Education & Industry Leaders Express Concern with Technology Cuts in President Bush's Education Budget

Press Release:

Jon Bernstein
Bernstein Strategy Group
202.263.2572

Washington, DC (February 6, 2006) – Education and business leaders today expressed strong support for continuing and expanding federal support for educational technologies as a key component of meeting the goals of both the No Child Left Behind Act and President Bush's competitiveness initiative. These stakeholders are concerned that the Bush Administration proposed to eliminate funding for the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program in Fiscal Year 2007.

Keith Krueger, CEO of the Consortium for School Networking, stated: “While the governments of other nations – from the United Kingdom and Australia to Singapore, Japan and China – believe that education technology serves as the engine for their educational reform efforts, our federal leaders appear to believe otherwise. All evidence points to the fact that our states and school districts consistently use federal education technology dollars to improve student achievement in core curricular areas such as math and science and to engage in professional development -- the central pillars of No Child Left Behind and of the President's new science and math initiatives. The Administration’s lack of leadership on this issue will not only inhibit student achievement but will have serious ramifications for the future of this country.”

G. Thomas Houlihan, Executive Director of the Council of Chief State School Officers, stated: “Education, like other vital components of the information economy, has tapped into the power of technology to improve educational outcomes. Used for student empowerment, teacher professional development, and online assessment, expanding the use of technology in education is a critical foundation in keeping America competitive. The trend of decreased federal funding for Education Technology State Grants needs the Congress’ immediate attention if we are to equip our children for the 21st century.”

Don Knezek, CEO of the International Society for Technology in Education, stated: “We are deeply disappointed that the Administration has chosen, once again, to eliminate federal funding for education technology. Understanding and using technology are critical components of all students' academic careers and, most certainly, barometers of their future employment prospects. Given the President's emphasis in the State of the Union on the importance of developing math and science skills in America's students in order to keep America competitive globally, we do not see how eliminating federal education technology funding advances his global competitiveness agenda or helps our students.”

Reg Weaver, President of the National Education Association, said: “NEA shares the desire of the president and Congress for the United States to remain competitive in the changing global economy, but that simply cannot happen without a strong commitment to 21st century skills and funding for education technology.”

Anne Bryant, Executive Director of the National School Boards Association, stated: “No matter if the world is flat or round, the United States must invest in the education of our children in order to produce global leaders. Schools are often the only place that our neediest children get access to technologically advanced learning. This is no time to cut funding for education technology.”

Ken Wasch, President of the Software & Information Industry Association, stated: “We must not forget the "T" in STEM, both as a means to improving science and math instruction, as well as to ensuring our students have necessary computer literacy and 21st century skills. President Bush's American Competitiveness Initiative responds to the nation's needs to improve our STEM education to meet high-tech workforce needs. We believe this agenda can best be achieved by also continuing support for the effective Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program.”

Melinda G. George, Executive Director, State Educational Technology Directors Association, stated: “EETT is a critical program as it supports all of the goals of No Child Left Behind. EETT funding is used by more than 80 percent of school districts in this country and it helps to close the achievement gap, recruit and retain highly qualified teachers and improve accountability through data systems. The Administration’s decision to again propose the elimination of this program is a direct strike against effectively preparing today’s students to live and work in the 21st century.”

About EETT

Authorized as Title II-D of the NCLB, EETT enables schools to address core teaching and learning needs through technology tools, including:

• access to courses online otherwise not available to rural and urban students,
• equipping teachers to take advantage of new and emerging technology tools,
• providing students with the tools to compete in a highly competitive global employment market,
• continual assessment of student progress through computer-based testing, and
• disaggregation and reporting of student adequate yearly progress (AYP) data.

States distribute funds to districts with 50% allocated by poverty-weighted formula and 50% by competition. EETT gives schools broad discretion to spend their money on a wide range of technology acquisition, enrichment and integration purposes with at least 25% required for professional development.