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

Application for State Grants under the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund--November 1996

Dear Chief State School Officer:

Earlier I informed you that Congress has made a momentous and timely decision to provide the first year of funding in the FY 1997 appropriations bill for the President's proposed five-year, $2 billion Technology Literacy Challenge Fund. I am pleased to send this letter and the enclosed information on how to apply for a grant and become a partner in this exciting opportunity to help every child in every school utilize technology to achieve high standards by the dawn of the 21st century.

The President has launched a national mission to ensure that every student in every school will be technologically literate in the 21st century. In order to meet this challenge, the President has urged the private sector, schools, teachers, students, community groups, States, local governments, and the federal government to work in partnership toward achieving the following four goals:

• All teachers will have the training and support they need to help all students learn through computers and through the information superhighway;

• All teachers and students will have modern computers in their classrooms;

• Every classroom will be connected to the information superhighway; and

• Effective and engaging software and on-line resources will be an integral part of every school curriculum.

The Technology Literacy Challenge Fund is one important part of a range of public and private sector resources available to help States and communities achieve these goals. Your role in this effort is critical, because the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund offers States an opportunity to provide school districts -- especially those with high rates of poverty -- with funds that will help them meet their most important technology needs.

The President's four goals, and the full potential of the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund, will only be realized if resources at all levels -- local, State, federal, and the private sector -- are brought together in a systemic plan of action. For that reason, we strongly encourage States to take advantage of the opportunity the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund represents to marshal the financial and other resources needed to meet the President's four goals and to describe in their statewide technology plans under this program how they will address those goals. In addition, in preparing their plans, States need to give close attention to the statutory requirement to describe the steps they will take to provide assistance to those school districts with the highest numbers and percentages of children living in poverty and with the greatest need for technology.

Some States have already developed a statewide technology plan under Goals 2000 and may be well along in defining the financial strategies and collaborative public and private sector activities that will support their efforts. Others have extensive work to do. The Technology Literacy Challenge Fund will help States, at whatever stage, to effectively increase the capacity of schools to integrate educational technology into daily teaching and learning. States are permitted to rely on statewide technology plans developed under Goals 2000 or other statewide technology plans but only if those plans meet the requirements of the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund. We urge all States to revise their earlier plans for two reasons.

First, it is likely that previously developed statewide technology plans do not address either the President's four goals or all of the specific statutory requirements that apply to the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund, especially the requirement related to the provision of assistance to school districts with the highest numbers or percentages of children living in poverty and with the greatest need for technology.

Second, there is a rich variety of resources that State and local educational agencies can draw on as they develop and implement their educational technology plans. Because most of these resources emerged within the past two years, they may not have been taken into consideration in previous plans submitted to the Department. I strongly urge you to take this opportunity to seek guidance from and build upon the work of all the resources that have recently become available. These include:

• Technology Innovation Challenge Grants awarded during the past 14 months to 43 partnerships that are developing and implementing innovative applications of educational technology to improve teaching and learning and enhance school linkages to parents, businesses, libraries, community resources, and colleges;

• The Universal Service Fund under the Telecommunications Act, which will provide up to $2.25 billion a year to enable schools and libraries to purchase at a discount any telecommunications service, internal connections among classrooms, and access to the Internet;

• Six Regional Technology in Education Consortia (technical assistance centers) across the country, which provide technical assistance to States and local communities, school districts, and others within the education profession, and training for teachers, media specialists, and others, to help ensure that they can fully integrate technology into teaching and learning;

• Statewide NetDay events, which partner private industry, parents, and community volunteers to wire schools and classrooms;

• Tech Corps, which is amassing a cadre of business and community volunteers to advise and assist schools with integrating technology into the classroom;

• The 21st Century Teachers initiative, recruiting 100,000 teachers nationwide to voluntarily train 500,000 teachers on how to use technology in the classroom;

• A group of private sector technology leaders, chaired by Sumner Redstone of Viacom, which is committed to helping States and local communities develop and implement their educational technology plans to meet the President's goals; and

• The American Technology Honor Society, a group of students who are assisting teachers and administrators to expand the use of technology in their schools.

All of these public and private sector and volunteer resources, as well as others pursued by States and local educational agencies, can be brought to bear on the development and implementation of a statewide technology plan to achieve the goal of technological literacy and high academic standards. We will be sending a package to your technology coordinator with more information about the resources available. By combining federal support, private sector contributions, and a flexible process to enable States, local communities, teachers, schools, parents, and students to join in new partnerships, the Nation can meet the President's challenge to have all children obtain the skills they need to succeed in the 21st century. We urge you to aggressively pursue and coordinate all of the resources and assistance available to this end.

The enclosed application package and non-regulatory guidance will help you develop a strong, statewide plan for integrating technology into your schools and ensure that the poorest communities and those in greatest need of technology will have an opportunity to benefit early in this process. All applications must be received by March 31, 1997, but I urge you to complete this application process as soon as possible. Funding has also been set aside for Bureau of Indian Affairs schools and outlying areas, which will need to submit technology plans as well.

If you choose not to participate in this unique opportunity, please send me a letter by December 20, 1996, indicating that you do not plan to participate in the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund. Local educational agencies within States that do not participate in the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund may apply directly to the Department to receive grants through a competitive process.

The Technology Literacy Challenge Fund represents an important opportunity to improve teaching and learning in our schools with what I hope will be a sustained stream of increased funding for technology. Under the legislation, I am required to report to Congress on our progress. I look forward to working with you and a distinguished group of private sector leaders to evaluate and report on our progress each year -- to the President, to the Congress, and to all interested parents and citizens in every State and the Nation.

Yours sincerely,

Richard W. Riley

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