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October 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 Board Meets
The newly appointed Board of Directors of the Schools and Libraries
Corporation
(SLC), which will implement the universal service telecommunications
discount
program. held their first meeting in Washington on September 23rd. At
that meeting
the Board elected Kathleen Ouye, City Librarian from San Mateo
California as
Chair of the Board and Henry Marockie,President of the Chief State
School Officers
and Superintendent of the West Virginia Department of Education as
Vice Chair.
In addition the new Board began a search for a Chief Executive Officer
to run
the new corporation and began to identify the issues , such as the
application
forms and process that must be resolved immediately in order to et the
program
up and running by January 1. As of now, both the application form and
the program's
web site are expected to be ready by mid-November .
FCC Seeks Comment on Universal Service Order Regarding Distribution of
Funds
for Libraries, Schools, and Rural Health Care
On September 10 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released
a Public
Notice seeking comments on the Universal Service support distribution
options
for schools, libraries and rural health care providers (DA 97-1957, CC
Docket
96-45). Specifically, the FCC was seeking comments on the "rules
of priority"
for allocating universal service support funds if or when libraries
and schools
should deplete the fund to within $250 million of the $2.25 billion
cap.
The FCC is also seeking comment on recommendations made by the
"E-Rate
Implementation Working Group" on July 31, 1997 on allocating
support to
individual institutions that apply for funds on an aggregated (e.g.
statewide
or district wide) basis.
ISTE has supported both the FCC May 7 Report and Order and the
recommendations
of the Working Group. The EdLinc Coalition filed further
recommendations and
comments in response to the FCC's September 10 request for
comments.edlinc.org/filings.
In its order on universal service, the Commission determined that
funds for
eligible schools, libraries, and rural health care providers will be
distributed
on a "first-come first-served basis" beginning January 1,
1998. The
Commission also established a $2.25 billion annual cap on universal
service
support for schools and libraries and a $400 million annual cap for
rural health
care providers. Eligible schools and libraries will be required to
participate
in a competitive bidding process to select their service providers and
will
be permitted to submit funding requests once they have made agreements
for specific
eligible services.
The Administrator will commit funds based on those agreements on a
"first-come
first-served basis" until only $250 million in funds remains
available
within a funding year. Thereafter, a system of priorities will govern
the distribution
of the remaining $250 million to provide an opportunity for only the
most economically
disadvantaged schools and libraries to receive support. In light of
the need
to implement the necessary administrative processes, funding for the
period
beginning January 1, 1998 and ending June 30, 1998 will be limited to
$1 billion
for schools and libraries. Similarly, disbursement to rural health
care providers
will be limited to $100 million in the first quarter of 1998. There
has been
extensive debate on whether or not K-12 schools and libraries will
even come
close to maxing out the cap.
In response to concerns expressed about distributing support to
schools, libraries,
and rural health care providers on a first-come, first-serve basis,
the Commission
sought comment on whether there should be a "window" period
be established
in which all beneficiaries filing within that period would be given
equal priority?.
It also asked whether there should there be a clarification of the
rules of
priority for distributing funds to schools and libraries that would
apply to
the $1 billion available between January 1, 1998 through June 30, 1998
and whether
there are any other methods available that might ensure a broad and
fair distribution
of funds, particularly at the earliest stages of these support
programs..Finally
the Commission sought comment on the "E-Rate Implementation
Working Group,"
report to the Commission on certain issues regarding universal service
support
for schools and libraries.
The Report proposes a method for allocating support to individual
institutions
that apply for funds on an aggregated (e.g.,statewide or district
wide) basis.
Copies of the report are available at www.ed.gov/Technology.
The complete Public Notice, can be viewed at the FCC's website:
www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/Public_Notices/1997/da971957.html
Appropriations for Educational Technology Tied up in Debate over the
Federal
Role in Public Education
During the Senate's consideration of the Labor, Health and Human
Services
Appropriation (Labor HHS) , Sen Slade Gorton ( R-WA) offered an
amendment that
would block grant the majority of K-12 education funds and send those
funds
directly to school districts. The amendment would eliminate all
accountability
for use of those funds, wipe out specific programs authorized by
Congress that
the funds were supposed to fund , including the monies for educational
technology
programs and allow funds to be diverted for non-educational purposes .
By all
accounts the amendment would all but end eliminate the federal role in
education.
The amendment passed by a two vote margin with all Republicans
except Specter,
Snowe, Jeffords and Chafee voting for it. After a day long
negotiation, the
amendment was not offered in the House of Representatives, meaning
that the
Labor HHS Conference Committee between the House and the Senate will
decide
its fate. The Administration which has vowed to veto the Labor HHS
appropriation
if the block grant amendment was included and Senate Democrats have
sent a letter
to the conference warning that they will filibuster any conference
report that
includes the Gorton language. But with Senate Republicans taking to
the Senate
floor to defend the amendment as supportive of local control of
education, the
final outcome remains unclear. Even if the Bill is sent to the
President without
the Gorton amendment, expectations are that the fight to block grant
federal
education dollars will escalate over the next year. ( for more on the
Gorton
Amendment, search thomas.loc.gov.
Balanced Copyright Legislation Introduced in the Senate
Senator John Ashcroft (R-Missouri) introduced the Digital Copyright
Clarification
and Technology Act of 1997 in early September..The legislation marks a
crucial
step toward ensuring that the copyright-related interests of
educators, librarians,
and other information consumers are balanced with the protections
afforded to
copyright owners and proprietors in the age of digital communications.
information.
The Digital Future Coalition which ISTE is an active member of,
believes that
to ensure continued balance in the Copyright Act, any legislative
package updating
copyright law for digital communications should address the related
issues of
fair use, library preservation, distance education, and temporary
reproduction
-- all of which are included in Senator Ashcroft's bill. In addition,
the Ashcroft
bill provides limits to on-line service provider liability -- which
guarantee
that both commercial and not-for-profit providers of Internet access
will not
be held liable for activities of which they have no knowledge or over
which
they have no control.
FCC Declares that Recently Negotiated Multi-Year Telecom Service
Contracts are
Ineliglbe for Universal Service Discounts
On September 19, 1997, the School and Library Networks Coalition
(EdLiNC)
filed a petition for reconsideration of the Federal Communication
Commission's
Order on Reconsideration dated July 10, 1997 which declared that
multi-year
contracts for telecommunications services (i.e., those extending
beyond December
31, 1998) are ineligible for discounts if they are signed after
November 8,
1996 and before the new Universal Service web site becomes operational
for posting
notices of school/library requirements (i.e., perhaps by mid-November
of 1997.)
The practical impact of this recent Order is that most recently
signed master
contracts are now ineligible for universal service discounts. For
example, the
state-wide master contract for high school telecommunication services
in Maine
was signed in December of 1996 and any school delivery orders placed
under that
contract are now ineligible for universal service discounts.
In cooperation with several service providers, EdLiNC requested that
all contracts
signed before the new universal service program becomes operational be
considered
eligible for discounts regardless of the length of contract. The new
program
and new rules on discount eligibility of telecommunications service
contracts
can't become operational until the new program is implemented (i.e.,
after the
universal service web site becomes operational.) The FCC has not yet
responded
to the EdLinc filing.
Reauthorization of Title V Introduced in the Senate
A bill to reauthorize Title V of the Higher Education Act has been
introduced
in the Senate by Sen Frist ( R-Tenn). The legislation, S.1201,
provides for
grants to institutions of higher education to establish and maintain
partnerships
to improve teacher training. Among the permissible use of the
authorized funds
are "programs designed to implement the successful integration of
technology
into teaching and learning." A similar bill is expected to be
introduced
in the House shortly. For the full text, search at thomas.loc.org.
Deductions for Computing Donations Adopted in Tax Measure
A new provision in the recent tax bill will allow companies to
donate computer
equipment to elementary and secondary schools or to private
foundations that
make such computer donations and take an increased tax deduction. The
provision,
Title IIB, Sec. 224 , was originally part of the 21st Century
Classrooms Act
for Private Technology Investment, HR 1153 introduced by Rep.
Cunningham ( R.
) and 20 cosponsors last March. Intended to encourage donations of
technology
to schools, the legislation limits donations to computers and related
technology
which are no more than two years old and requires that the property
"...fit
productively into the entity's education plan." Significantly,
the provision
sunsets after three years, meaning that the deduction is effective for
donations
made in the taxable year beginning after 1997 and before January 1,
2001.
The new enhanced deduction is modeled after current provisions in
the tax
code which permit corporate donations of inventory property to care
for the
ill, the needy or infants; or as well as certain corporate
contributions of
scientific equipment for research or research training in the physical
or biological
sciences.
While the idea of donated equipment has been controversial within
the school
networking community, the new tax provision is far narrower than some
earlier
proposals and schools should look for strategic ways to take advantage
of it,
consistent with their technology and curricular needs. Creating
ongoing partnerships
with local businesses as well as with computer manufacturers and
distributors
can assure a regular upgrade in your school's equipment and assure
that donations
that are consistent with your school's needs.
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