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May 1998
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, 1998.
If you use excerpts, credit ISTE. |
Contents
E-Rate "Window" Closes With Over 30,000 Completed Applications
With more than 30,000 applications completed during the first 75
days, the
School and Library Corporation estimates that the demand for the
E-rate funding
will reach $ 2 billion this year. While the final amount will not be
calculated
until applicants and service providers are notified about funding
commitments,
the extraordinary response confirms both the wisdom and the need for
telecommunications
discounts for schools and libraries.
What remains unsettled is whether available funding will meet the
demand.
The exact amount of funding for the year has not been finally set.
While the
FCC order on Universal service set a cap of $ 2.25 billion each year,
only $
625 million has been collected from the carriers thus far during the
first half
of the year. Congress has asked the FCC not establish collection
figures for
the second half of the year until it reports to Congress on May 8th
about the
amount and nature of the funding requests., including what percentage
of requests
are for inside connections to classrooms.
After the FCC reports to Congress, it will announce the funding
level for
the remainder of the year by June 1st. The agency remains under
pressure from
the leadership of the Commerce Committees as well as many
telecommunications
companies to limit the amount of funding available for the program.
For that
reason, it is important that the FCC and members of Congress hear from
constituents
about the importance of the E-rate program to their state or district
and the
need to maintain full funding. The SLC has not issued any guidance on
how funding
would be allocated if the funding level fell short of demand. But the
Chairman
of the FCC, Bill Kennard has stated that " we cannot bite off more
than we can
chew or spend more than we can afford." He also said that his first
priority
would be to fund rural and low income schools, although the FCC has
not issued
any order to that effect.
Digital Copyright Legislation Unanimously Adopted By Senate Judiciary
Committee
After a week of negotiations to try to develop legislative language
on distance
learning for the digital copyright bill intended among other things to
ratify
the WIPO treaty, the Senate Judiciary Committee adopted language
directing the
US Copyright Office to study the complex issues raised by distance
education
on digital networks and to make recommendations on legislative changes
within
six months. While it would have been preferable to get language in
this bill
that clarified the extent to which copyrighted materials, including
audiovisual
, could be used for distance learning, both Sen Hatch (RUT) , the
Chairman of
the Committee and Sen Leahy (D-VT) the ranking member, made a strong
commitment
during consideration of the bill to act expeditiously when the
distance learning
recommendations are presented to Congress. The House has postponed
action on
the copyright bill until summer.
Teacher Training And Technology Innovation Challenge Grants Announced
The Department of Education announced a request for proposals for
its 1998
Technology Innovation Challenge Grants. Applications are due on May
29, 1998.
The focus of these grants is on training K-12 teachers in public and
private
schools to effectively incorporate technology into teaching and
learning --
i.e. teacher preparation and professional development activities. This
is a
highly competitive grant. The Department is estimating that they will
award
20 new grants by September 30, 1998. Grant awards are for five years
and will
range from $1,000,000 a year to $2,000,000 a year. Applications must
be submitted
by a local education agency on behalf of a consortium that must
include a high
poverty school and may include other LEAs, private schools,
businesses, community
organizations, the SEA, institutions of higher education, hardware
manufacturers,
software designers, museums, libraries, and telecommunications firms.
For more
information or to request an application contact: Dolores Anistead,
Office of
Reform Assistance and Dissemination, U.S. Department of Education,
202/208-3876.
Department Of Education Seeks Input On New $75 Million Teacher
Training In Technology
Program
The Department of Education held a day-long meeting in late April to
seek
input on a proposed new $75 million teacher training in technology
program that
is awaiting Congressional action. Included in President Clinton FY
1999 Budget
request the $75 million is intended to fund a new program to help
train all
new teachers in the use of technology. Although the funding for this
program
is not a sure thing -- Congress first must appropriate the funds --
the Department
is beginning to plan what this program would look like. They reached
out to
many in the field, including ISTE members, to seek their input on how
to structure
the program and distribute the funds. Participants divided into six
working
groups which summarized their recommendations at the end of the day.
The recommendations
included a request for proposal model that would require a focus on
particular
subject areas and would include a train the trainer model. Some
included a requirement
of matching funds, evidence of an existing infrastructure, and
sustainability.
Most all included a requirement of collaboration, evaluation and
multiple assessments.
The Department, under the leadership of Linda Roberts, Director of the
Office
of Educational Technology, which will be administering the program, is
still
seeking input on the program. For more information or to make further
recommendations,
contact the Office of Education Technology at the Department of
Education, 202/401-1444
or linda_roberts@ed.gov
Senate Passes Education Savings Bill: Includes Block Grant Of Most
Federal Education
Programs
The Senate passed the Education Savings Act for Public and Private
Schools
(H.R. 2646), a bill to allow expanded education savings accounts. The
bill would
increase the amount of money people could contribute to Education IRAs
without
taxation and allow the funds to be withdrawn for most education
expenses at
all levels, including private school tuition. The bill includes an
amendment
sponsored by Sen. Slade Gorton (R-WA) to block grant most federal
education
programs. That amendment passed the Senate last year but was
ultimately rejected.
The Gorton Block Grant amendment would take all the funds designated
for programs
including Goals 2000, ESEA Title I, ESEA Title VI and all the
Educational Technology
programs and pool them into one large block grant to the states. The
funds would
be sent to the states for each individual Governor to decide how to
use the
funds. Under this bill funds would no longer be specifically directed
to improving
technology education.
The bill, a similar version of which was passed by the House, will
now go
to a conference committee to resolve differences between the House and
Senate
versions of the bill. It is expected, however, that the bill may be
vetoed by
the President.
Department Of Education Announces One-Stop Web Site: Teachers And
Others Sought
For Partnerships With Federal Agencies
The Department of Education announced a new one-stop web site of
federal resources
for teaching and learning. The new site, called FREE, or Federal
Resources for
Educational Excellence, links more than 45 federal agencies. The tool
is expected
to provide a way for federal agencies and teachers to begin forming
partnerships
to develop additional high-quality, standards-based resources for
teaching and
learning. The FREE web site is at www.ed.gov/free.
As part of FREE, the Department is hoping to award support for up to
seven
partnerships of federal agencies and teachers, as well as other
organizations.
Each partnership will develop two products: 1) a set of Internet-based
learning
resources organized around a topic and tied to challenging academic
standards,
and 2) an Internet-based learning community of teachers, students and
other
who use the developed resources.
Proposals to be submitted by federal agencies on behalf of each
partnership
and must be received by May 19, 1998. The invitation requesting
proposals and
the complete application can be found at: www.ed.gov/free/980406.html
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