Innovative companies across the state such as Avista and Zulily have made Washington one of the leaders in the country in the concentration of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) jobs.

However, our education system is facing challenges to keep up with the demand to produce a diverse and world-class workforce. According to the Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) report Opportunity for All: Investing in Washington State’s STEM Education Pipeline, only nine out of 100 children born in Washington will go on to be employed in a STEM-related field—far fewer than the number of people needed to fill these high skilled positions.

Washington lawmakers must take bold actions to strengthen the STEM pipeline from cradle to career. According to a recent poll commissioned by Washington STEM, they have overwhelming public support to do just that.

Gov. Jay Inslee’s proposed budget includes STEM investments to increase degree production in computer science and engineering, expand access to STEM degrees through student scholarships and academic support programs, and support teacher training in computer science.

A bipartisan group of legislators have also proposed the following four pieces of legislation to help give students a high-quality cradle to career STEM education.

In Washington, the most common jobs are software developers. These jobs are found in more places than just technology companies. Two thirds of these jobs are in places like Washington State Department of Transportation, Starbucks or Nordstrom. The bipartisan team of Rep. Hansen and Rep. Magendanz are championing House Bill 1813 that would help prepare students for these in demand careers that require a high-quality computer science education. The bill establishes education standards for computer science, matches private funding to train teachers, and prioritizes investments to reach underrepresented students first. Poll respondents overwhelmingly support actions like these as well as expanding the number of schools offering computer science.

Rep. Kagi and Sen. Litzow are championing bills in the House and Senate that would create The Early Start Act to improve the quality of Washington’s childcare and preschools. Introducing our youngest students to STEM will set them up for a lifetime of opportunity, success, and interest in STEM. More than 70 percent of Washington voters support improving early learning programs to help improve STEM outcomes.

Rep. Lytton, Rep. Magendanz, and Rep. Bergquist are sponsoring House Bill 1345 that would adopt a statewide definition of teacher professional development; this will help drive the millions spent annually on teacher professional development to better outcomes for teachers and students. Teachers are the most important factor in student achievement and more than 90 percent of voters recognize that supporting teachers is critical to giving students a high-quality STEM education.

Schools need state-of-the-art classroom environments to help students explore and learn STEM subjects. More than 80 percent of Washington voters support legislation like Senate Bill 5478, sponsored by Sen. Dammeier, Sen. Keiser, Sen. Honeyford, Sen. Angel and Sen. Conway that would create a K-12 STEM Capital Grants Program to fund necessary improvements in aging schools.

Budget writers should prioritize STEM investments, which yield a high return, in forthcoming budget proposals. According to the BCG report a $650 million annual investment in STEM education yields $4.5 billion in additional tax revenues and social-spending savings per year, a sevenfold return on investment.

This year, lawmakers are grappling with historic decisions about the state’s education system. Taking these bold actions on STEM education now ensures that all Washington students will have the opportunity to succeed in the state’s strong STEM economy.

Patrick D’Amelio is the CEO of Washington STEM.