Ed-Tech Policy

Technology Programs In and Out Of Ed. Dept. Take Big Hit in Budget

By Andrew Trotter & David J. Hoff — February 13, 2002 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Initiatives intended to improve teachers’ skills in the use of technology and to bridge the “digital divide” would be cut under President Bush’s proposed fiscal 2003 budget.

The president’s budget plan, released Feb. 4, would eliminate a $62.5 million effort for preparing teachers in the use of technology. States could still use federal funds to hone teachers’ technology skills, but the money would have to be drawn from a state block grant totaling $700 million that covers many different technology programs. That grant program, however, would keep the same funding level as in fiscal 2002.

“Considering the current economic climate for so many states, the shortfalls they’re already experiencing, taking away something like teacher technology training and putting it into a block grant isn’t going to help,” said Denise Cardinal, a spokeswoman for the National Education Association.

The Bush proposal would also slice $32.5 million from the Department of Education’s budget for community technology centers—small, community-based groups that provide Internet-connected computers, software, and training to low-income individuals, including many students who could not afford them otherwise.

The other digital-divide enterprise in jeopardy is the Technology Opportunities Program within the Department of Commerce. TOP combines federal money with other sources to establish model programs for self- sustaining technology projects, such as giving inner-city communities access to computers and the Internet. Two years ago, the program received $42.8 million, an amount Mr. Bush and Congress slashed to $15 million for the current fiscal year.

President Bush’s proposed budget also would scrap funding for the 10 Regional Technology in Education Consortia, a venture that provides technical assistance and workshops to help states, school districts, and K-12 educators integrate technologies into classrooms and other educational settings.

Another budgetary casualty would be the $27.5 million federal “Star Schools” program, which supports model projects providing distance learning to students in geographically isolated communities.

While the Bush proposal puts the technology efforts on the defensive, they still may survive when Congress finishes appropriating money for the fiscal year that starts next Oct. 1.

Norris Dickard, a senior policy analyst at the Benton Foundation, a philanthropy based in Washington, and a former member of the Clinton administration, said many of those endeavors have strong advocates in Congress and may yet survive.

“The administration requested zero [for the community- technology-center grants] last year, but the Congress prevailed, though the budget was cut in half,” he said. “Essentially, we are where we were last year, but this time, we have fiscal pressure, unlike last year.”

Increases Elsewhere

Some other education programs in a variety of federal agencies would fare better under the president’s budget.

At the National Science Foundation, K-12 projects would get about an 11 percent increase. The independent agency’s new attempt to link districts with higher education to improve math and science instruction would get a $40 million boost, raising that program’s spending to $200 million.

At the National Endowment for the Arts, education programs would receive $11.3 million of the agency’s $117 million. The arts endowment sponsors a variety of education initiatives, including in-school arts projects and artist-in-residence programs.

The education agenda of the National Endowment for the Humanities would get $12.6 million—the same as in the current year. The NEH’s projects include summer institutes in which hundreds of teachers study with experts in the field, both here and abroad.

In addition, the administration’s budget requests $522.8 million for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, an arm of the Department of the Interior, to operate its 185 schools. That represents an increase of $18.8 million, or 3.7 percent,over the current year.

The budget proposal includes a separate request for $292.7 million in construction and repair funds for BIA schools.

Meanwhile, the Department of Labor’s proposed 2003 budget calls for a net increase of $73 million for the Job Corps, which since 1964 has been a centerpiece of the federal government’s efforts to help disadvantaged youths ages 16 to 24 improve their academic skills and find work.

The money would support an estimated 73,000 participants at 122 Job Corps centers. The plan includes $29 million to increase teacher salaries, $16 million for more slots at newly opened centers, and $4 million to provide high school accreditation at all centers.

Assistant Editors Kathleen Kennedy Manzo and Mary Ann Zehr and Staff Writer John Gehring contributed to this report.

A version of this article appeared in the February 13, 2002 edition of Education Week as Technology Programs In and Out Of Ed. Dept. Take Big Hit in Budget

Events

Teaching Profession K-12 Essentials Forum New Insights Into the Teaching Profession
Join this free virtual event to get exclusive insights from Education Week's State of Teaching project.
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Mathematics K-12 Essentials Forum Helping Students Succeed in Math

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 Cellphone Ban Adopters Share How They Did It—and How It's Changed Students
School administrators detail how they got staff, students, and parents to believe in new, stricter cellphone policies.
6 min read
A phone holder hangs in a classroom at Delta High School, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, in Delta, Utah. At the rural Utah school, there is a strict policy requiring students to check their phones at the door when entering every class. Each of the school's 30 or so classrooms has a cellphone storage unit that looks like an over-the-door shoe bag with three dozen smartphone-sized slots.
A phone holder hangs in a classroom at Delta High School, Feb. 23, 2024, in Delta, Utah. At the rural Utah school, like in schools across the country, there is a strict policy requiring students to check their phones at the door when entering every class.
Rick Bowmer/AP
Ed-Tech Policy Download Four Ways to Supercharge Your School's Cellphone Policy (Downloadable)
The first step is creating a cellphone policy. But it takes these four ingredients to make the policy work.
2 min read
Cell phones sit in a cell phone locker at Boys’ Latin School of Maryland in Baltimore on Oct. 24, 2024.
Cell phones sit in a cell phone locker at Boys’ Latin School of Maryland in Baltimore on Oct. 24, 2024.
Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
Ed-Tech Policy Opinion If You're Going to Ban Cellphones, Do It Right
An educator offers school and district leaders a cooperative, restorative approach to restricting cellphone use in schools.
Nicholas Bradford
5 min read
School cellphone ban policies to restrict cell phones in schools to reduce distractions and help avoid social media addiction resulting in academic problems and mental health issues in a classrooom.
Wildpixel/iStock
Ed-Tech Policy More States Are Moving to Ban Cellphones at School. Should They?
While cellphone bans are popular with many educators, some researchers say there's not much evidence yet that these policies work.
A student uses their cell phone after unlocking the pouch that secures it from use during the school day at Bayside Academy on Aug. 16, 2024, in San Mateo, Calif.
A student uses a cellphone after unlocking the pouch that secures it from use during the school day at Bayside Academy in San Mateo, Calif., on Aug. 16, 2024.
Lea Suzuki/San Francisco Chronicle via AP