Concern Over Ed Tech Changes
Groups representing school technology officials voiced concern Wednesday with the Obama administration's proposal to consolidate some education technology programs as part of its fiscal year 2011 budget plan, which was released Monday.
The Consortium for School Networking, the International Society for Technology in Education, and the State Educational Technology Directors Association argued that the proposal to "infuse" technology throughout other programs and zero out funding for the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program may hamper technology education innovations. The program, created under the No Child Left Behind elementary and secondary education law during the Bush administration, provided education funds to states for technology hardware, software and professional development.
"Congress and the president included EETT as a core provision of the current ESEA law in recognition of the importance of driving the next generation of innovations in teaching and learning, assessment and continuous improvement, and cost-efficiency in coordination with other federal, state and local school improvement strategies," the groups said in a statement. "We fear that years of investments through EETT and the E-Rate, coupled with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act investment, may be devalued or lost entirely without adequately funding EETT or a successor program."
The budget plan calls for consolidating federal education technology programs into the new Effective Teaching and Learning for a Complete Education program. The administration said the new program would provide grants to states to "strengthen the use of technology in the core academic subjects, including through the development and implementation of technology-enabled curriculum, assessments, professional development, and supporting tools and resources."
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