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

   FOR RELEASE                                Contact:  David Thomas    August 4, 1994                                     (202) 401-1579

STATES GET $251 MILLION TO UPGRADE MATH-SCIENCE INSTRUCTION; ADMINISTRATION SEEKS TO EXPAND PROGRAM FOR TEACHERS

States will receive $251 million this year to support teacher training and professional development under the Dwight D. Eisenhower Mathematics and Science Education State Grants Program, the U.S. Department of Education announced today.

As the name implies, the funds may be used only to support efforts to improve instruction in math and science. However, the program may soon be expanded to include all core academic subjects.

Because raising academic standards to improve America's schools will require upgrading training programs and integrating continuous professional development for all teachers, the Clinton Administration's proposal to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act seeks to broaden the Eisenhower math and science program to include educators in other subjects.

"All teachers need on-going, intensive professional development opportunities," U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley said. "But rather than create a new program, it just makes sense to expand the existing Eisenhower program to include teachers in other subjects. It would be a further step in assuring states and school districts have the level of flexibility required to initiate the kinds of reform they need."

Congress felt so strongly about the importance of teacher preparation that, in passing the new Goals 2000: Educate America Act, it added a national education goal of providing teachers with the knowledge and skills they need to prepare students for the next century.

The administration initiative to expand the Eisenhower program would also end the Chapter 2 program, which provides assistance for school improvement. That program currently is funded at $369.5 million. Congress is considering these and other changes in the reauthorization legislation, with House and Senate differences to be resolved in coming weeks by a conference committee.

Under the current law governing the Eisenhower program, funds are allotted to states under a formula based on the size of the school-age population and the level of poverty in the state. Local education agencies then receive funds from the state under a similar formula. Colleges and universities can compete for state funds as part of collaborative projects with schools and, in some cases, with other partners such as businesses or museums.

The administration proposal also would base funding on the number of children in a state and the proportion of Chapter 1 funds received. President Clinton's 1995 budget request seeks $752 million -- an increase of $131.5 million, or more than 21 percent -- for a proposed Eisenhower Professional Development State Grant Program.

This year's awards are authorized under the Hawkins-Stafford Elementary and Secondary School Improvement Amendments of 1988 (P.L. 100-297), as amended.