Ed-Tech Policy

School Lobby Urged To Exert Clout on Technology Issues

June 22, 1994 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Boston

Educators should use their considerable market clout to push the builders of the “information highway’’ to provide schools with universal low-cost access to advanced telecommunications networks, experts here have urged.

“This is the biggest land grab since the West was opened,’' argued John T. Kernan, the chairman of the California-based Lightspan Partnership Inc., which is developing interactive educational software specifically for the advanced networks. “And we can be one of the principal controllers of who wins.’'

Mr. Kernan was one of several speakers at a special daylong symposium on telecommunications issues at the National Education Computing Conference here this month.

Educators control a crucial method of access to a potentially lucrative market of millions of students, whom the industry views as future customers, Mr. Kernan suggested. As a result, he said, the schools are in a unique position to negotiate with telephone and cable-television companies, satellite systems, and other telecommunications interests for favorable treatment.

“Just by wanting to play that frankly political game effectively, [students] could be the real winners,’' he said. “More than any other segment of the economy, you have the ultimate weapon.’'

The session offered educators an overview of the education-related provisions of telecommunications legislation pending in Congress. In addition, it provided a forum for policymakers to discuss how to meet requirements in the Goals 2000: Educate America Act that state and local education agencies incorporate the use of technology into school-improvement plans.

Missing the Boat?

But even as measures that will establish the parameters of a rate structure for the educational use of telecommunications race through Congress, speakers warned, the education lobby has until now had neither the technological savvy nor the legislative access to influence the process.

“We’ve missed the boat, for the most part, in dealing with telecommunications issues,’' which are handled by different committees and staff members, said Gordon M. Ambach, the executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers.

But speakers also predicted that without specific pressure to insure the availability of low-cost educational services, business will continue to view the education market as a high-cost, low-profit “quagmire,’' as Mr. Kernan put it.

“I’ve gone to some meetings recently with the people in ‘telemedicine,’ ‘telecommuting,’ and even ‘telegambling,’'' added Donavan Merck, the program manager for educational technology for the California education department.

“It’s like I’m there as kind of a little pawn,’' he added. “I feel very ignored.’'

The meeting was held as legislation establishing a long-range national regulatory framework for advanced telecommunications is moving through Congress.

The House appears ready to pass a revision of the landmark Communications Act of 1934 dealing with such issues as deregulating the telecommunications market, establishing tariffs, and defining universal access. And the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee has held hearings on a similar measure.

‘Critical Stuff’

U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley testified before the Senate panel last month in favor of a provision that would permit telecommunications companies to charge education customers preferential rates. (See Education Week, June 1, 1994.)

But most senior education policymakers are barely aware that such debates are taking place, Mr. Ambach said.

“This is critical stuff,’' he added. “But nobody cared too much in the past about telephone rates because they weren’t thinking about wiring a whole school.’'

Because the legislation probably will not clear Congress until shortly before the scheduled October adjournment, participants noted, there still is time for educators to have a say in developing policy.

“If we sit back and say, ‘Let someone else decide,’ they will,’' remarked Linda G. Roberts, Mr. Riley’s adviser on educational technology.

Mr. Ambach also noted that the state chiefs have recently begun to try to influence rule-making at the Federal Communications Commission, which under both bills will be responsible for devising and enforcing the new rate structures.

Ms. Roberts warned that educators should not repeat the mistakes they made a decade ago, when they largely ignored educational-access provisions in federal cable-television regulations.

“We must demonstrate that we intend to use these resources in powerful ways,’' she urged.

A version of this article appeared in the June 22, 1994 edition of Education Week as School Lobby Urged To Exert Clout on Technology Issues

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Ed-Tech Policy From Our Research Center Schools Are Taking Too Long to Craft AI Policy. Why That's a Problem
Nearly 8 of every 10 educators say their districts don’t have clear AI policies, according to an EdWeek Research Center survey.
8 min read
A person sits at a computer and tries to figure out a cloud of AI Policy Confusion
Kathleen Fu for Education Week
Ed-Tech Policy The 'Homework Gap' Is About to Get Worse. What Should Schools Do?
The looming expiration of a federal program has districts worried that many students will not have adequate home internet access.
4 min read
A young boy does homework with a tablet at the kitchen table.
Ilona Titova/iStock
Ed-Tech Policy These State Lawmakers Want All School Districts to Craft AI Policies. Will Others Follow?
The vast majority of districts in the country have not released AI guidance, even though educators say they need it.
2 min read
Woman using a computer chatting with an intelligent artificial intelligence.
iStock/Getty
Ed-Tech Policy National Ed-Tech Plan Outlines How Schools Can Tackle 3 Big Digital Inequities
There's great potential for districts to use technology to meet all students' individual learning needs, federal plan suggests.
3 min read
High angle shot of a man assisting his students at computers
iStock/Getty