Congratulations! There has recently been a flurry of positive activity for digital earning policy in Washington, D.C.,
in part because of your work and dedication.
It started in the spring with the introduction
of the Transforming Education through Technology Act (TETA, H.R. 521) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner
Jessica Rosenworcel’s proposal for E-Rate 2.0.
Activity continued through the summer with
the introduction of the Enhancing Education
Through Technology Act (EETT, S. 1087) of
2013 and President Obama’s announcement
of the ConnectEd initiative. What’s really
encouraging about these initiatives is that
both the U.S. Congress and the administration
have a stake in them.
ISTE President Kecia Ray and CEO Brian
Lewis were on hand when Obama announced
the ConnectEd initiative in Mooresville, North
Carolina, USA. The centerpiece of ConnectEd
is to connect 99% of U.S. students to high-speed
broadband and wireless within five years. ConnectEd encourages the FCC to update the E-Rate
program to realize this goal. ISTE has been a
leading advocate of the E-Rate program since
its inception, and our top priority has been to
raise the funding cap. For FY 13, the applicant
demand for E-Rate funds is almost double the
program’s current $2.4 billion cap.
Responding to the ConnectEd announcement,
Lewis said, “It’s a big win for students and educa-
tors everywhere. Broadband connectivity has
been a core policy issue for ISTE, and we have
been working closely with the administration to
support technology’s value in preparing students
for college and career readiness and to empha-
size the need to provide our educators with the
knowledge and skills necessary to make the most
effective use of powerful technologies.”
TETA and EETT are similar pieces of legis-
lation that are positioned to become included
in larger legislative packages to reauthorize
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
(ESEA). ISTE members had a hand in crafting
both of these bills that align with the following
ISTE Standards for students, teachers, and
administrators ( iste.org/standards) to:
• Improve the achievement and college-and-career readiness of students who have developed the ability to think critically, apply
knowledge to solve complex problems, work
collaboratively, communicate effectively, and
be self-directed and responsible digital citizens
• Ensure all students have access to individualized, rigorous, and engaging digital learning
experiences
• Ensure that educators have the knowledge and
skills to develop and implement digital learning curriculum, use technology effectively to
personalize and strengthen instruction, and
effectively deliver and use assessments to measure outcomes and support student success
• Ensure that administrators have the leadership,
management, knowledge, and skills to design,
develop, and implement a school or educational agency’s digital age learning environment.
ISTE will continue to work with Congress and
the Obama administration to advance these important objectives. Follow the action on my blog
at blog.iste.org/author/hgoldmann.
V
OI
CES
CA
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By Hilary Goldmann
Hilary Goldmann,
ISTE’s senior government affairs officer,
has more than 20
years of experience
in public policy
and advocacy. Her
column appears in
every other issue
of L&L.
Time for Optimism and Action
