I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1889
To improve the utilization of educational technologies in elementary and
secondary education by creating an educational technology extension service.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 17, 2001
Mr. BARCIA (for himself and Mr. WU) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Science, and in addition to the Committee
on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To improve the utilization of educational technologies in ele-
mentary and secondary education by creating an edu-
cational technology extension service.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
(1) Extension services such as the Manufac-
turing Extension Partnership and the Agricultural
Extension Service have proven to be effective public-
private partnerships to integrate new technologies
and to improve utilization of existing technologies by
small to medium sized manufacturers and the
United States agricultural community.
(2) Undergraduate institutions of higher edu-
cation working with nonprofit organizations and
State and Federal agencies can tailor educational
technology extension programs to meet specific local
and regional requirements.
(3) Undergraduate institutions of higher edu-
cation, often with the assistance of the National
Science Foundation, have during the past 20 years
been integrating educational technologies into their
curriculums, and as such can draw upon their own
experiences to advise elementary and secondary
school educators on ways to integrate a variety of
educational technologies into the educational proc-
ess.
(4) Many elementary and secondary school sys-
tems, particularly in rural and traditionally under-
served areas, lack general information on the most
effective methods to integrate their existing tech-
nology infrastructure, as well as new educational
technology, into the educational process and cur-
riculum.
(5) Most Federal and State educational tech-
nology programs have focused on acquiring edu-
cational technologies with less emphasis on the utili-
zation of those technologies in the classroom and the
training and infrastructural requirements needed to
efficiently support those types of technologies. As a
result, in many instances, the full potential of edu-
cational technology has not been realized.
(6) Our global economy is increasingly reliant
on a workforce not only comfortable with technology,
but also able to integrate rapid technological
changes into the production process. As such, in
order to remain competitive in a global economy, it
is imperative that we maintain a work-ready labor
force.
(7) According to ‘‘Teacher Quality: A Report on
the Preparation and Qualifications of Public School
Teachers’’, prepared by the Department of Edu-
cation, only 1 in 5 teachers felt well prepared to
work in a modern classroom.
(8) The most common form of professional de-
velopment for teachers continues to be workshops
that typically last no more than 1 day and have little
relevance to teachers’ work in the classroom.
(9) A 1998 national survey completed by the
Department of Education found that only 19 per-
cent of teachers had been formally mentored by an-
other teacher, and that 70 percent of these teachers
felt that this collaboration was very helpful to their
teaching.
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to improve
the utilization of educational technologies in elementary
and secondary education by creating an educational tech-
nology extension service based at intermediate school dis-
tricts, regional education service agencies, or under-
graduate institutions of higher education.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) The term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of
the National Science Foundation.
(2) The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’
has the meaning given that term in section 101 of
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1001).
SEC. 3. EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY UTILIZATION EXTEN-
SION ASSISTANCE.
(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—
(1) GENERAL AUTHORITY—The Director, in co-
operation with the Secretary of Education and the
Director of the National Institute of Standards and
Technology, is authorized to provide assistance for
the creation and support of regional centers for the
utilization of educational technologies (hereinafter in
this Act referred to as ‘‘ETU Centers’’).
(2) FUNCTIONS OF CENTERS—
(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—ETU Centers may
be established at any intermediate school dis-
trict, regional education service agency, institu-
tion of higher education, or consortium of such
entities, but such Centers may include the par-
ticipation of nonprofit entities.
(B) OBJECTIVES OF CENTERS.—The objec-
tive of ETU Centers is to enhance the utiliza-
tion of educational technologies in elementary
and secondary education through—
(i) advising elementary and secondary
school administrators, school boards, and
teachers on the adoption and utilization of
new educational technologies and the util-
ity of local schools’ existing educational
technology assets and infrastructure;
(ii) participation of individuals from
the private sector, universities, State and
local governments, and other Federal agen-
cies;
(iii) active dissemination of technical
and management information about the
use of educational technologies; and
(iv) utilization, if appropriate, of the
expertise and capabilities that exist in Fed-
eral laboratories and Federal agencies.
(C) ACTIVITIES OF CENTERS.—The activi-
ties of ETU Centers shall include the following:
(i) The active transfer and dissemina-
tion of research findings and ETU Center
expertise to local school authorities, includ-
ing school administrators, school boards,
and teachers.
(ii) The training of teachers in the in-
tegration of local schools’ existing edu-
cational technology infrastructure into
their instructional design.
(iii) The training and advising of
teachers, administrators, and school board
members in the acquisition, utilization, and
support of educational technologies.
(iv) Support services to teachers, ad-
ministrators, and school board members as
agreed upon by ETU Center representa-
tives and local school authorities.
(v) The advising of teachers, adminis-
trators, and school board members on cur-
rent skill set standards employed by pri-
vate industry.
(3) PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.—
(A) PROPOSED
RULES.—The Director,
after consultation with the Secretary of Edu-
cation and the Director of the National Insti-
tute of Standards and Technology, shall publish
in the Federal Register, not later than 90 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, pro-
posed rules for the program for establishing
ETU Centers, including—
(i) a description of the program;
(ii) the procedures to be followed by
applicants;
(iii) the criteria for determining quali-
fied applicants; and
(iv) the criteria, including those listed
in this section, for choosing recipients of fi-
nancial assistance under this Act from
among qualified applicants.
(B) FINAL
RULES.—The Director shall
publish final rules for the program under this
Act after the expiration of a 30-day comment
period on such proposed rules.
(4) ELIGIBILITY AND SELECTION.—
(A) APPLICATIONS REQUIRED.—Any inter-
mediate school district, regional education serv-
ice agency, undergraduate institution of higher
education, or consortium of any of those enti-
ties may submit an application for financial
support under this Act in accordance with the
procedures established under this Act. In order
to receive assistance under this Act, an appli-
cant shall provide adequate assurances that the
applicant will contribute 50 percent or more of
the proposed ETU Center’s capital and annual
operating and maintenance costs.
(B) SELECTION.—The Director, in con-
junction with the Secretary of Education and
the Director of the National Institute of Stand-
ards and Technology, shall subject each applica-
tion to competitive, merit-based review. In mak-
ing a decision whether to approve such applica-
tion and provide financial support under this
Act, the Director of the National Science Foun-
dation shall consider, at a minimum—
(i) the merits of the application, par-
ticularly those portions of the application
regarding the adaptation of training and
educational technologies to the needs of
particular regions;
(ii) the quality of service to be pro-
vided;
(iii) the geographical diversity and ex-
tent of service area, with particular empha-
sis on rural and traditionally under-
developed areas; and
(iv) the percentage of funding and
amount of in-kind commitment from other
sources.
(C) EVALUATION.—Each ETU Center that
receives financial assistance under this Act shall
be evaluated during its third year of operation
by an evaluation panel appointed by the Direc-
tor. Each evaluation panel shall measure the in-
volved ETU Center’s performance against the
objectives specified in this Act. Funding for an
ETU Center shall not be renewed unless the
evaluation is positive.
(b) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are authorized to be appropriated to the National Science
Foundation to carry out this Act $7,000,000 for fiscal
year 2002, $8,500,000 for fiscal year 2003, and
$9,500,000 for fiscal year 2004.
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