Legislative Victories!
As the 110th Congress comes to a close, it
is time to re ect on the e ect ISTE has
had on the legislative agenda and how
well we achieved our objectives. At the start,
ISTE was clear in de ning our advocacy goals:
• Stanch the bleeding in funding for the Enhancing Education rough Technology
(EETT) program
• Leverage our expertise in the NCLB reauthorization to develop an updated education
technology program
• Focus on developing an overhaul of the pre-service Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use
Technology program
• Ensure continued service of the E-Rate program
• Change the congressional debate about Internet safety from one of locking up the Internet
to one of educating students
Coupled with these legislative advocacy goals
was the need to expand ISTE’s reach with the
broader education community and grow and
mobilize our grassroots.
ISTE has achieved this ambitious agenda,
and all ISTE members are benefiting from this
achievement. Specific legislative successes include the Achievement rough Technology
and Innovation Act. is legislative initiative
was developed through a collaborative e ort led
by ISTE, the Consortium for School Networking, the State Educational Technology Directors
Association, and the Software and Information
Industry Association, and was supported by
most members of the education community
including the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, the
National School Boards Association, and the
National PTA.
e education technology community was
successful in maintaining funding for the
EETT program. In fact, for FY09 the House
education funding bill includes a $5 million
increase for EETT.
ISTE led the effort in developing a new pre-service teacher education program called Preparing Teachers for Digital Age Learners. This
program was included as part of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act and signed
into law this fall.
When Congress convened two years ago, the
major legislative initiative focused on keeping kids safe online was the Deleting Online
Predators (DOPA) Act. This legislation would
have “locked up” the Internet by requiring
schools to bar access by minors to commercial
social networking Web sites or chat rooms unless used for an educational purpose with adult
supervision. In the waning days of the 110th
Congress, legislation was passed that requires
schools participating in the E-Rate program to
educate students regarding appropriate behavior on social networking and chat room sites
and about cyberbullying. This is a huge turnabout in congressional thinking in just a couple
of years.
None of these successes could have been
possible without the dedicated support and
partnership of the ISTE membership through
the Education Technology Action Network
(ETAN). If you are not already an ETAN subscriber, please go to www.edtechactionnetwork.
org and join.
VOICES CARRY
By Hilary Goldmann
Hilary Goldmann,
ISTE's director of
government a airs, has
20 years of experience
in public policy and
advocacy, and serves as
a volunteer columnist
for L&L.
