Educational Funding

==Details==
=== 2007 Congress Saves E2T2, Hikes '07 Funding Democrats'===
Budget Deal Will Boost Education Spending by $1.7 Billion--While Funding Key Educational
Technology Programs at 2006 Levels
: By Corey Murray, Senior Editor eSchool News
: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryts.cfm?ArticleID=6818>
Congressional leaders have reached an agreement on
the 2007 budget. The $463.5 billion spending package
includes more than $1 billion in increases for
education. Though the majority of educational
technology programs, including the federal Enhancing
Education Through Technology grant program, would be
funded at the same level as in 2006, educational
technology advocates said the deal should allow
Congress to focus its attention on President Bush's
2008 budget proposal, scheduled for release next week.
February 1, 2007 (Correction: eSchool News originally
reported that Congress approved an increase of
$1.7 billion in education funding in its 2007 budget
agreement. The figure should have read $1.17 billion.
eSchool News regrets the error.)
Negotiations over the federal government's 2007
education budget have finally drawn to a close:
On Jan. 30, Democratic leaders of the U.S. House and
Senate appropriations committees unveiled a plan that
would boost federal spending on public education by
more than $1 billion for the remainder of the fiscal
year, though funding for educational technology and
many other programs would remain stagnant.
The bill includes increases for students with
disabilities, underprivileged schools, and early
childhood education. But the majority of education
initiatives--including the Enhancing Education Through
Technology (EETT or "E2T2") block-grant program, the
primary source of federal funding for school
technology--would be "level-funded" under the deal,
meaning they would get the same funding as in 2006.
Last year, EETT received $275 million, down from
$496 million in 2005. President Bush has asked
Congress to eliminate the program entirely in each
of the last three budget cycles.
As news of the proposal spread throughout the nation's
capital, education advocates who spoke with eSchool
News said the agreement will enable lawmakers to focus
their attention on Bush's 2008 budget request, slated
for release in the second week of February. The federal
government has been running on a series of continuing
resolutions since the 2007 fiscal year began in October.
"We view educational technology and increased funding
of the EETT program as mission critical to helping
modernize school practices to meet educational goals,
address NCLB provisions, and ensure the nation's
competitiveness," said Mark Schneiderman, director of
education policy for the Washington, D.C.-based
Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA).
"SIIA looks forward to working with our coalition and
Congress to increase EETT funding in FY '08."
"The level funding is critical for keeping the EETT
programs in place and moving forward for students, but
funding at this amount does not allow states, districts,
and schools to maximize the potential for students,"
wrote Mary Ann Wolf, executive director of the State
Educational Technology Directors Association. "Many
states are seeing significant results in improving
student achievement and closing the achievement gap
with programs that utilize technology effectively,
and increased funding will allow for the replication
and scalability of these programs to help more
students across the nation."
"We were told it was to be a clean resolution,"
he said, "meaning no extraneous issues."
Fortunately for schools that rely on federal eRate
dollars, House and Senate leaders decided to make
an exception.
==Links==
* Education