Education: A Lesson from....Wyoming?

Wyoming and Alabama are alike in a few ways...and different in many others.

Wyoming                                               Alabama

Population just under 580k                         Population 4.8 Million

Rank for Education: 16th                            Education     50th

Rank for Crime*:      17th                           Crime:     45th 

(*the lower the number, the less crime)

I looked up the stats to see if an education program they've launched (with no state funding) would work in Alabama:

"Dozens of states have taken steps in recent years to expand students’ access to computer science, but last year, Wyoming became one of the few to require that all K-12 public schools offer it.The mandate is part of a wide-ranging package of new laws, passed by the State Legislature last year, that is intended to wean Wyoming off its heavy reliance on the oil, gas and coal industries, and stem the flow of young people leaving for better jobs."

Surprise: Alabama is also one of the few!  And there is state funding too:

In the last week of its regular session, the (2019) Alabama Legislature approved HB 216, a bill that would not only provide funding for computer science instruction, but would also mandate that computer science would be taught in all elementary, middle and high schools across the state by the 2022-23 school year. (Story from The Tuscaloosa News)

The Governor signed the bill in late July.