A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

     FOR RELEASE                           Contact:  Melinda Kitchell Malico      July 10, 1996                                   (202) 401-1576

Indiana Receives 2nd Year Goals 2000 Funds; Riley Says Education Improvement "Critical to Nation's Future"

Goals 2000, passed by Congress in 1994 with bipartisan support, helps states and communities advance their own school improvement efforts, based on the results of local decision making. Riley said Goals 2000 offers unprecedented flexibility and no regulations have been or will be issued under the school improvement initiative.

"Under Goals 2000, first year grants in Indiana went to 32 local school districts for program coordination; partnerships involving schools, the community and businesses; educational technology; and professional development, " Riley said. "Anderson Community Schools, for example, are using Goals 2000 funding to bring together the faculty at Anderson University's school of education and elementary teachers in a four week summer institute to upgrade teacher skills."

Riley said that although Goals 2000 is supporting school improvement in almost every state, funds for continued school improvement are in jeopardy. The House Appropriations Committee has voted to cut President Clinton's FY97 education budget request by $2.8 billion and eliminate all funding for Goals 2000. The president has requested $476 million for Goals 2000 in FY97 -- $8,734,445 for Indiana.

The second year of support for states and communities -- a total of $362 million for grants in fiscal year 1995 -- is helping advance local school improvement plans to raise student academic achievement, involve parents in schools, bring technology into the classroom, upgrade teacher professional development, and create partnerships with business and community groups. States that submit a school improvement plan developed with input from parents, educators, community members and the private sector, as well as states that show substantial progress toward that end, are eligible for second year funding.

"Goals 2000 makes a vital contribution to school improvement," Riley said. "We must not abandon the children, teachers, schools and communities that have worked so hard to make schools better.

"Improving teaching and learning is critical to the nation's future. It is essential that we continue to assist states and communities as they develop and adopt challenging academic standards that will guide the education of students into the next century."

Indiana's first year Goals 2000 grant totaled $1,737,392.

Indiana is the 42nd state to receive second year funding under Goals 2000, and other states will receive funds in coming weeks. Ninety percent of the new funds will go directly from states to local school districts. Local school districts in Oklahoma, Montana and New Hampshire will be receiving their state's share of the second year funds directly from the U.S. Department of Education.

Under Goals 2000, Indiana is eligible to receive $6,280,894 for FY96.