Amy Perry wrote:
ISTE Action Alert
E-RATE ALERT
E-Rate Faces New Challenges
Over the next several weeks, a number of events are expected to occur that will cast an unflattering light on the E-Rate program. The most significant events, and the ones most likely to receive press coverage, are two much-anticipated hearings on E-Rate waste, fraud and abuse that the House Commerce Committee, chaired by Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La), and its Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, chaired by Rep. James Greenwood (R-PA), will hold. Additionally, the Federal Communications Commission may release its order resolving the School and Library Division’s (SLD) rejection of a number of E-Rate applications from large urban school districts because of alleged competitive bidding irregularities. Lastly, the SLD’s E-Rate Waste, Fraud and Abuse Task Force is preparing to release its final report in which it will likely recommend drastic program changes designed to stem questionable applicant practices. All of this will result in intense press scrutiny of the program and possible calls for legislation to weaken or eliminate the E-Rate program.
Contact House Commerce Committee Members and Tell Them to Support the E-Rate
Now is the time to remind the House Commerce Committee of ISTE’s stands on curbing waste, fraud and abuse in the E-Rate program and of all the good work that the E-Rate has done since its inception. We urge you to call or write these Committee members and tell them to support the E-Rate.
We recommend that you tell the House Commerce Committee that:
· ISTE has strongly supported empowering the FCC and SLD to sanction any entity that willfully and consistently violates program rules and believe that any sanctions imposed should be proportionate to the offense committed.
Here is the contact information for key House Commerce Committee members:· While ISTE has been greatly disappointed in those instances of waste, fraud and abuse in the E-Rate program that have emerged, we believe that those episodes constitute a small portion of all applications processed and that Congress should not “throw the baby out with the bathwater.”
· ISTE asserts that schools are spending copious amounts of time and money to comply with the E-Rate’s rules and regulations. A recent report commissioned by the Education and Library Networks Coalition, of which ISTE is a member, found that “schools and libraries are devoting significant resources and exercising great care in completing E-Rate applications.” Before selecting a service provider each year, the Miami Dade school district, updates its technology plan, undertakes an extensive bid review process that uses a committee of technical experts to review each bid, and considers the financial aspects of each bid.
· The E-Rate has proven to be an incredible success story. Since its inception in 1998, the E-Rate has provided $11 billion in deep discounts on telecommunications, Internet access and internal connections to public schools nationwide. Internet access rates for public school classrooms have risen to 87% and low-income urban and rural communities have not been left behind: as of 2001, 82% of urban classrooms and 89% of rural classrooms were connected to the Internet.
· Beyond merely connecting classrooms, the E-Rate is helping schools improve student achievement and comply with the No Child Left Behind Act. EdLiNC’s report details numerous instances where the E-Rate has been of great service to schools nationwide, including by delivering online distance learning courses and teacher accreditation courses, helping facilitate parental contact with parents and school administrators, and providing teachers new resources to identify student academic weaknesses and target assistance to those areas.
Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-LA) -- (202) 225-2927
House Energy and Commerce Committee
2125 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) -(202) 225-4071
2328 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515Rep. James Greenwood (R-PA) - (202) 225-4276
2436 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515Rep. Michael Bilirakis (R-FL) - (202) 225-5755
2269 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) - (202) 225-5744
2370 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515Rep. Richard Burr (R-NC) - (202) 225-2071
1526 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515Rep. Charles Bass (R-ME) - (202) 2255206
2421 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) -- (202) 225-6730
1404 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515Rep. Michael Ferguson (R-NJ) - (202) 225-5361
214 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515Rep. Michael J. Rogers (R-MI) - (202) 225-4872
133 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515Rep. Peter Deutsch (D-FL) - (202) 225-7931
2303 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) - (202) 225-4431
1530 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515Rep. Jim Davis (D-FL) - (202) 225-3376
409 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) - (202) 225-2111
515 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) - (202) 225-3976
2204 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) - (202) 225-4372
2416 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
--- PLEASE CALL OR WRITE TODAY!
-- ~PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF ADDRESS~
Nancy Movall
Instructional Technology Consultant for School Improvement
Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency
Storm Lake Office
824 Flindt Drive Suite 105
Storm Lake, IA 50588
(712) 732-2257
(866) 503-4636
