Home AdvocacyPolicyWashington Notes2000 Feb

• President’s Requests Bigger Budget for Educational Funding
• Clinton and the Digital Divide
• The Republican Education Agenda
• ESEA Reauthorization Expected this Session
• School Filtering a Priority for High-Tech Task Force
• Web-based Commission Hears Testimony from Riley and Daley
• E-Rate Update
• New Democrats Ready Tech Education Bill
• Mikulski Promises Digital Divide Legislation
• New Millennium Classrooms Act Back in the News
• $12.5 Million Granted to Bridge Digital Divide
• Glenn Commission Seeks Strategies
• COPPA Update

President’s Requests Bigger Budget for Educational Funding

In the last year of his presidency, President Clinton is making education a top priority. In his FY2001 budget request, Clinton asked for $40.1 billion for education, an increase of $4.5 billion, or 12.6%, more than FY2000. It is the largest increase in educational spending ever requested. Highlights include $30 billion over 10 years for the College Opportunity Tax Cut, $2.4 billion over 5 years for School Modernization Bonds, and $1.75 billion for reducing class size.

The total increase within the educational technology (Title III) budget is approximately $13.7 million, or 17.9%. Highlights within Title III programs include:

• 21st century Community Learning Centers: 120% increase from $45.3 million appropriated in FY2000 to $1 billion requested in FY2001;
• Technology Literacy Challenge Fund: 5.9% increase from $425 million appropriated in FY2000 to $450 million requested in FY2001;
• Community Technology Centers: 207% increase from 32.5 million in appropriated FY2000 to $100 million requested in FY2001;
• Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to use Technology (PT³): 100% increase from $75 million appropriated in FY2000 to $150 million requested in FY2001.

For full details on the president’s request for education go to: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/Budget01/BudgetSumm/2001budtables.pdf and http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/Budget01/BudgetSumm/2001budget.pdf. To see comprehensive summaries and the full budget request go to: http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/New/00Budget/.

Clinton and the Digital Divide

President Clinton included an increased emphasis on the growing Digital Divide in his State of the Union speech. In hopes that access to computers and the Internet becomes as universal as telephone service, the President intends to:

• broaden access to computers, the Internet, and high-speed networks;
• provide people with the skilled teachers and training needed to master the information economy; and
• promote online content and software that will help empower all Americans to use new technologies to their full potential.

To help promote his efforts to close the Digital Divide, the president will take a New Markets Trip during the week of April 9th to encourage partnerships between industry non-profit organizations and the government in addressing this issue. His trip will include meetings with high-tech CEOs, focusing on communities that have used technology to better education, expand learning opportunities, and create economic growth by creating new high-tech, high-wage jobs.

The Republican Education Agenda

After the State of the Union address, Republican leaders’ responded to the President’s agenda and outlined the Republican party’s educational priorities. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) described a “Four-Point Plan for Educational Excellence” as the party’s top priority. The four goals are:

1. Increased funding for elementary and secondary schools;
2. Increased local and state control of educational funds in exchange for accountability in the form of state-developed tests;
3. Increased federal funds to states and localities to recruit, train, and retain quality teachers;
4. Increased funding for Pell grants and other student loans to help low- and middle-income citizens. Also, increasing limits on tax-free higher education savings accounts.

Rep. William Goodling (R-PA, chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee), strongly cautioning against what he called the “Clinton-Gore Administration’s flawed, risky regulatory agenda,” vowed continued support of legislation that maximizes state and local flexibility in educational policy and funding, accountability for student achievement, and assurance that more dollars reach the classroom. Generally, Goodling criticized the president’s proposed funding as heavy-handed and misguided.

ESEA Reauthorization Expected this Session

As the second session of the 106th Congress begins, the House and Senate are slated to take action on the reauthorization of ESEA. With less than 100 days in the legislative calendar, the reauthorization of ESEA is on the list of priority items to be passed in this Congress.

The House passed Titles I and II of ESEA last session. The House Committee on Education and the Workforce is expected to introduce a bill authorizing the remaining titles of ESEA later in February. Feedback from the committee indicates that the committee will reauthorize all of the Title III programs, including the Technology Literacy Fund and the PT³ program. It is expected that some parts of Title III will be either consolidated or reorganized.

There is a strong indication that Republicans will insert language in the ESEA bill requiring schools and libraries to use some type of blocking or filtering software. So far, education and library groups have been opposed to mandatory filtering or blocking mandates, such as S. 97, the Children’s Internet Protection Act, sponsored by Senator John McCain (R-AZ). Senator Santorum (R-PA) has introduced more flexible legislation, S. 1545, the Neighborhood Children’s Internet Protection Act, which would give schools and libraries receiving E-Rate subsidies a choice—either install filtering software or implement an acceptable use policy (AUP) regarding minor’s access to the Internet. A number of education groups, including ISTE, have been supportive of Sen. Santorum’s bill.

The Senate has still not begun consideration of ESEA. Sen. James Jeffords (R-VT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), has released an outline of a Committee bill and is expected to introduce legislation by early March. Other Senators have also introduced ESEA bills, including Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Joe Lieberman (D-CT) and Tom Daschle (D-SD).

Another consideration in the Senate ESEA debate is the status of the Straight A’s legislation that passed the House during the first session of Congress. Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) has indicated that he would like the Straight A’s bill to be part of any ESEA legislation that comes out of the Senate HELP committee. The Straight A’s bill, which is strongly supported by many Republicans and opposed by most education organizations, would provide greater flexibility to state or local educational agencies to combine funds under many federal ESEA programs and use them for any purpose allowed by state law. In exchange, they would be required to meet certain performance goals within in a five-year period. The Straight A’s bill, HR. 2300, can be found at http://thomas.loc.gov/.

School Filtering a Priority for High-Tech Task Force

On Dec. 7th, 1999, the Senate Republican High Tech Task Force announced a list of technology bills it hopes to pass this session. The bills included Internet filtering for schools and libraries, export controls, electronic brokerage transactions and others, and although no bills announced specifically address the issues of privacy, broadband, and math and science education, the group says it expects to deal in those areas in this year. Their first priority is the Export Administration Act, followed by the Children’s Internet Protection Act, S.97, which would require schools and libraries receiving E-rate discounts to install filtering software.

Web-based Commission Hears Testimony from Secretaries Riley and Daley

The Congressional Web-based Commission held hearings February 2–3 to examine the role of the Internet in education. The aim of the Commission is to ensure that all learners have full and equal access to the capabilities of the World Wide Web and that online content and learning strategies are both affordable and meet the highest standards of educational quality. The Commission intends to issue a full report to the President and Congress with recommendations on Web-based strategies to improve education and achievement.

U.S. Department of Education Secretary Riley focused on issues of access and quality as well as teacher training and continued strong support for the E-rate. Secretary Riley urged support for Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology (PT³) and recommended that the Commission support ESEA (particularly professional development for teachers), the development of guidelines to improve access and remove regulatory barriers, and the development of high standards in Web-based academic content. Secretary of Commerce William Daley also testified, stressing the need to build private–public partnerships and speed up universal access.

The Commission’s hearing concluded with a recommendation for a program that would leverage federal funds to raise bond issues for educational technology purchases in schools, especially in at-risk districts. A nearly identical program was passed as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, but was never implemented (sec. 708).

E-Rate Update

$4.72 Billion Requested for Year 3
The Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) (http://www.sl.universalservice.org/) reported to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that $4.72 billion in requested funding has been estimated for schools and libraries seeking E-rate discounts for Year Three. The estimated demand represents more than the previous two years combined.

Of the 36,000 applications filed within the application filing window, which closed January 19, 2000, more than 28,000, or nearly 80%, were submitted electronically using USAC’s SLD Web site. Nearly 60% of the requests are associated with the neediest schools and libraries, those qualifying for program discounts of 80–90%. These schools and libraries represent populations where 50% or more of students are eligible to participate in the National School Lunch Program. Demand in Year Three was derived from a review of the 36,000 applications, unlike the method in previous years, which involved a statistical representation based upon a sample of the total applications.

In Year One of the Schools and Libraries program, more than 30,000 applications were filed for E-rate discounts requesting approximately $2.04 billion for 1998 (http://www.sl.universalservice.org/APPLY/fcyear1/state.asp). In Year Two, with more than 32,000 applications, demand was approximately $2.4 billion (http://www.sl.universalservice.org/APPLY/FCYEAR2/State.asp). The total amount funded for all years combined is $1,954,766,576.70.

E-Rate Legal Concerns Continue
Last year, the E-rate was upheld in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals as constitutionally permissible. Celpage, the pager company that has been suing the FCC over the E-rate for the past two years, has asked the Supreme Court to review the decision. Their petition does not directly attack the E-rate, but challenges the FCC’s constitutional authority to create the program and claims the statutes are too vague to permit the program in its current form.

The petition also asks the Supreme Court to consider whether the FCC was correct in requiring pager companies to pay into the universal service fund. If Celpage were to win on the constitutionality or vagueness arguments rejected by the 5th Circuit, it would put the program in jeopardy. The Supreme Court has not decided whether to accept the petition, so it is not yet clear whether the appeal will be heard.

E-Rate Data Analyzed, Allowing State-by-State Comparisons
Funds for Learning, an E-rate consulting firm in Arlington, Virginia (http://www.fundsforlearning.com), analyzed E-rate data supplied by the Schools and Libraries Division of the Universal Service Administrative Company and 1997 Census Bureau estimates of school-aged children by state. They were thus able to determine which states received the most money per school-aged child and which received the least. The District of Columbia received the most per child, $190.74, while New Hampshire was last, with $13 per child. Nationwide, the average was $70 per child during e-rate’s first two years. To see data for all the states, visit the Funds for Learning Web site: http://www.fundsforlearning.com.

New Democrats Ready Tech Education Bill

Looking for the “next generation of education policies,” New Democrat Coalition members Reps. Cal Dooley (D-CA) and Ron Kind (D-WI) plan to introduce legislation that would link a traditional technology grant program to teacher training and student achievement.

The legislation would build on the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund http://www.ed.gov/Technology/TLCF/, which has helped elementary and secondary schools to purchase computer hardware and software since 1997. Dooley and Kind propose shifting the focus of the grant program from computer hardware to student learning by encouraging school curricula that use computers to help teach basic skills, providing funding to purchase “proven and effective technology-based curricula,” requiring school districts to provide ongoing professional development for teachers, and giving states funding to integrate technology in student assessments.

Congress has appropriated $1.5 billion to the technology fund since 1997. Congress approved $425 million for the program this year, the same level of funding as last year. Dooley said proposals by some Democrats that focus on school construction and targets for hiring new teachers are misguided.

Mikulski Promises Digital Divide Legislation

On Jan. 24th, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) announced her intention to introduce legislation to simplify and expand the E-rate program, create a centralized “one-stop shop” for education technology programs, and create a clearinghouse for the best classroom educational technology strategies and ideas on public–private partnerships. Also, her legislation would provide for “E-villages” in federal housing programs where occupants could access computers and the Internet, create an “E-corps” within the Americorp national service program, and establish tax incentives to encourage public–private partnerships to address the Digital Divide. A date has not been set for the introduction of the legislation.

New Millennium Classrooms Act Back in the News

Sens. Spencer Abraham (R-MI) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) are circulating a dear colleague letter to build support for S. 542, New Millennium Classrooms Act. The legislation would provide a 30% tax credit based on the fair market value of computer equipment donated to schools or community centers and would increase the age limit of computers eligible for donation from two to three years old. Companies could get a bigger tax credit for donating machines to facilities in depressed areas. The bill was attached as an amendment on the Senate floor to tax legislation last year but it never made it into the final version of the tax measure.

Many education groups, including ISTE, are opposed to the legislation because they are concerned that permitting companies to donate three-year-old technology to schools and take a generous tax credit will discourage the donation of more up to date equipment as well as local investment in new technology. Moreover, older technology may be incompatible with the school networks, is often difficult to upgrade and service, and unable to run current software. To view the bill, S.542, go to: http://thomas.loc.gov/.

$12.5 Million Granted to Bridge Digital Divide

On January 5th, Commerce Department Secretary William M. Daley announced that approximately $12.5 million will be awarded in a new round of grants by the Commerce Department as part of the Administration’s efforts to bridge the Digital Divide. Citing new technologies as “the driving force of our country’s economic growth,” Daley also announced that the program formerly known as the Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP), will be renamed the Technology Opportunities Program (TOP) to better reflect how new technologies stimulate economic advancement. The grants, available to state, local, and tribal governments and nonprofit organizations are aimed at broadening access to America’s strong digital economy for groups and areas currently underserved.

Glenn Commission Seeks Strategies

The National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century (a.k.a. the Glenn Commission) is seeking comments on ways to ensure that there is high-quality teaching in mathematics and science for all grade levels. The Commission, led by former Senator John Glenn, will also examine the state of mathematics and science teaching and review teacher recruitment and retention.

The Glenn Commission will develop a series of recommendations and strategies that will ensure that individuals enter and remain in the math and science teaching profession. The Commission will provide Secretary Riley with a report detailing strategies and recommendations in the fall of 2000. Further information can be found at http://www.ed.gov/americacounts/glenn.

COPPA Update

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which is aimed at protecting the privacy of children online, goes into effect on April 21, 2000. The law requires that parents consent before children 12 and under give personally identifiable information (such as their full name or their e-mail address) to any commercial company online. Additional clarifications are expected before the rule goes into effect. For a more detailed analysis of the rules, please go to the FTC Web site: http://www.ftc.gov/os/1999/9906/kidsprivacy.htm and http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/coppa.htm.

Prepared by Leslie Harris, Jee Hang Lee, and Ghani Raines
On behalf of the International Society for Technology in Education.