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ISTE Washington Notes
News of U.S. educational technology policy and legislation, posted as a service of ISTE, the International Society for Technology in Education.
Copyright © 2007 ISTE
Guide to Acronyms used in Washington Notes
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October 2007 Contents
Appropriations: Senate Passes FY08 Education Bill; Congress Anticipates Presidential Veto
Months after the House completed passage of all 12 of its spending bills, the Senate approved its version of the FY08 Labor-HHS and Education spending bill by an overwhelming show of support for these programs. This action sets up a showdown between Congress and the President, who has vowed to veto this measure because the overall funding level is $11 billion higher than his budget proposal.
The Senate bill, like its House counterpart, includes level funding ($272 million) for the Enhancing Education Through Technology program (EETT)
House and Senate conferees are expected to meet and hammer out a compromise between the House and Senate versions of this spending bill in the next few weeks. The House and Senate versions are roughly $2 billion apart in overall funding, with most of the major differences arising in larger programs (e.g. the Senate bill provides Title I with $430 million less than the House bill). Most observers expect that, despite these funding differences, the Conference Committee will not have great difficulty achieving consensus. This compromise version will then travel to both houses for final votes and, if approved, to the President for his expected veto.
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Veto Endgame Uncertain
A veto from the President brings a number of possible scenarios into play, including
* Congress overriding the President’s veto;
* Congress passing temporary spending bills to keep government agencies functioning beyond November 16th (when the current temporary spending measure expires); or
* Congress and the President failing to reach a spending agreement leading to a government shutdown.
An override of the President’s veto is a distinct possibility, with the Senate having already approved its initial version by a wide margin and the House only 14 votes short of a veto proof majority. Additionally, the decision by Senate leaders to remove from the Senate bill a controversial provision on federal funding of stem cell research may sway some House members.
The President’s decision to push for even more funding for Iraq has created considerable consternation in Republican ranks and an unending series of comparisons between how much the President wishes to send to Iraq and how much he will spend on domestic programs here. Finally, House Republicans continue to take significant heat from the public and Democrats for upholding the President’s recent veto of the reauthorization of the children’s health insurance program (SCHIP).
If a veto override fails, Congress is unlikely to opt for shutting down the government because Members fear the public would blame them and not the President. Congress is more likely to pass less controversial spending bills in a giant omnibus package.
Congress probably will be working well into December on FY08 funding, but the ultimate end-game on appropriations generally and education funding specifically is uncertain.
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NCLB: ATTAIN Included in Senate Discussion Draft
In mid-October, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Ranking Member Mike Enzi (R-WY) released a draft of portions of their No Child Left Behind (NCLB) reauthorization legislation. The big news for the education technology community is that the draft incorporates almost all of the Achievement Through Technology and Innovation (ATTAIN) bill, which revamps the existing Enhancing Education Through Technology program.
"We're very pleased that the Senate's just-released draft for NCLB includes virtually all of the ATTAIN Act as proposed this spring by ISTE and partner organizations," says Hilary Goldmann, ISTE's director of government affairs. "ISTE members were vital to the development of the ATTAIN Act and can be proud that their contributions are intact as NCLB moves forward."
Committee staff expect to release a final draft of the entire bill in coming weeks and mark it up in Committee shortly thereafter. With little time left on the legislative calendar this year, though, it seems clear that NCLB reauthorization will not be completed in 2007.
Similar to the House’s NCLB reauthorization draft, the Senate draft retainsthe key elements of ATTAIN, including:
- targeting funds to professional development and systemic school reform centered on the use of technology;
- targeting competitive grant funding for districts with schools that are not making adequate yearly progress;
- recommitting to the goal of all students attaining technology literacy by the end of the eighth grade; and
- changing EETT from a 50% competitive and 50% formula grant program to a 40% competitive and 60% formula grant program.
Most significantly, the Senate draft incorporated all of the key ATTAIN elements that the House draft omitted or changed, including:
- Suggesting that the overall authorization amount for this part of the bill should be $1 Billion.
- Setting state activities and evaluations funding at 7.5% of all funds. The House version allows only 5% to be reserved for the state.
- Establishing a LEAminimum allotment of $3,000 annually. The House bill contains no minimum allotment.
- Requiring states to assess student technology literacy at least once by the eighth grade. The House bill does not contain this requirement but leaves open the door to states assessing student technology literacy.
- Requiring that states spend 40% of their formula funds and 25% of competitive grants on professional development and tools. The House bill requires states to spend 30% of their formula funds and 30% of their competitive funds in this area.
The Senate draft also includes language that would establish a National Center for Achievement Through Technology to conduct research on education technology implementations and disseminate best practices. This provision, however, appears in parentheses, suggesting that the Committee has not yet agreed to incorporate the National Center into the final bill. The House version does not include a new National Center
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Internet Safety Education Legislation: ISTE CEO Testifies, Progress in Senate
In late September, the Senate Commerce Committee voted to approve S. 1965, the Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act, which would require school E-Rate recipients to educate students on appropriate behavior on social networking and chat room sites and about cyberbullying.
In early October, ISTE CEO Don Knezek testified before Congress, commending S.1965, for its focus on an education solution to online safety" We believe that even difficult subjects can offer teachable moments," he said. "They are opportunities for students to develop critical thinking skills and good judgment."
This bill is now in line for consideration by the full Senate but no date has been set for a Senate floor vote.
In late October, ISTE joined the American Library Association, the Consortium for School Networking, the Council of Chief State School Officers, the National PTA, and the National Catholic Education Association, on a letter to Senators Inouye (D-HI) and Stevens (R-AK), the measure’s chief sponsors, in support of the bill. The letter stated in part:
“We believe that S. 1965’s language that requires “educating” students about online safety represents a far better approach than that found in the DOPA [Deleting Online Predators Act, which would have required schools to block access to all social networking and chat room sites] .
"We think that S. 1965’s language strikes an appropriate balance between satisfying the need to protect children online and not imposing additional significant burdens on schools and libraries participating in the E-Rate program, something that all of our groups greatly desire to avoid. We also appreciate that this language provides schools with flexibility in determining how best to satisfy S. 1965’s education requirement, leaving the decision to local schools about whether to conduct Internet safety courses, hold assemblies on Internet safety, disseminate online safety tips, or educate students in some other way.
"Finally, we are impressed that this language does not trammel on local school authority over content decisions, something that DOPA most assuredly would do.”
Over in the House, freshman Congressman Brad Ellsworth (D-IN), a former sheriff with a strong background on Internet predator issues, introduced the House version of S. 1965’s E-Rate language. He is currently seeking cosponsors to his bill, H.R. 3871, and hopes to move it through the House before the end of the year. ISTE, CoSN and the four other organizations who partnered on the Senate letter sent a similar letter of support to Rep. Ellsworth.
E-Rate Program Year 2008 Application Window Opens November 7
The Universal Service Administrative Company, the administrator of the E-Rate program, announced that the Program Year 2008 application window will open at noon Eastern time on November 7, 2007 and close at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on January 24, 2008. While Program Year 2007 saw the release of an additional $650 million in unused E-Rate funds to applicants, USAC has not announced whether funds in addition to E-Rate’s $2.25 billion annual cap will be available in the upcoming Program Year 2008
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ISTE's Washington Notes is prepared by the Washington, DC office of Bernstein Strategy Group
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The following message is posted as a service of ISTE,
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Copyright © 2007 ISTE
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