The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)...
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) was sharply critical of FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposed changes to the federal E-rate program, unveiled Friday (CD June 23 p4). ISTE CEO Brian Lewis called the plan a “step backward” for…
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the program. The proposal “envisions” a five-year program with $1 billion per year dedicated to build-out of wireless connectivity within schools and libraries, but it identified only two years of the funding needed “and no guarantee of more dollars after that,” Lewis said in a news release. “Let’s stop rearranging the deckchairs,” he said. “Let’s invest the funding that even the Commission knows the E-Rate needs to fully equip our students, educators and library patrons with the bandwidth necessary for improved education, employment and citizenship.” ISTE’s membership is made up of teachers. The proposal also had supporters. Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia, said Wheeler is on the right track. “No modern business expects to function without access to high-speed Internet,” he said in a written statement. “So why should we expect it of our schools?”