Data Science and Literacy Act of 2026

In this title:

(1) Data literacy. The term data literacy means the ability to understand and communicate claims derived from data, including—

(A) what data are;

(B) where data come from; and

(C) what aspects of the world data represent.

(2) Data science. The term data science means the interdisciplinary use of statistics, mathematics, and computer science to analyze data and provide tools to interact with data.

(3) Data science education. The term data science education includes education in any of the following subjects:

(A) Analytics.

(B) Applied statistics and data science.

(C) Artificial intelligence.

(D) Data acquisition and management.

(E) Data literacy.

(F) Data quality and representation.

(G) Data security and privacy.

(H) Ethical use of data.

(I) Machine learning.

(J) Operations research.

(K) Social impacts and professional practices of statistics and data science.

(L) Statistical methods and modeling.

(M) Statistical problem-solving processes.

(4) Eligible consortium. The term eligible consortium means a consortium that—

(A) includes—

(i) an eligible State educational agency;

(ii) an eligible local educational agency;

(iii) an eligible Tribal school; or

(iv) an institution of higher education; and

(B) may include a non-profit or for-profit organization.

(5) Eligible entity. The term eligible entity means an eligible State educational agency, eligible local educational agency, eligible Tribal school, institution of higher education, or eligible consortium.

(6) Eligible local educational agency. The term eligible local educational agency means a local educational agency described in section 1003(f)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6303(f)(1)).

(7) Eligible State educational agency. The term eligible State educational agency means a State educational agency that serves 1 or more eligible local educational agencies.

(8) Eligible Tribal school. The term eligible Tribal school means—

(A) a school operated by the Bureau of Indian Education;

(B) a school operated pursuant to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.); or

(C) a tribally controlled school (as such term is defined in section 5212 of the Tribally Controlled Schools Act of 1988 (25 U.S.C. 2511)).

(9) ESEA terms. The terms local educational agency and State educational agency have the meanings given such terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).

(10) Institution of higher education. The term institution of higher education has the meaning given such term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).

(11) Operations research. The term operations research means the application of scientific methods to the management and administration of organized military, governmental, commercial, and industrial processes to maximize operational efficiency.

(12) Secretary. The term Secretary means the Secretary of Education.

(13) Statistical problem-solving process. The term statistical problem-solving process means a framework for decisionmaking that includes the following components:

(A) Formulating statistical investigative questions.

(B) Collecting and considering the data.

(C) Analyzing the data.

(D) Interpreting the results.

(14) Statistics. The term statistics means the science of learning from data and of measuring and communicating uncertainty.

(15) STEM fields. The term STEM fields means the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and the fields of statistics and computer science.

(16) Underrepresented student. The term underrepresented student means a student from a population that is traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields.