|
December 1998
News of U.S. Educational Technology Policy and Legislation
provided by the
International Society for Technology in Education.
|
Compiled, written, and edited by
Phil Ugelow,
Leslie Harris, and
Adeena
Colbert.
Copyright ISTE, 1998.
If you use excerpts, credit ISTE. |
Contents
E-Rate Money to Schools and Libraries Starts Flowing
Two waves of the long-awaited commitment letters for the E-rate
program were
finally sent out in the last few weeks. The first wave of letters went
out on
November 23, with much fanfare. Vice President Al Gore and many
members of Congress
celebrated with parents, students, teachers and librarians at the
Martin Luther
King Jr. Memorial Library, in Washington, DC, the morning the first
letters
were sent out. Another wave has since been sent out, and three to four
more
waves will be in the mail in the near future. The Schools and
Libraries Corporation
received 30,000-plus applications for discounts in the 75-day
application window.
These requests for discounts on services received in 1998, when
adjusted for
the 18-month funding period established by the FCC in June, result in
an estimated
demand of $2.6 billion.
The first wave of E-Rate commitment letters committed over $73
million in
discounts, $53,544,511.74 to telecommunications services,
$14,473,324.24 to
Internet access and $5,128,501.98 to internal connections. The
"window" for
the second year funding opened December 1, 1998, and is expected to
remain open
at least until mid-February.
To encourage participants in the second year of E-Rate, Bell
Atlantic and
the Education and Libraries Networks Coalition, (EdLiNC), have
produced a videotape
to help administrators take advantage of the program. 20,000 tapes
were mailed
out the week of November 23, to school districts and library systems
across
the country explaining the E-rate program administered by the Schools
and Libraries
Corporation.
The EdLiNC coalition has also prepared the "EdLiNC PR KIT" to help
schools
and libraries share their stories with national policy makers and the
public.
The coalition is encouraging E-Rate recipients to let lawmakers and
the community
know how the E-Rate will improve school and library services in your
community
and ensure that, in the future, the E-Rate is available for all school
children
and library users. There are four main components of the PR kit, a
general memo,
a sample letter to your members of Congress and other government
officials,
a sample op-ed for your local paper, and an action page filled with
activities
to promote the E-rate. (The Kit is still available via fax or mail by
calling
1-800-941-8478; ask for "EdLiNC PR Kit.")
The Center for Media Education has released a brochure "Educating
Your Child
for the 21st Century: A Parent's Guide to the E-Rate" to involve
parents in
the E-Rate program. The brochure gives a short explanation of the
program, answers
eight questions parents might have about the E-Rate program. Can be
downloaded
at http://www.cme.org/cme, or by contacting tracy@cme.org.
Distance Learning Proceeding Begins at the U.S. Copyright Office
Pursuant to copyright legislation adopted last session, the Register
of Copyrights
has undertaken a study on distance learning as it relates to
copyright. Congress
directed the Copyright Office to consult with copyright owners and
educators
and to submit recommendations to Congress on how to promote distance
education
through digital technologies, including interactive digital networks,
while
"maintaining an appropriate balance between the rights of copyright
owners and
the needs of users of copyrighted works." This legislation provided a
six-month
period for this task to be completed. As a first step, the Copyright
Office
has asked any and all parties with an interest in distance learning to
file
a brief statement of interest, by December 7, 1998. However,
statements will
be accepted after that time. For more information check at
http://www.lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/fedreg/#new.
There will also be a formal notice and comment period sometime in
January. To
make sure the Copyright Office has all the facts, ISTE is also posting
a survey
on its website. To participate go to http://www.iste.org.
Technology Challenge Grants Awarded
On September 22, 1998 the Clinton Administration announced that 20
school
district partnerships in 17 states will be awarded grants totaling $30
million
to help provide the additional support to meet the challenge of
preparing new
teachers, and supporting existing ones, to teach effectively using
technology.
The Technology Innovative Challenge Grant Program serves as a catalyst
for positive
change for schools. It supports educators, industry partners,
communities, parents,
and others who are using new technologies to help bring high quality
education
to every classroom and neighborhood. The list of grantees can be found
at: http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/09-1998/ticg98.html.
FCC Sets Public Interest Access Rules for Direct Broadcast Satellite
In 1992, Congress passed legislation establishing public interest
obligations
for direct broadcast satellite ("DBS") providers. On November 25, 1998
the FCC
released its ruling on the issue. The FCC will require DBS licensees
to reserve
four percent of their channel capacity exclusively for "noncommercial
programming
of an educational or informational nature". For the most part, DBS
providers
will retain control over which programmers have access to the set
aside. The
International Society for Technology and Education and the Consortium
for School
Networking submitted comments on these proceedings on October 8, which
stated
their strong interest in the development of educational capacity
within satellite
technology and their concern for the protection and expansion of that
interest.
Oral Arguments Heard on Universal Service Law Suit
On December 1, 1998 oral arguments were heard before the U.S. Court
of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit in the challenge to the universal service
provisions of
the federal 1996 telecommunications law. The case, Texas Office of
Public Utility
Counsel, et al. v. FCC, was filed over a year ago by a group of phone
companies
and others, including SBC and GTE, who were seeking to strike down key
aspects
of the Federal Communication Commission's Universal Service Order.
Lawyers for
the opponents argued, among other things, that internal connections
and Internet
service provided by the E-Rate were beyond the scope of the law. The
FCC and
the EdLiNC Coalition argued in favor of Universal Service program. The
Court's
decision in this case will be critical in determining the future of
universal
service, particularly the E-rate.
Bell South Withdraws from Lawsuit
On November 24, 1998, one week before oral arguments were heard in
the universal
service law suit, BellSouth withdrew from its appeal of the Federal
Communication
Commission's Order on Universal Service. BellSouth was one of three
phone companies
to file the joint appeal in August, 1997. Bill Barfield, BellSouth's
associate
general counsel, stated "...we think that it is in the best interest
of our
business and our customers to withdraw this appeal." The International
Society
for Technology in Education and the Consortium for School Networking
jointly
sent a letter to BellSouth thanking the company for its foresight and
leadership.
Others interested in doing the same should address their letters to
Duane Ackerman,
CEO, BellSouth, 675 West Peachtree Street, NE, Suite 4500, Atlanta,
GA, 30375.
Library Filtering Policy Struck Down by District Court
On November 23, Judge Brinkema, a Virginia federal district court
judge, issued
a summary judgement striking down the Internet use policy adopted by
the Loudoun
County, Virginia Library Board. The policy adopted by the library
board required
that "Site-blocking software (software that blocks by site, rather
than by suspect-word
category) will be installed on all computers," including all those
accessed
by adults. As the first case of its kind, it set a precedent for
Internet access
in public libraries across the United States. Ruling the policy
unconstitutional
in every respect, Brinkema's 48-page opinion concluded that the
Board's policy
"offends the guarantee of free speech in the First Amendment."
Copyright Office Calls for Interim Designations
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 amended the copyright
law to
provide limitations for on-line service provider liability relating to
copyrighted
material posted on their networks. More specifically, the law relieves
ISPs
and OSPs, including those run by schools and libraries, from liability
for the
copyright violations of network users. To be eligible for the
liability limitations
service providers must first designate an agent to receive
notifications of
claimed infringement. Contact information for that agent must be
registered
with the Copyright Office and posted on a publicly accessible website.
To find
out more about the Interim Designation look online at
http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright.
Prepared by Leslie Harris
On behalf of the International Society for Technology in Education
|
