A legislative mandate would do what decades-long efforts have failed to do: force districts to make computer science a priority by offering the class.

Proper teacher preparation is the first critical step toward implementing an effective computer science course.

Half of the high schools in the Capital Region do not offer any computer science courses, according to a report that called for more “computational thinking” at all grade levels.

Freeburg travels to middle and high schools in Swink, La Junta, Lamar and Trinidad and sees students who want to learn more complex computer skills but don’t have access to courses.