| February 11, 1997 |
"My number one priority for the next four years," President Clinton said in his State of the Union address last week, "is to ensure that all Americans have the best education in the world." The full text of his address, his 10-point plan, and materials supporting his call for challenging national standards & tests in reading & mathematics are available at: http://www.ed.gov/inits.html
"For fiscal year 1998, the President is asking for a total of $29.1 billion in discretionary funds for the Department of Education, an increase of $2.9 billion or 11 percent over the 1997 level," Secretary Riley said on February 6, when the President sent his 1998 budget to Congress. These resources, the Secretary explained, are focused on four priorities: "putting high standards of excellence into action, improving reading for all Americans, providing help to schools & students with special needs, and expanding access to higher education." The full text of the Secretary's statement, as well as the President's 1998 budget for the Department & more, can be found at: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/Budget98/
As part of its comprehensive effort to help all students reach high academic standards, Middletown High School is using its Goals 2000 grant to provide unlimited access to computer workstations for students, parents & community members in Appoquinimink, Delaware; to purchase science & math materials for teachers participating in a "new teacher mentoring" initiative; and so that 20 students can take distance learning courses (and earn college credit) from Delaware Technical & Community College. Milford Middle School (Milford, Delaware) is using its Goals 2000 grant to purchase computers for instruction, part of its strategy for improving learning for all students. The grant is also supporting technology training for Milford teachers & "Family Nights," an effort to increase parents' involvement with the school & their children's learning.
On February 8, the President & Vice President marked the 1st anniversary of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 by announcing the first 3 awards under the $200 million Technology Literacy Challenge Fund (TLCF). A total of $14.3 million will go to Illinois, Mississippi & New Mexico to equip classrooms with computers, link schools to the Internet, train teachers, and purchase software & instructional materials. The 1998 budget plan released by the President last week would increase the TLCF to $425 million in fiscal year 1998. The TLCF is part of an effort to reach the President's four technology goals: training & support (in technology) for all teachers, access to modern computers for all students & teachers, connections to the Information Superhighway for all classrooms & schools, and high quality software & online resources as part of the curriculum in every school.The President & Vice President also cited statistics from a just released report, "Advanced Telecommunications in U.S. Public Elementary & Secondary Schools, Fall 1996." Among the highlights:
- 65% of U.S. public schools had access to the Internet in fall 1996, a gain of 15 percentage points in each of the last two consecutive years.
- 14% of all public school "instructional rooms" (classrooms, computer or other labs, and library media centers) were connected to the Internet, representing more than a fourfold increase since fall 1994, when 3% of all instructional rooms had access to the Internet.
- 13% of all public schools reported that training for teachers in advanced telecommunications was mandated by the school, district, or teacher certification agencies. 31% of schools indicated that incentives were provided to encourage teachers to obtain advanced telecommunications training, while 51% of schools left it up to teachers to initiate participation in advanced telecommunications training.
- Public schools with high levels of students in poverty were less likely to be connected to the Internet. Internet access was available in 53% of schools where 71% or more students were eligible for the free or reduced-price lunch program & in 58% of those in which 31 to 70% of students were eligible. In comparison, 72% of schools with 11 to 30% student eligibility for the lunch program had Internet access and 78% of those with less than 11% free or reduced-price lunch eligibility were connected to the Internet.
For more information on the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund & the Telecommunications Act of 1996 -- and for the full text of the National Center for Education Statistics "Advanced Telecommunications in U.S. Public Elementary & Secondary Schools, Fall 1996" report -- please see: http://www.ed.gov/Technology/
On January 29, Assistant Secretary Judy Heumann testified before the Senate Committee on Labor & Human Resources on the Administration's proposal for reauthorizing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). "Despite much progress," Heumann told the Committee, "we can do better in reaching the goals of the IDEA." She pointed to 5 areas for doing so: holding high expectations for disabled children & accountability for results; thinking of "special education" as *services* that help children with disabilities access the general curriculum rather than as a *place*, with a different curriculum, where children with disabilities go, separate from their peers; encouraging mediation & other less adversarial approaches to resolving disagreements while preserving the right of parents to due process hearings; ensuring that schools are safe, disciplined & drug-free without undermining the integrity of the rights of children with disabilities; and consolidating 14 discretionary authorities into 5 new authorities (integrating research into practice, professional development, state improvement grants, parent training & information centers, and technology development & educational media services). The full text of her testimony is available at: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OLCA/testimony.html
Note: The *full text* of "The 18th Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act" is now available online at: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/OSEP96AnlRpt/
Recent additions to our Online Library include...
- "Cross-Cutting Guidance for the Elementary & Secondary Education Act" (ESEA) describes how states, school districts & schools can link ESEA programs with each other, with Goals 2000, and with state & local programs to support coherent school reform efforts that raise the academic achievement of all students. http://www.ed.gov/legislation/ESEA/Guidance/
- The "Digest of Education Statistics, 1996" was featured in the January 17 *Scout Report,* a weekly collection of "useful Internet sites for discerning Internauts." http://nces.ed.gov/pubs/D96/index.html
ED Initiatives is made possible by many contributors, including Amy Comstock, Jennifer Davis, Aurora D'Amico, Norris Dickard, Tom Fagan, Peter Kickbush, Bill Kincaid, Chuck Lovett, Jay McClain, David Thomas, Maureen Treacy, Theda Zawaiza & others. |
Have a comment or suggestion on ED Initiatives? Please send it to Kirk Winters in the Office of the Under Secretary at kirk.winters@ed.gov.
-###-
[Past Issues of ED Initiatives] 
Last Updated -- Feb. 14, 1997, (pjk)
ED Initiatives...