WASHINGTON- The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy said on Wednesday it is launching a national education partnership to expand access to K-12 quantum information science (QIS) education with major companies and research institutions.

The public-private initiative with the National Science Foundation includes Amazon.com's Amazon Web Services, Boeing Co, Alphabet Inc's Google, IBM Corp, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft Corp, the University of Illinois and University of Chicago. The National Science Foundation is also awarding $1 million to QIS education.

The initiative is designed in part to help introduce students to quantum information themes before college.

(Reporting by David Shepardson Editing by Chris Reese) ((David.Shepardson@thomsonreuters.com; 2028988324;))