tkt8763-01: iste-board: ISTE DC (fwd)

["Larry S. Anderson -- NCTP" <lsa1@ra.msstate.edu>]

I hope all of you will read this information, because there's a "heap" of
good stuff in here.

Larry S. Anderson, Ed.D.                              LSA1@Ra.MsState.Edu
Assoc. Prof., Dept. of Technology & Education       Voice: (601) 325-2281
Founder, National Center for Technology Planning      Fax: (601) 325-7599
                    Mississippi State University
Chair, Council for Education Technology              State of Mississippi
         My personal home page URL-- http://www2.msstate.edu/~lsa1
                    NCTP web page -- http://www.nctp.com

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 11 Mar 1999 17:35:43 -0500
From: Adeena Colbert <acolbert@lharris.com>
Reply-To: iste-board@lists.uoregon.edu
To: 'ISTE board' <iste-board@lists.uoregon.edu>,
     "'isteoa@lists.uoregon.edu'" <isteoa@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: iste-board: ISTE DC

*************************
ISTE DC

>From the Washington, D.C.
office of Leslie Harris
& Associates

*************************

The following message is posted as a service of ISTE,
the International Society for Technology in Education.
This message may not be reposted without this header.


Copyright  (c) 1999 ISTE


E-RATE UPDATE:  SLD RELEASES FINAL COMMITMENTS, PREPARES FOR NEW
APPLICATIONS

February has been a busy month for the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD)
as it finishes work on the first round of E-Rate applications and begins
processing new applications for fiscal year 2000.

	DEADLINES TO KNOW

Earlier this month, the SLD postponed the Form 470 deadline for Year 2
E-Rate applications to March 5 because many schools and libraries had not
yet received their Year 1 funding commitments.  The subsequent Form 471
submissions are due at the close of the application window, which is now
April 6.  In other deadline news, the SLD also announced that it will
consider all appeals from Year 1 funding commitments until March 27; most
decisions will be issued by the middle of March, though some funding for
successful appeals may not be available until after April 15.

	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 percent 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 percent of funding commitments; rural schools and libraries
accounted for just 22 percent of the funding pool.  The SLD could not
characterize the remaining 11 percent 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.


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 this month, 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 for compliance; the FTC will have
authority to pursue violators in federal court.  Legislation protecting
children's online privacy was adotped 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 non-binding resolution to ensure
that 95 percent 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 previously 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 http://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 five
percent of technology funding is spent on teacher training, the report notes
- even though the Department of Education recommends using 30 percent of
funds.  In fact, a survey conducted by the CEO Forum finds that only one in
five teachers feel 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 http://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 over a three year period.  The
program will operate a $30 million grant fund, provided by the NSF and the
Department of Education (ED).  Optional letters of intent are due April 1,
and full proposals are due by May 14.

IERI will be coordinated by NSF, ED, 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/cgi-bin/getpub?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 email "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://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACHoaxes.html.


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 email Adeena
Colbert at acolbert@lharris.com.  


Adeena Colbert
Leslie Harris & Associates
2120 L Street, NW
Suite 400
Washington, D.C.  20037
(202)478-6302
acolbert@lharris.com

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