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Education and Business Groups Applaud Funding for Technology-Rich Classrooms in Economic Recovery Legislation

$1 Billion is Critical Down-Payment toward President Obama’s Vision that All Students have a 21st Century Learning Environment

Prominent education and business associations today applauded the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate for targeting one billion dollars in the economic recovery legislation directly to modernizing classroom instruction through the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program. The four groups said the funding is an important step toward providing the benefits of a 21st century learning environment to all students.

The four associations are the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), International Society for Technology Education (ISTE), Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) and State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA).

"Emphasizing 21st century technology-rich classrooms in the Economic Recovery Package will work to both stimulate the economy and to accelerate the transformation of teaching and learning for many of our students and teachers," said Mary Ann Wolf, Executive Director of SETDA. "This is a critical step to deliver on President Obama’s promise of a 21st century education for all students.  We must make investments today to ensure their success tomorrow."

"We're encouraged to see education technology included in both versions of the legislation," said Don Knezek, CEO of ISTE. "Setting aside $1 billion to modernize teaching and learning helps preserve and generate jobs now and improves opportunities for the future. But we must do more to reach our neediest students."

"We applaud House and Senate leaders for working with the Administration to include classroom technology enhancements as a key feature of the recovery legislation," said Ken Wasch, President of SIIA. "The $1 billion funding level is an encouraging step toward ensuring all our digital-native students are prepared for the 21st century economy and maintaining our nation’s global competitiveness."

"This funding is a good first step to help to bring our classrooms into the 21st century and drive economic growth, but Congress needs to invest more to make a real difference," said Keith Krueger, CEO of CoSN.  "We applaud President Obama’s vision, and we need the resources to make it a reality."

According to CoSN, ISTE, SETDA and SIIA, which combined represent more than 100,000 educators and hundreds of high-tech employers, a spending infusion on education technology will both provide U.S. students with the 21st century skills they need to succeed in the future and generate jobs in the education, education services and technology sectors.  The groups estimate that   a total investment of $9.9 billion is necessary to ensure that all Title I schools have effective, technology-rich classrooms.

About CoSN, ISTE, SETDA and SIIA:

The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) is the country’s premier voice in education technology leadership, serving K-12 technology leaders who through their strategic use of technology, improve teaching and learning. For further information, visit www.cosn.org.

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is the premier membership association for educators and education leaders engaged in
improving teaching and learning by advancing the effective use of technology in PK-12 and teacher education. Home of NETS and NECC, ISTE represents more than 100,000 professionals worldwide. www.iste.org

The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) is the principal association for state directors of technology and their staff members providing professional development and leadership around the effective use to technology in education to enhance competitiveness in the global workforce. For more information, visit www.setda.org.

The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) is the principal trade association for the software and digital content industry. SIIA provides global services in government relations, business development, corporate education and intellectual property protection to more than 500 leading software and information companies. SIIA and our member companies have long collaborated with educators, policymakers and their stakeholders to improve education through the use of innovative learning technologies. Visit www.siia.net.