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

Modernize School Buildings and Help Support School Construction

U.S. Department of Education Resources

Late in the summer, the U.S. Department of Education will launch a school construction clearinghouse that will provide districts, states, and interested parties with information on approaches to construction and on financing construction. Call 202-219-1655 for more information.

U.S. Department of Education technology funds also are available to get technology into the schools. The President’s Technology Literacy Challenge Fund will make available $2 billion over 5 years to help states and communities purchase computers, wire classrooms to the information superhighway, develop effective educational software, and train teachers to make effective use of educational technology. In FY 1997 Congress appropriated $200 million for the Fund, and the President’s budget proposal includes $425 million for FY 1998.

On May 8, 1997, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service passed the Telecommunications Act of 1996 giving schools deep discounts in access charges to the Internet and telecommunications services, including wiring school buildings for the Internet. Funding for this E-rate (education rate), up to $2.25 billion a year, will be available by the beginning of the 1997 school year. Almost 70 percent of all schools will get at least a 50 percent discount on a wide range of telecommunications services.

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