Policy report on e-rate released - Washington - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

Black Issues in Higher Education, Dec 6, 2001 by Ronald Roach

WASHINGTON

Over the past 10 years, the United States has invested $38 billion to bring technology and Interne{ connectivity to America's K-12 schools. E-Rate telecommunications discounts are estimated to have resulted in a $10 billion infusion of critical resources, according to an upcoming report on the federal E-rate program.

The new report, "Great Expectations: The E-Rate at Five," will be published by the Benton Foundation and the EDC/Center for Children and Technology (CCT).

"The effect of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and the education rate that it created, has been truly impressive: Many schools have leapfrogged in terms of their infrastructure from the Industrial Age to the Information Age," said Benton Foundation president Andrea Taylor at a Washington forum that previewed the report.

Benton and CCT compiled their findings and observations from field research and hearings into this new report, with chapters written by experts in the field of educational technology, To receive a copy of the new report, please send an e-mail with your name, title, organization and mailing address to decendre@benton.org.

The report also may be downloaded from the Benton Foundation Web site, <www.benton.org>, after Dec. 8.