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March 1999
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, 1999.
If you use excerpts, credit ISTE. |
Contents
SLD Issues Last Funding Commitments
On February 26, the SLD mailed the tenth and final wave of
commitments for
1998–1999 E-Rate funding. Total funding for Year 1 applications
reached
the $1.66 billion cap: $661 million in support for telecom services,
$102 million
in support for Internet access, and $897 million devoted to internal
connection
fees. The SLD was able to provide internal connections funding for all
applicants
who qualified for a discount rate of 70% or higher—a rate that
exceeded
many expectations.
The SLD was able to fund 25,785 applications out of the original pool
of 30,121.
According to the SLD, those who did not receive any funding had either
applied
for ineligible services or had applied for only internal connections
support—and
did not qualify financially. Urban applicants received 67% of funding
commitments;
rural schools and libraries accounted for just 22% of the funding
pool. The
SLD could not characterize the remaining 11% of applications.
The SLD reports high numbers of applications for Year 2 E-Rate grants. As of
February 25, the SLD had already received 28,823 Form 470 applications for Year
2 funding; that number will likely increase significantly as the March 5 deadline
approaches.
FCC News
The FCC will soon consider a waiver for schools and libraries to
extend the
deadline for using their Year 1 E-Rate funding past June 30. E-Rate
recipients
are asking for a change in the deadline because delays in funding
commitments
have shortened their window to use the money. The FCC plans to decide
the issue
at either March 11 or March 18 meetings.
The FCC will host a meeting with state representatives to discuss recommendations
and plans for Year 3 E-Rate proposals; the meeting will be on March 17 in Washington,
D.C.
Tancredo Introduces E-Rate Termination Bill
On February 10, Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) introduced the “E-Rate
Termination
Act,” a bill that would eliminate the schools and libraries
funding program,
effective immediately. The legislation already has 16 cosponsors, most
notably
including GOP Whip Tom DeLay.
In remarks on the House floor, Tancredo argued that the E-Rate is an
“unfunded
mandate” and an “unnecessary tax.” He contends that the
E-Rate
is unnecessary because other federal programs already allocate money
for technology
in education.
“Millions of dollars are available to schools through a number
of existing
federal programs to improve technological capacities,” wrote
Tancredo in
a January 26 “Dear Colleague” letter. Tancredo has also
invoked Republican
rhetoric in attacking the E-Rate, calling it the “Gore tax”
and a
“hidden tax” on consumers.
But while Tancredo was attacking the program schools and libraries in his district
were being notified that they will receive more than $1.5 million in benefits
from the E-Rate program in this year alone—funding that Tancredo is attempting
to destroy.
Legislators Propose Alternative Funding E-Rate
Last month, Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) and Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA)
announced
that they would again seek to replace funding for the E-Rate with a
percentage
of the federal excise tax on telecommunications. Similar to previous
bills offered
last year, this legislation would halve the federal excise tax and
dedicate
the remaining $2 billion to E-Rate subsidies. Among other things, the
new legislation
removes the E-Rate program from the FCC’s jurisdiction, and
places it under
the authority of the Commerce Department’s National
Telecommunications
and Information Administration (NTIA).
Earlier in March, Rep. Ron Klink (D-PA) introduced similar
legislation, the
“Telecommunications Trust Act,” which would also fund the
E-Rate through
the existing federal excise tax. The bill (H.R. 727) states that the
legislation
will “prevent the imposition of additional telephone
charges” and
establish “explicit and stable funding” for the E-Rate.
Unlike the
Burns and Tauzin legislation, however, H.R. 727 would protect the
funding for
the E-Rate for five years and otherwise maintain the current
jurisdicition and
administration of the program.
Opponents of new E-Rate legislation argue that any attempt to shift the funding
structure of the program will inevitably result in future budget cuts for the
program. In fact, these legislative remedies may not provide the stable funding
that they promise: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has already introduced a bill (S.94)
to repeal the telephone excise tax altogether.
McCain Holds Filtering Hearing; Franks Introduces Bill
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) held a hearing of the Commerce Committee on
Thursday,
March 4 to discuss the “Children’s Internet Protect
Act,” legislation
that would require the use of filtering or blocking software at any
school or
library that receives E-Rate discounts.
Under this legislation (S. 97), libraries would be required to use
filtering
software on at least one computer, and schools would be required to
install
filtering on all computers. Schools or libraries that do not comply
will no
longer be eligible to receive any E-Rate discounts for Internet
access.
At the hearing, school and library representatives told the Committee
that
any proposal compelling the use of software to block or filter
inappropriate
material would undermine the decision making of local communities.
“Congress must understand that there is no one-size-fits-all
solution
that the federal government can impose that is better or more
thoughtful than
the solutions communities adopt,” testified Candace Morgan, an
associate
director of a regional library.
McCain, however, insisted that S. 97 allows for local decision
making—even
though the bill explicitly requires the use of filtering software.
“If
you on the board decide you don’t want to use [software],
don’t
use it,” snapped McCain in an exchange with Morgan. The
legislation, however,
provides no alternative or prerogative for local communities to make
that decision.
Conservative activists spoke strongly in favor of the legislation at
the hearing.
“This legislation . . . is an absolute necessity,” said
Bruce Taylor,
president of the conservative National Law Center for Children and
Families.
“The libraries and the schools are not going to use these
technologies
unless someone makes them do it.”
McCain appears to have garnered support for the legislation at the
hearing
among other members of the Commerce Committee; ranking minority member
Sen.
Ernest Hollings (D-SC) is already a cosponsor.
On Tuesday, March 2, Rep. Bob Franks (R-NJ) introduced the same legislation
in the House (H.R. 543). At a press conference, Franks surrounded by conservative
representatives of “pro-family” groups spoke of criminals and pedophiles
using the Internet to contact children and said that pornography in libraries
is a “real and pervasive problem for America.” The bill was referred
to the House Commerce Committee.
Burns Readies Privacy Bill
Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) will soon introduce legislation to protect
online
privacy as part of his “digital dozen” technology agenda.
Burns’
“Online Privacy Protection Act” will require Web site
operators to
provide notice of what types of personal information they collect from
users
and how they plan to use that information. It will also mandate that
site operators
cannot compel users to disclose more personal information than
necessary for
participation in online activities.
The legislation will protect personal information such as names, home
addresses,
e-mail addresses, social security numbers, and telephone numbers. The
bill will
apply equally to teenagers and adults.
Under the legislation, sites that already enforce privacy policies will be
reviewed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for compliance; the FTC will
have authority to pursue violators in federal court. Legislation protecting
children’s online privacy was adopted last Congress.
GOP Announces Education Initiatives
House Republicans introduced the first piece of their education
agenda this
month, offering H.R. 2, a set of modest, bipartisan initiatives.
Dubbed the “Dollars to the Classroom Act,” H.R. 2 steers
clear of
controversial measures on the Republican reform agenda; instead, the
legislation
appears to closely mirror several Democratic proposals. The bill,
outlined by
Education and the Workforce Chairman Bill Goodling (R-PA),
calls for increasing the percentage of federal funding that directly
reaches
the classroom, expanding a pilot program that reduces federal
regulations on
schools, and creating a minor tax incentive to reduce the cost of
school construction
bonds.
Although Speaker Dennis Hastert claims that “this proposal
illustrates
the Republican-led Congress’ commitment to creating the best and
safest
schools in the world,” H.R. 2 is a very simple, modest effort in
education
reform: the legislation only proposes to pass a nonbinding resolution
to ensure
that 95% of federal education spending reaches the classroom, to
authorize all
states to participate in the “Ed-Flex” program (supported by
the Clinton
administration) that gives local schools more authority in exchange
for increased
accountability, and to change bond arbitrage rules for school
construction,
a measure introduced by Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL) last year.
The focus of H.R. 2, though small in scale, is bipartisan and will likely enjoy
broad support. More controversial legislation (block grants and school vouchers)
are expected to be considered late this year when Congress considers the reauthorization
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
EdLiNC Prepares Campaign Against GTE
EdLiNC, the coalition of schools and libraries organizations that
support the
E-Rate, is preparing to launch a letter-writing campaign to GTE, the
only remaining
plaintiff in a telco lawsuit against the E-Rate program. The lawsuit
seeks to
restrict significantly the services that are eligible for universal
service
subsidies.
EdLiNC writes in a letter to GTE: “GTE’s insistence in
pursuing this
court challenge is plainly not serving the public interest. . . .
[Other]
companies realize that not only is the E-Rate good for education,
it’s
good for business.” To contact GTE, you can e-mail William Barr,
the company’s
General Counsel, at williambarr@hq.gte.com.
The other original plaintiffs SBC and BellSouth have already withdrawn from
the case.
EdLiNC Thanks Congress
To celebrate the successful conclusion of the E-Rate’s first
year, EdLiNC
publicly thanked Congress in a full-page Roll Call ad and in a
separate letter
to members of Congress.
The Roll Call ad lists E-Rate funding commitments in a state-by-state table;
EdLiNC also thanks Congress for “expanding the educational opportunities
of millions of schoolchildren.” The ad appears in the March 4 edition of
Roll Call, and is also available online at www.edlinc.org.
Report Urges Technology Training For Teachers
The CEO Forum, a coalition of educators and high-tech executives,
issued a
report in February that says that today’s teachers are
ill-prepared and
unqualified to use technology in the classroom.
The CEO Forum report argues that investing in the training of
teachers so that
they can learn how and when to use computers in the classroom is more
important
than investing in hardware and software resources. Just 5% of
technology funding
is spent on teacher training, the report notes—even though the
Department
of Education recommends using 30% of funds. In fact, a survey
conducted by the
CEO Forum finds that only one in five teachers feels comfortable using
technology
in the classroom.
“We are encouraged that more and more schools are becoming wired
for the
next century, but we still have work to do,” said Alan Spoon, CEO
Forum
co-chair. “As computers replace blackboards and as the Internet
provides
access to the world’s store of knowledge, teachers must learn how
to incorporate
these tools into their classrooms and curricula.”
To learn more about the CEO Forum’s report and recommendations, visit
their Web site at www.ceoforum.org.
National Science Foundation Announces New Grants
The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently announced an
Interagency Education
Research Initiative (IERI), a grant program which is focusing on
studying the
use of information and computer technologies in the learning
environment.
The goal of the program is to study how information technology can be
applied
to learning—through areas like school readiness, cognitive
development,
and skills in reading, math, and science—and to develop
experimental methods
for applying this knowledge in educational policy and practice.
The program is currently soliciting grant proposals for both small
and large
studies, and aims to fund most studies for a three-year period. The
program
will operate a $30 million grant fund, provided by the NSF and the
Department
of Education. Optional letters of intent are due April 1, and full
proposals
are due by May 14.
IERI will be coordinated by NSF, Department of Education, the Office
of Educational
Research and Improvement, and the National Institute of Child Health
and Human
Development in the National Institutes of Health.
More information is available at http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf9984.
Reports of “Modem Tax” Unfounded
Rumors circulating on the Internet claiming that the government is
considering
assessing a fee for accessing the Internet are simply a hoax, says FCC
Chair
Bill Kennard.
“Consumers will see no new charges on their Internet or phone
bills,”
said Kennard, when asked whether the FCC was considering a per-use fee
on Internet
connections.
A widely spread e-mail “alert” claimed that the government
was deciding
whether or not to “allow a charge to your phone bill each time
you access
the Internet.” The confusion arose after an FCC hearing on
reciprocal compensation,
a restructuring of fees between phone companies.
The new arrangement will have no effect on Internet bills, and did
not address
any issue of an Internet “usage” fee. The FCC also released
a statement
promising that there is “no intention of assessing per-minute
charges on
Internet traffic or of making any changes in the way consumers obtain
and pay
for access to the Internet.”
For more information, visit the Department of Energy’s Internet hoax prevention
Web site at http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/.
E-Rate Survey
The National School Board Association has asked Leslie Harris & Associates
to work on gathering positive E-Rate stories from across the country, for a
report which will be released in April. The funding for this report is coming
from Bell Atlantic. The research is also serving the dual purpose of enabling
ProMedia to provide journalists and Members of Congress with information about
the E-Rate in local communities. Leslie Harris & Associates is interested
in your E-Rate story. If you are interested in participating in this important
survey please e-mail Adeena Colbert at acolbert@lharris.com.
Prepared by Leslie Harris, Adeena Colbert, and Phil Ugelow
On behalf of the International Society for Technology in Education
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