Ed-tech proponents were dismayed to learn of the cuts to the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program proposed in President Obama’s budget.
Four organizations promoting the use of effective technologies in schools released a statement yesterday urging more money, not less, for the flagship federal ed-tech program.
Obama’s budget proposal would slash funding from $269 million to just $100 million. In the stimulus package, the program received $650 million in additional funding. The program had been slated for elimination by the Bush administration, and its funding was progressively cut over the last eight years.
The stimulus money brought the program’s funding close to what it was when President George W. Bush came into office in 2001, as we reported here.
“With the historic level of funding provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, it appeared that the administration was prepared to invest significantly in educational technology, viewing it as an engine of change to modernize our education system,” the statement by CoSN, ISTE, SIIA, and SETDA said. “Instead, this cut stalls momentum, ignores demonstrated results and undermines the progress being made in our nation’s classrooms through effective uses of technology to engage students, improve teacher quality, and individualize instruction for all kids.”
