Lawmakers Seeking to Fund Cybersecurity Education in State, Local Schools

Rep. Andrew Garbarino on Tuesday introduced new legislation that would allocate federal grants to state governments to provide a stronger cybersecurity education through state and local schools. The New York lawmaker’s proposed Cybersecurity Grants For Schools Act of 2022 authorizes the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to distribute federal funding to schools, Nextgov reported Thursday.

In a press statement, Garbarino said that cybersecurity is essential to national and economic security amid the growing threat of cyberattacks from Russia and other foreign adversaries. The representative of New York’s second district emphasized that cyber attacks are the “next frontier in the great power competition with China and Russia.”

Meanwhile, Rep. John Katko, who represents New York’s 24th district, said the proposed law bolsters CISA’s ability to engage with institutions of higher education and make a meaningful impact on the nation’s shortage of cybersecurity professionals by investing in students early in their careers.

Katko and Rep. Dina Titus are co-sponsoring the bill.

Garbarino said the grants would be provided through the Cybersecurity Education and Training Assistance Program, which was first authorized at CISA by the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act to provide cybersecurity resources and training for K-12 education.  

For his part, Kevin Nolten, vice president of the Cyber Innovation Center, noted that one of the greatest threats to national security is the lack of K-12 cybersecurity education to promote cybersecurity literacy and career pathways.

It was further reported that with Garbarino’s bill, higher education institutions would also be eligible for educational funding. The proposed legislation also aims to address labor shortages in the cybersecurity field.