Idaho needs a coordinated push to get more students to choose careers in science, technology, engineering and math and become well-prepared job-seekers, the board of Idaho’s new STEM Action Center agreed as they held their first meeting on Wednesday. Idaho lawmakers approved setting aside nearly $650,000 earlier this year to create the center, the AP reports; the push came after two Republican state lawmakers, Sen. Bob Nonini of Coeur d'Alene and Rep. Reed DeMordaunt of Eagle formed a STEM caucus in the Legislature, which quickly attracted more than two dozen lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

Idaho's center is patterned after a similar one in Utah, but smaller in scale. In 2013, Utah lawmakers approved $10 million to help STEM education programs thrive. The Utah center's budget has expanded to $30 million over the past two years to help train math and science teachers and provide grants to students attending STEM competitions. AP reporter Kimberlee Kruesi has a full report here on the board’s initial discussions.