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December 1997
News of U.S. Educational Technology Policy and Legislation
provided by the
International Society for Technology in Education.
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Compiled, written, and edited by
Phil Ugelow,
Leslie Harris, and
Adeena
Colbert.
Copyright ISTE, 1997.
If you use excerpts, credit ISTE. |
Contents
School And Library Corporation Releases E-Rate Information
In mid- November, the School and Library Corporation released two
important
documents designed to help applicants get ready to apply for Universal
Service
Discounts.(Electronic copies of these documents are available at
http://www.edlinc.org/discounts.
The first document entitled " Nine Steps You Can Take Now to
Prepare for
the Schools and Libraries Universal Service Program" outlines the
information
that will be needed to complete the first two forms which should be
available
later in December. The second, "Questions and Answers on
Implementation
of the Universal Service Program for Schools and Libraries"
provides answers
about the application process, including the 75 day "window
" during
which all applications will be treated equally .In a letter that
accompanied
the documents, School and Library Corporation CEO Ira Fishman pledged
to provide
" open and regular communications with all those interested in
the universal
service program" and to " take the extra step to ensure that
all schools
and libraries regardless of financial resources or geographic
location, have
the opportunity to participate in the program." Significantly, he
reported
that the week of January 12th appeared to be the earliest that the SLC
web site
will be up and running and applications will be accepted. A Client
Service Support
System that will include a telephone hotline to provide full guidance
on the
application process is also being established.
Key Members Of Congress Criticize The Universal Service Program
While the School and Library Corporation moves forward to implement
the universal
service program, several key members of Congress have expressed strong
disapproval
of some aspects of the FCC's plan for schools and libraries. In
particular ,
Senator Ted Stevens (R- Alaska), Senate Appropriations Committee Chair
and a
key member of the Senate Commerce Committee, Rep. Tom Bliley (R-Va.),
Chair
of the House Commerce Committee and Sen. Conrad Burns (R- Montana),
Chair of
the Senate Commerce Communications Subcommittee have raised questions
about
the FCC's creation of separate corporations to run the school and
library and
rural health programs, as well as the administrative process
established to
run the programs.
At the same time, a separate controversy has emerged over the
formula for
charging long distance companies for their contributions to the fund.
The FCC
is expected to delay contributions to the fund for thirty days while
Congress,
the FCC and the industry negotiate. One key question is whether
industry costs
may be passed along to the consumer and if so, how these charges will
be identified
on customers' bills. The long distance carriers are threatening to
pass along
all costs and to specifically identify the schools and libraries
program as
the source of the charge. Congressional leaders oppose such a move and
argue
consumers were never intended to pay for universal service for schools
and libraries.
The dual controversies are viewed by many inside the FCC as the most
serious
threat to the universal service program and to the 1996
Telecommunications Act
that has yet emerged. The seriousness of the controversy was reflected
in a
recent opinion piece in the Washington Post by James Glassman of the
American
Enterprise Institute titled "A New Tax for the New Year" in
which
the author warns of a 4-5% tax on telephone bills to pay for universal
service
programs criticizes and blames Congress, the Vice President and the
Federal
Communications Commission for trying to hide the cost of universal
service in
phone bills. Much of the controversy stems not from a fundamental
disagreement
with the universal service program itself, but with unhappiness with
the FCC
s unwillingness to dramatically lower long distance access charges.
While this
dispute is being resolved, its important to remind members of Congress
of the
value of the new universal service program to your school and your
community.
Lawsuit Over Universal Service Proceeds In Federal Court
Despite hopes that SBC and the other plaintiffs who have challenged
universal
service in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals might back away from their
legal
challenge, the Court has set a schedule for submission of briefs in
the case.
SBC , the other petitioners and supporting intervenors must file
initial briefs
in late February and March , while the FCC and its intervenors,
including the
EdLinc coalition, must file initial briefs in April. The Court is
discouraging
multiple briefs and encouraging "alliances" among those with
similar
views.
Clinton Signs Significant Increase In Education Spending
President Clinton signed the FY 1998 Labor, HHS, and Education
appropriation
bill into law in November, marking a significant increase in spending
for educational
technology. The appropriation includes a total of $584,035,000 for
education
technology programs including the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund,
the Technology
Innovation Challenge Grants, Star Schools, Ready to Learn TV, $30
million in
new money for professional development and a Telecommunications
Demonstration
Project for Mathematics. The appropriations committee left it up to
the Department
of Education to determine how the funds would be divided among these
six programs,
with the exception of $30 million designated for the new teacher
training program.
In signing the bill the President noted that,"Congress and the
United
States of America have answered the call. When I sign this bill into
law, I
will have the privilege of signing into the record books what is
plainly the
best year for American education in more than a generation...The bill
takes
significant steps to ensure that every 12- year-old can log onto the
Internet.
This measure nearly doubles ... our national investment in education
technology.
It puts us well on the way to connecting every classroom and library
to the
information superhighway by the year 2000,... ( and ) provides
investments to
make sure that our teachers have the training they need to maximize
the use
of this new technology".
Digital Copyright Legislation Introduced In The House
Following on the heels of the introduction of digital copyright
legislation
in the Senate earlier in the fall, Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) and Tom
Campbell
(R- Calif.) introduced the Digital Era Copyright Enhancement Act of
1997 (H.R.
3048), to update the U.S. Copyright Act for the electronic networked
environment.
The bill would amend the Copyright Act to make clear that the needs of
both
information proprietors and consumers must be protected.
Significantly, the
bill would protect the information rights of the education community
by extending
the fair use doctrine into the digital environment and assuring that
educators
engaged in distance learning may use computer networks to remotely
distribute
a variety of materials directly related to a defined curriculum to
students
. In remarks accompanying introduction of the legislation, Rep.
Campbell stated,"
Educators should be able to use computers in the same way they
currently use
televisions to foster distance learning..." Rep. Boucher noted
that the
legislation, " provides an historic opportunity to... to
modernize our
copyright law in a way that will spur creativity, advance frontiers of
education
, and promote technological innovation. For more information
concerning this
legislation and the coalition of groups working on it, including ISTE,
contact
www.dfc.org
Senator Coats Introduces Successor Legislation To The Communications
Decency
Act
With little fanfare, Sen Dan Coats ( R- Indiana), introduced new
legislation
designed to keep inappropriate materials away from minors in
cyberspace. The
legislation, S.1462 , intended to respond to the Supreme Court's
criticism of
the Communications Decency Act, requires commercial web providers to
block minor's
access to material that is deemed to be "harmful to minors."
The legislation
and other legislative responses to Internet porn are expected to be
debated
next year. The question of how schools and libraries should respond to
inappropriate
content is expected to one question of interest to Congress. For the
Senator's
introductory remarks, go to www..thomas.loc/gov., Congressional
Record, Nov.8,1997,
S12146.
Deal Struck On Universal Service Implementation
(Courtesy of the National Exchange
Carrier Association)
FCC Chairman William Kennard announced yesterday that universal
service funding
for schools and libraries and rural health care facilities will be cut
by about
1/3 for the first half of 1998. Kennard said the initial contributions
are being
scaled back so the programs are not *overfunded.* Meanwhile, Commerce
Committee
Chairman Bliley suggested the FCC delay implementing the new universal
service
programs until the FCC can fully assess the impact on ratepayers.
Under the revised plan, $625 million will be collected in the first
half of
1998 for the schools and libraries fund and $50 million for the rural
health
care fund. Kennard said the funding caps will remain at the original
levels
until the FCC determines how much funding will be needed for the
second half
of 1998. The Commission is expected to issue an Order today outlining
carrier
contributions based on the new figures.
Meanwhile, MCI has stated that it does not plan to itemize the
universal service
costs on residential phone bills for the first six months of 1998 and
AT&T
is likely to follow suit. Businesses, however, would see the cost of
the contribution
itemized.
Note: The cut back is only in the amount that the carriers have to
contribute
in the first two quarters. The cap of 2.25 billion has not been
reduced at this
time and probably won't if the demand for discounts is high.
Telecom Discount Application Forms Released By The Schools And
Libraries Corporation
On December 11, 60,000 applications for the e-rate program were
mailed out
by the Schools and Libraries Corporation, the non-profit organization
established
by the Federal Communications Commission to administer the universal
service
program.The SLC expects to make the Forms 470 and 471 and their
accompanying
pages of instructions available on the National Exchange Carrier
Association
Web site at www.neca.org
during the
week of December 15.The SLC has established a toll-free number
(888/203-8100)
and an e-mail address (question@slcfund.org) to
respond and provide more information . The current estimated date for
formally
beginning the program with the activatioon of the website is no
earlier than
the 12th of January, 1998.
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