I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2965
To amend title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 to provide for digital education partnerships.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 28, 1999
Mrs. ROUKEMA (for herself, Mrs. MORELLA, and Mr. GILMAN) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the
Workforce
A BILL
To amend title III of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 to provide for digital education part-
nerships.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Digital Education Act
of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. REVISION OF PART C OF TITLE III.
Part C of title III of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6921 et seq.) is amend-
ed to read as follows:
‘‘PART C—READY-TO-LEARN DIGITAL TELEVISION
‘‘SEC. 3301. FINDINGS.
‘‘Congress makes the following findings:
‘‘(1) In 1994, Congress and the Department
collaborated to make a long-term, meaningful and
public investment in the principle that high-quality
preschool television programming will help children
be ready to learn by the time the children entered
first grade.
‘‘(2) The Ready to Learn Television Program
through the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and
local public television stations has proven to be an
extremely cost-effective national response to improv-
ing early childhood development and helping parents,
caregivers, and professional child care providers
learn how to use television as a means to help chil-
dren learn, develop, and play creatively.
‘‘(3) Independent research shows that parents
who participate in Ready to Learn workshops are
more critical consumers of television and their chil-
dren are more active viewers. A University of Ala-
bama study showed that parents who had attended
a Ready to Learn workshop read more books and
stories to their children and read more minutes each
time than nonattendees. The parents did more
hands-on activities related to reading with their chil-
dren. The parents engaged in more word activities
and for more minutes each time. The parents read
less for entertainment and more for education. The
parents took their children to libraries and book-
stores more than nonattendees. For parents, partici-
pating in a Ready to Learn workshop increases their
awareness of and interest in educational dimensions
of television programming and is instrumental in
having their children gain exposure to more edu-
cational programming. Moreover, 6 months after
participating in Ready to Learn workshops, parents
who attended generally had set rules for television
viewing by their children. These rules related to the
amount of time the children were allowed to watch
television daily, the hours the children were allowed
to watch television, and the tasks or chores the chil-
dren must have accomplished before the children
were allowed to watch television.
‘‘(4) The Ready to Learn (RTL) Television
Program is supporting and creating commercial-free
broadcast programs for young children that are of
the highest possible educational quality. Program
funding has also been used to create hundreds of
valuable interstitial program elements that appear
between national and local public television pro-
grams to provide developmentally appropriate mes-
sages to children and caregiving advice to parents.
‘‘(5) Through the Nation’s 350 local public tele-
vision stations, these programs and programming
elements reach tens of millions of children, their par-
ents, and caregivers without regard to their eco-
nomic circumstances, location, or access to cable. In
this way, public television is a partner with Federal
policy to make television an instrument, not an
enemy, of preschool children’s education and early
development.
‘‘(6) The Ready to Learn Television Program
extends beyond the television screen. Funds from the
Ready to Learn Television Program have funded
thousands of local workshops organized and run by
local public television stations, almost always in as-
sociation with local child care training agencies or
early childhood development professionals, to help
child care professionals and parents learn more
about how to use television effectively as a develop-
mental tool. These workshops have trained more
than 320,000 parents and professionals who, in
turn, serve and support over 4,000,000 children
across the Nation.
‘‘(7)(A) The Ready to Learn Television Pro-
gram has published and distributed millions of cop-
ies of a quarterly magazine entitled ‘PBS Families’
that contains—
‘‘(i) developmentally appropriate games
and activities based on Ready to Learn Tele-
vision programming;
‘‘(ii) parenting advice;
‘‘(iii) news about regional and national ac-
tivities related to early childhood development;
and
‘‘(iv) information about upcoming Ready to
Learn Television activities and programs.
‘‘(B) The magazine described in subparagraph
(A) is published 4 times a year and distributed free
of charge by local public television stations in
English and in Spanish (PBS para la familia).
‘‘(8) Because reading and literacy are central to
the ready to learn principle Ready to Learn Tele-
vision stations also have received and distributed
millions of free age-appropriate books in their com-
munities as part of the Ready to Learn Television
Program. Each station receives a minimum of 200
books each month for free local distribution. Some
stations are now distributing more than 1,000 books
per month. Nationwide, more than 300,000 books
are distributed each year in low-income and dis-
advantaged neighborhoods free of charge.
‘‘(9) In 1998, the Public Broadcasting Service,
in association with local colleges and local public tel-
evision stations, as well as the Annenberg Corpora-
tion for Public Broadcasting Project housed at the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting, began a pilot
program to test the formal awarding of a Certificate
in Early Childhood Development through distance
learning. The pilot is based on the local distribution
of a 13-part video courseware series developed by
Annenberg Corporation for Public Broadcasting and
WTVS Detroit entitled ‘The Whole Child’. Louisiana
Public Broadcasting, Kentucky Educational Tele-
vision, Maine Public Broadcasting, and WLJT Mar-
tin, Tennessee, working with local and State regu-
latory agencies in the childcare field, have partici-
pated in the pilot program with a high level of suc-
cess. The certificate program is ready for nationwide
application using the Public Broadcasting Service’s
Adult Learning Service.
‘‘(10) Demand for Ready To Learn Television
Program outreach and training has increased dra-
matically, with the base of participating Public
Broadcasting Service member stations growing from
a pilot of 10 stations to nearly 130 stations in 5
years.
‘‘(11) Federal policy played a crucial role in the
evolution of analog television by funding the tele-
vision program entitled ‘Sesame Street’ in the
1960’s. Federal policy should continue to play an
equally crucial role for children in the digital tele-
vision age.
‘‘SEC. 3302. READY-TO-LEARN.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized to
award grants to or enter into contracts or cooperative
agreements with eligible entities described in section
3303(b) to develop, produce, and distribute educational
and instructional video programming for preschool and el-
ementary school children and their parents in order to fa-
cilitate the achievement of the National Education Goals.
‘‘(b) AVAILABILITY.—In making such grants, con-
tracts, or cooperative agreements, the Secretary shall en-
sure that eligible entities make programming widely avail-
able, with support materials as appropriate, to young chil-
dren, their parents, childcare workers, and Head Start
providers to increase the effective use of such program-
ming.
‘‘SEC. 3303. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING.
‘‘(a) AWARDS.—The Secretary shall award grants,
contracts, or cooperative agreements under section 3302
to eligible entities to—
‘‘(1) facilitate the development directly, or
through contracts with producers of children and
family educational television programming, of—
‘‘(A) educational programming for pre-
school and elementary school children; and
‘‘(B) accompanying support materials and
services that promote the effective use of such
programming;
‘‘(2) facilitate the development of programming
and digital content especially designed for nation-
wide distribution over public television stations’ dig-
ital broadcasting channels and the Internet, con-
taining Ready to Learn-based children’s program-
ming and resources for parents and caregivers; and
‘‘(3) enable eligible entities to contract with en-
tities (such as public telecommunications entities
and those funded under the Star Schools Act) so
that programs developed under this section are dis-
seminated and distributed—
(A) to the widest possible audience appro-
priate to be served by the programming; and
(B) by the most appropriate distribution
technologies.
‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive
a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under sub-
section (a), an entity shall be—
‘‘(1) a public telecommunications entity that is
able to demonstrate a capacity for the development
and national distribution of educational and instruc-
tional television programming of high quality for
preschool and elementary school children; and
‘‘(2) able to demonstrate a capacity to contract
with the producers of children’s television program-
ming for the purpose of developing educational tele-
vision programming of high quality for preschool
and elementary school children.
‘‘(c) CULTURAL EXPERIENCES.—Programming de-
veloped under this section shall reflect the recognition of
diverse cultural experiences and the needs and experiences
of both boys and girls in engaging and preparing young
children for schooling.
‘‘SEC. 3304. DUTIES OF SECRETARY.
‘‘The Secretary is authorized—
‘‘(1) to award grants, contracts, or cooperative
agreements to eligible entities described in section
3303(b), local public television stations, or such pub-
lic television stations that are part of a consortium
with 1 or more State educational agencies, local edu-
cational agencies, local schools, institutions of higher
education, or community-based organizations of
demonstrated effectiveness, for the purpose of—
‘‘(A) addressing the learning needs of
young children in limited English proficient
households, and developing appropriate edu-
cational and instructional television program-
ming to foster the school readiness of such chil-
dren;
‘‘(B) developing programming and support
materials to increase family literacy skills
among parents to assist parents in teaching
their children and utilizing educational tele-
vision programming to promote school readi-
ness; and
‘‘(C) identifying, supporting, and enhanc-
ing the effective use and outreach of innovative
programs that promote school readiness; and
‘‘(D) developing and disseminating training
materials, including—
‘‘(i) interactive programs and pro-
grams adaptable to distance learning tech-
nologies that are designed to enhance
knowledge of children’s social and cognitive
skill development and positive adult-child
interactions; and
‘‘(ii) support materials to promote the
effective use of materials developed under
subparagraph (B) among parents, Head
Start providers, in-home and center-based
daycare providers, early childhood develop-
ment personnel, elementary school teach-
ers, public libraries, and after- school pro-
gram personnel caring for preschool and
elementary school children;
‘‘(2) to establish within the Department a clear-
inghouse to compile and provide information, refer-
rals, and model program materials and programming
obtained or developed under this part to parents,
child care providers, and other appropriate individ-
uals or entities to assist such individuals and entities
in accessing programs and projects under this part;
and
‘‘(3) to coordinate activities assisted under this
part with the Secretary of Health and Human Serv-
ices in order to—
‘‘(A) maximize the utilization of quality
educational programming by preschool and ele-
mentary school children, and make such pro-
gramming widely available to federally funded
programs serving such populations; and
‘‘(B) provide information to recipients of
funds under Federal programs that have major
training components for early childhood devel-
opment, including programs under the Head
Start Act and Even Start, and State training
activities funded under the Child Care Develop-
ment Block Grant Act of 1990, regarding the
availability and utilization of materials devel-
oped under paragraph (1)(D) to enhance parent
and child care provider skills in early childhood
development and education.
‘‘SEC. 3305. APPLICATIONS.
‘‘Each entity desiring a grant, contract, or coopera-
tive agreement under section 3302 or 3304 shall submit
an application to the Secretary at such time, in such man-
ner, and accompanied by such information as the Sec-
retary may reasonably require.
‘‘SEC. 3306. REPORTS AND EVALUATION.
‘‘(a) ANNUAL REPORT TO SECRETARY.—An eligible
entity receiving funds under section 3302 shall prepare
and submit to the Secretary an annual report which con-
tains such information as the Secretary may require. At
a minimum, the report shall describe the program activi-
ties undertaken with funds received under section 3302,
including—
‘‘(1) the programming that has been developed
directly or indirectly by the eligible entity, and the
target population of the programs developed;
‘‘(2) the support materials that have been de-
veloped to accompany the programming, and the
method by which such materials are distributed to
consumers and users of the programming;
‘‘(3) the means by which programming devel-
oped under this section has been distributed, includ-
ing the distance learning technologies that have been
utilized to make programming available and the geo-
graphic distribution achieved through such tech-
nologies; and
‘‘(4) the initiatives undertaken by the eligible
entity to develop public-private partnerships to se-
cure non-Federal support for the development, dis-
tribution and broadcast of educational and instruc-
tional programming.
‘‘(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall
prepare and submit to the relevant committees of Con-
gress a biannual report which includes—
‘‘(1) a summary of activities assisted under sec-
tion 3303(a); and
‘‘(2) a description of the training materials
made available under section 3304(1)(D), the man-
ner in which outreach has been conducted to inform
parents and childcare providers of the availability of
such materials, and the manner in which such mate-
rials have been distributed in accordance with such
section.
‘‘SEC. 3307. ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.
‘‘With respect to the implementation of section 3303,
eligible entities receiving a grant, contract, or cooperative
agreement from the Secretary may use not more than 5
percent of the amounts received under such section for
the normal and customary expenses of administering the
grant, contract, or cooperative agreement.
‘‘SEC. 3308. DEFINITION.
‘‘For the purposes of this part, the term ‘distance
learning’ means the transmission of educational or in-
structional programming to geographically dispersed indi-
viduals and groups via telecommunications.
‘‘SEC. 3309. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap-
propriated to carry out this part, $50,000,000 for fiscal
year 2000, and such sums as may be necessary for each
of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.
‘‘(b) FUNDING RULE.—Not less than 60 percent of
the amounts appropriated under subsection (a) for each
fiscal year shall be used to carry out section 3303.’’.
SEC. 3. REVISION OF PART D OF TITLE III.
Part D of title III of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6951 et seq.) is amend-
ed to read as follows:
‘‘PART D—THE NEW CENTURY PROGRAM FOR
DISTRIBUTED TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DE-
VELOPMENT
‘‘SEC. 3401. FINDINGS.
‘‘Congress makes the following findings:
‘‘(1) Since 1995, the Telecommunications Dem-
onstration Project for Mathematics (as established
under this part pursuant to the Improving America’s
Schools Act of 1994) (in this section referred to as
‘MATHLINE’) has allowed the Public Broadcasting
Service to pioneer and refine a new model of teacher
professional development for kindergarten through
grade 12 teachers. MATHLINE uses video modeling
of standards-based lessons, combined with profes-
sionally facilitated online learning communities of
teachers, to help mathematics teachers from elemen-
tary school through secondary school adopt and im-
plement standards-based practices in their class-
rooms. This approach allows teachers to update their
skills on their own schedules through video, while
providing online interaction with peers and master
teachers to reinforce that learning. This integrated,
self-paced approach breaks down the isolation of
classroom teaching while making standards-based
best practices available to all participants.
‘‘(2) MATHLINE was developed specifically to
disseminate the first national voluntary standards
for teaching and learning as developed by the Na-
tional Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM).
During 3 years of actual deployment, more than
5,800 teachers have participated for at least a full
year in the demonstration. These teachers, in turn,
have taught more than 1,500,000 students cumula-
tively.
‘‘(3)(A) In the first 3 years of the MATHLINE
project, the Public Broadcasting Service used the
largest portion of the funds provided under this
part—
‘‘(i) to produce video-based models of
classroom teaching;
‘‘(ii) to produce and disseminate extensive
accompanying print materials;
‘‘(iii) to organize and host professionally
moderated, year-long, online learning commu-
nities; and
‘‘(iv) to train the Public Broadcasting
Service stations to deploy MATHLINE in their
local communities. In fiscal year 1998, the Pub-
lic Broadcasting Service added an extensive
Internet-based set of learning tools for teachers’
use with the video modules and printed mate-
rials, and the Public Broadcasting Service ex-
panded the online resources available to teach-
ers through Internet-based discussion groups
and a national listserv.
‘‘(B) To extend Federal funds, the Public
Broadcasting Service has experimented with various
fee models for teacher participation, with varying re-
sults. Using fiscal year 1998 Federal funds and pri-
vate money, participation in MATHLINE will
increase
by 10,000 MATHLINE scholarships to
preservice and inservice teachers. The Public Broad-
casting Service and its participating member sta-
tions will distribute scholarships in each congres-
sional district in the United States, with teachers
serving disadvantaged populations given priority for
the scholarships.
‘‘(4) Independent evaluations indicate that
teaching improves and students benefit as a result of
the MATHLINE program.
‘‘(5) The MATHLINE program is ready to be
expanded to reach many more teachers in more sub-
ject areas. The New Century Program for Distrib-
uted Teacher Professional Development will link the
digitized public broadcasting infrastructure with
education networks by working with the program’s
digital membership, and Federal and State agencies,
to expand the successful MATHLINE model. Tens
of thousands of teachers will have access to the New
Century Program for Distributed Teacher Profes-
sional Development, to advance their teaching skills
and their ability to integrate technology into teach-
ing and learning. The New Century Program for
Distributed Teacher Professional Development also
will leverage the Public Broadcasting Service’s his-
toric relationships with higher education to improve
preservice teacher training.
‘‘SEC. 3402. PROJECT AUTHORIZED.
‘‘The Secretary is authorized to make grants to a
nonprofit telecommunications entity, or partnership of