Why (and How) Policy Matters in Physics Education: a disciplinary perspective on educational policy

National, perhaps unprecedented, attention is now being paid to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. This attention includes calls for better education of more students and including broader segments of our society in STEM fields. At the same time, national moves are challenging the worth and value of higher education and even the need for physics education. This talk reviews the current landscape education policy, challenges and opportunities facing physics and higher education, and why physics and physicists in particular have been and must be involved.