Education and Industry Leaders Encouraged by Partial Restoration of Federal School Technology Funding

Press Release:

Ted Richane
The Fratelli Group
202/822-9491
trichane@fratelli.com

Full Funding for Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) Sought

Washington, DC (June 10, 2005) - Education and industry leaders reacted positively to today’s approval by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, HHS and Educations, led by Chairman Ralph Regula (R-OH), of a $300 million FY06 appropriation for the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program. Today’s action by the Subcommittee would, if enacted, represent a $196 million cut to the EETT program on top of a similar sized cut last year. The Bush Administration proposed to eliminate EETT in its FY06 Budget Request.

In a joint statement, the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE), the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) and the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) stated:

"Today’s action shows that the House Subcommittee on Labor, HHS and Education Appropriations is convinced that the EETT program is integral to ensuring that our nation’s schools meet the goals of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Clearly, the Subcommittee shares our concerns that eliminating this program would undermine ongoing efforts to close the achievement gap, to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers, and to improve accountability through data. Furthermore, the Subcommittee’s action today shows that it recognizes that America’s high technology industry needs graduates with the type of 21st Century skills that EETT builds.

"While the Subcommittee’s approval of $300 million in funding for EETT represents a solid first step in this appropriations process, our work is not yet done. Our organizations and their constituents will continue working to convince all House and Senate members that EETT must be fully funded. Absent full funding, we remain deeply concerned about the ability of many states and districts to continue effective education technology programs and, consequently, to attain NCLB’s goals and meet our economy’s needs.

"This critical, first victory in the campaign to restore EETT funding would have been impossible without the vision of the Subcommittee’s Chairman and the leadership of Representatives Judy Biggert (R-IL) and Ron Kind (D-WI), who co-authored a bipartisan letter, signed by 52 House members, that urged the Subcommittee to restore EETT funding. Our message about EETT’s importance has clearly resonated with the Subcommittee. We look forward to spreading this message in the full House and the Senate."

Organization Contacts:

Keith Krueger, CoSN), 202-489-4176

Don Knezek, ISTE, 202-861-7777

Mike Hill, NASBE, 703 684-4000 x109

Melinda George, SETDA, 703-533-3770

Mark Schneiderman, SIIA, 202-789-4444

About EETT
Authorized as Title II-D of the NCLB, EETT enables schools to address core teaching and learning needs through technology tools, by: allowing 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; allowing continual assessment of student progress through computer-based testing; and disaggregating and reporting of student adequate yearly progress (AYP) data.

States distribute EETT 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.