The Kentucky Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would count computer programming classes toward fulfilling foreign-language requirements in public schools. The goal is to enhance programming skills, enabling more Kentucky students to land high-paying jobs in the growing computer industry, said Sen. David Givens, the bill’s sponsor. “Those opportunities are there,” the Greensburg Republican said, noting that an estimated 1 million programming jobs will be available by 2020. Kentucky isn’t preparing enough students to acquire the skills to fill those programming jobs, Givens said. The measure cleared the Senate on a 28-8 vote. The opponents remained silent during the discussion of the bill, which now goes to the House. Expanding the definition of foreign languages to include computer programming would help more students squeeze programming courses into their schedules, Givens said.