September 2000 Contents
Congressional Update
Reauthorization of ESEA Put Off Until Next
Congress
As the 106th Congress draws to an end, action on the
reauthorization
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), S.2, (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d106:s.00002:)
remains stalled. With a presidential election looming and deep
divisions between
the parties on education policies, there was little incentive to come
to agreement
on a bill this Congress. The reauthorization of ESEA will now be a top
legislative
priority for the 107th Congress.
Negotiations Continue on Labor, Health
and Education
Appropriations
Before the August recess, the Labor, Health, Human Services and
Education
Appropriations Conference Committee finalized the funding levels for
H.R. 4577,
the FY01 Appropriations for Labor, Health and Education programs.
Since that
time, the Committee chairs, Sen. Specter (R-PA) and Rep. Porter
(R-IL), have
been directly negotiating with the White House on a final package.
The Conference Committee agreed to increase funding for education
programs
for a total of $41 billion, with education technology receiving a
sizeable funding
increase. The following is a list of programs and proposed funding
levels included
in the Conference Committee recommendations relative to last
year’s budget
figures.
- Technology Literacy Challenge Fund $450 million, an increase of
$25 million
- Technology Innovation Challenge Grants $190 million, an increase
of $43.7
million
- Teacher Technology Training (Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to
Use Technology),
$125 million, an increase of $50 million
- Community technology centers (CTCs) $53 million, an increase of
$21.5 million
- Star Schools $50.6 million, an increase of $100,000
The President has threatened to veto the bill because it does not
provide
funding for his education priorities—school modernization and
class size
reduction. In addition, the funding levels for the PT3
program and
the CTC program are below the President’s request. It is expected
that
these two programs will receive funding increases up to the
President’s
FY01 funding request, $150 million and $100 million, respectively. The
negotiations
between the White House and Congress are expected to last well into
October.
Federal Filtering Mandate Added to
Appropriations
Conference Bill
After both the House and Senate added conflicting filtering
mandates to
the Labor HHS Appropriations bill, the Conference Committee combined
language
from three different amendments (McCain, Istook and Santorum) into a
conflicting
and burdensome federal filtering mandate. Under the new mandate:
- Schools and libraries receiving E-Rate funds must select and use
technology
that blocks access to child pornography, obscenity, and
“harmful to minors”
material on all Internet capable computers for children under
17.
- Schools receiving E-Rate funds must monitor online activities of
minors
by either supervisory or technological means.
- Schools and libraries receiving E-Rate funds must develop and
implement
Internet use policies that address a list of specific, federally
mandated
issues.
- Schools and libraries receiving E-Rate funds are not permitted to
disable
the blocking software for any reason when a minor is using the
computer.
Deliberately doing so for any reason constitutes knowing
non-compliance with
this law and may require the school or library to return E-Rate
funding.
- Educational institutions receiving Title III/ESEA technology funds
to purchase
computers or to pay costs associated with Internet access must
install and
use on all Internet-capable computers a technology to block or
filter access
to material that is obscene, child pornography, or material harmful
to minors
or children under 18. Education institutions that do not comply will
lose
their Title III funding.
- Libraries receiving funding through the Museum and Library
Services Act
to purchase computers or to pay costs associated with Internet
access must
install and use on all Internet-capable computers a technology to
block or
filter access to obscene material, child pornography, or material
harmful
to minors or children under 18.
- Schools & libraries receiving any of these funds may also
block “any
other material that the school or library determines to be
inappropriate for
minors.”
The federal filtering mandate would replace current Internet use
policies
that have been well considered and locally determined by school board
members,
teachers, and parents. Many educational and library organizations are
rallying
to strip the mandatory filtering language from the bill. In addition,
a number
of Internet/Technology groups, which includes the Information
Technology Association
of America and the Center for Democracy and Technology, have sent a
letter to
Congress opposing this burdensome and restrictive piece of
legislation.
Glenn Commission Concludes Work with Report
on Math
and Science Teaching
The National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for
the 21st
Century (a.k.a. the Glenn Commission for its chairman, former senator
John Glenn)
has concluded its work with the release of its report, Before
It’s Too
Late. The Glenn Commission consisted of 33 individuals from
diverse fields
including business and education leaders, public officials at the
federal, national,
state, and local levels, and teachers of mathematics and science.
Intended to respond to American students’ repeated poor
performance in
math and science tests, particularly the Third International
Mathematics and
Science Study (TIMSS) and the National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP),
the Commission’s report cites the economic, strategic, practical,
and intrinsic
value of a high-quality math and science education. The Commission
recommends
ways to ensure that teachers have the opportunity throughout their
careers to
learn, generate, accumulate, and share knowledge about math and
science content
and teaching methods.
View the report: www.ed.gov/inits/Math/glenn/report.doc
View the Executive Summary: www.ed.gov/inits/Math/glenn/toolate-execsum.html.
Read more about the Glenn Commission: www.ed.gov/inits/Math/glenn/
E-Rate UpdateUrban
Institute Issues Report on the E-Rate’s First Two Years
On Sept. 21st, the Urban Institute issued a report looking at
the E-Rate and how access to telecommunications and the Internet in schools
and communities is affecting American education. E-Rate and the Digital Divide:
A Preliminary Analysis From the Integrated Studies of Educational Technology
is based on an analysis of the first two years of E-Rate administrative records
that were linked to detailed national data on all schools and public libraries
and in the United States.
Among the report’s major findings were:
Public Schools Main E-Rate Beneficiary: Public schools received
the most
support from the E-Rate in the first two years, 84% of the nearly $4
billion
committed.
E-Rate Addressing the Digital Divide: In the first year of the
E-Rate, the
most disadvantaged schools had a lower application rate than less
disadvantaged
schools. This is largely because the maximum E-Rate discount is 90%
and the
very poorest schools have been unable to contribute the required
minimum of
10% of their total cost. However, in the second year the application
rate for
high-poverty areas rose the most of all types of applications. U.S.
Department
of Education Secretary Richard Riley has called for Congress to help
the poorest
of poor schools meet the 10% minimum by passing legislation like H.R.
4094 (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d106:HR04094:@@@L&summ2=m&)
America’s Better Classroom Act, which will help schools modernize
their
buildings and lessen the cost of establishing internal connections.
E-Rate Targets Poor, Urban, Minority Communities:
E-Rate funding levels increase with the poverty level of the
applicant’s
community, with the most disadvantaged students receiving almost 10
times more
support than the least disadvantaged. Urban schools and libraries,
especially
those with high minority populations (which is largely correlated to
lower income)
receive larger average funding levels and higher funding per student
than their
rural counterparts.
What the E-Rate Helped Purchase:
58% of E-Rate funds discounted the purchase of equipment and
services for
internal connections (most awarded to high-poverty areas with poor
existing
infrastructure); 34% have discounted telecommunications services; 8%
has helped
schools and libraries defray the cost of Internet access.
Form 471 Filing Window for Year 4:
The E-Rate application cycle for Year 4 (July 1, 2001–June
30, 2002)
will have a window for filing the FCC Form 471 beginning in early
November 2000
and closing in mid-January, 2001. All funding requests received during
this
window will be handled as though received simultaneously. The FCC Form
470 may
be filed now.
SLD Allows Limited Post-Funding Commitment Changes:
Some applicants and service providers have approached the Schools
and Libraries
Division (SLD) of the Universal Services Administrative Company (USAC)
to request
the ability to change products and/or services indicated on the Item
17 attachment
for Funding Years (FY) 1 and 2 or Item 21 for FY 3 (and future FYs) to
a Form
471. In certain limited circumstances, the SLD will allow changes in
products
and/or services after fund commitment. The SLD will view these limited
changes
in products and/or services as minor contract modifications. To find
which changes
will be allowed, visit the Web site and read the eligibility
requirements at:
www.sl.universalservice.org/whatsnew/default.asp#090100.
Schools, libraries, and service providers requesting general
information about
the process should call 888.203.8100. Service providers wishing to
submit requests
for service changes and/or substitutions should contact Louis Tiboldo,
Manager
Products & Services, 973.884.8016.
New Manual for Service Providers
SLD is providing a manual for E-Rate service providers. The SLD
Guide
to Service Provider Participation in the E-Rate is being released
in sections
and chapters 8, “Invoicing USAC and Reimbursement,” and 9,
“Service
Provider’s Role in BEAR Process” are now available for
downloading.
For a complete table of contents of the manual visit: http://www.sl.universalservice.org/vendor/manual/default.asp.
For more information, including other topics of interest to service
providers,
contact: serviceprovider@universalservice.org.
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