee, which consisted of parents, university professors, business and industry representatives, students, school administrators, and teachers, met during the spring and summer of 2024 to create draft standards. LDOE published the draft standards for public comment during the month of September.
Louisiana’s new computer science standards will be implemented statewide for the start of the 2025-2026 school year. LDOE is conducting a series of webinars to provide information and assistance in implementing the new content standards, along with additional supports and guidance to educators and school systems to ensure successful implementation.
For additional information about the computer science standards and the implementation process, please contact the LDOE at STEM@la.gov.
# # #
For more information, contact:
Kevin Calbert
kevin.calbert@la.gov