ALAWON v3n55 (September 30, 1994) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/alawon/alawon-v3n55 ****Begin File******************Begin File*******************Begin File**** *************************************************************************** ISSN 1069-7799 ALAWON ALA Washington Office Newsline An electronic publication of the American Library Association Washington Office Volume 3, Number 55 September 30, 1994 In this issue: (129 lines) ESEA CONFERENCE REPORT APPROVED BY HOUSE-- ACTION NEEDED IN SENATE CLARIFICATION OF SMITH-HELMS IN H.R. 6 REP. MARKEY SPONSORS HEARING ON EDUCATION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS ************************************************************************** ESEA CONFERENCE REPORT APPROVED BY HOUSE-- ACTION NEEDED IN SENATE In House action today, a motion by Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX) to recommit H.R. 6, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization bill, to the conference committee, was defeated by a vote of 184 to 215. The conference report (H. Rept. 103-767) was then approved by a vote of 262-132. The vote was a significant victory considering the very grim picture which House members and staff presented earlier in the week. The all-out efforts on the part of education groups and library supporters were singled out by congressional staff as reason for the successful vote. The Senate will now take up the conference version of H.R. 6 with one week left for final action. Threat of filibuster and the Senatorial ability to put holds on the conference report may create a down-to-the-wire situation. If the conference report is not approved by the Senate, there will be no authorization for K-12 education spending. ACTION NEEDED: The calls and letters that came from library and education supporters definitely kept H.R. 6 from being returned to conference committee. Supporters are urged to keep up the good efforts and contact Senate offices asking for approval of the conference report on H.R. 6. Calls to local offices can be effective when the time frame is so short. ************************************************************************** CLARIFICATION OF SMITH-HELMS LANGUAGE IN H.R. 6 At this writing, we understand that the final language in the Smith-Helms amendment to H.R. 6 was slightly different than reported in ALAWON, Vol. 3, No. 53. The most recent language reported removes specific prohibitions on the Secretary of Education from reviewing curricula or instructional materials or promulgating regulations to carry out this provision. It does apparently retain strong local control provisions. As soon as we get the final language, it will be reported in ALAWON. We understand that the newest version does not substantially change the intent and keeps this language essentially unenforceable. *************************************************************************** REP. MARKEY SPONSORS HEARING ON EDUCATION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS On September 30th, Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) sponsored an oversight hearing on education's access to telecommunications technology by the Committee on Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Finance. Leadoff witness was U.S. Department of Education official, Linda Roberts, speaking for Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley, who was unable to attend the hearing. Roberts, as director of the Office of Educational Technology, and summarizing Riley's written testimony, highlighted broad areas for consideration including re-examination of overall rate policies at the federal and state levels, training and professional development, and the necessity for adequate resources. Riley's position was that "connections to new telecommunications and information resources as well as basic access services to these sources, should be free or as inexpensive as possible to educators and students..." Riley also stated that the Department of Education does not expect the federal government to contribute any large amount to this effort, relying instead on a regulatory framework for telecommunications firms that would provide for the application of the NII to education. Riley's testimony noted that the "Internet brings valuable and current information into schools that outstrips even the best university library." However, this statement ignores the fact that much of the useful information available via the Internet is mounted by university and other major libraries. Three educators, including Lois Harrison-Jones, Superintendent of Boston Public Schools, Ron Rescigno, District Superintendent of the Hueneme School District in California, and Connie Stout, Director of the Texas Education Network (TENET) described activities in their localities and spoke to the federal efforts that would be needed to develop and replicate educational uses of the NII. Also testifying were Shirley Malcom, from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and John Kernan, chairman and CEO of The Lightspan Partnership, Inc., in Carlsbad, CA. Malcom emphasized the necessity for access to modern technologies in science and math education while Kernan emphasized the importance of connecting every student's home to the infrastructure. His company is attempting to develop interactive educational software that competes with "Nintendo" games for students use at home. Rep. Markey voiced concerns about schools not keeping up with the needs of students to gain high-level skills in order to compete for jobs in a new technological age. With the "technology of guns" being more accessible and cheaper than computers, children will be increasingly attracted to gun technology rather than information technology. Markey would rather fund telecommunications than pay for metal detectors for schools. Markey emphasized that in his youth, a child from a blue collar or white collar family could go to the library or school, and through books have the same opportunities to compete for jobs - (or to become a congressman, even.) But without access to the new technologies, at least at school, there will be an uneven playing field for today's children. *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is an irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office, 110 Maryland Avenue, N.E., Washington, DC 20002-5675. Internet: alawash@alawash.org; Phone: 202-547-4440; Fax: 202-547-7363. Editor: Lee G. Enyart (lge@alawash.org). ALAWON is available free of charge and is available only in electronic form. To subscribe, send the message "subscribe ala-wo [your name]" to listserv@uicvm (Bitnet) or listserv@uicvm.uic.edu (Internet). Back issues and other documents are available from the list server. To find out what's available, send the message "send ala-wo filelist" to the listserv. The ALA-WO filelist contains the list of files with the exact filename and filetype. To get a particular file, issue the command "send filename filetype" to the listserv. Do not include the quotes in your commands. All materials in the newsletter subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. For other reprinting or redistribution, address requests to the ALA Washington Office (alawash@alawash.org). *************************************************************************** ***End of file******************End of file******************End of file***