§6812. Statement of purpose
The purpose of this part is to support a comprehensive system for the acquisition and use by elementary and secondary schools in the United States of technology and technology-enhanced curricula, instruction, and administrative support resources and services to improve the delivery of educational services. Such system shall include-
(1) national leadership with respect to the need for, and the provision of, appropriate technology-enhanced curriculum, instruction, and administrative programs to improve learning in the United States, and to promote equal access for all students to educational opportunities in order to achieve the National Education Goals by the year 2000;
(2) funding mechanisms which will support the development, interconnection, implementation, improvement, and maintenance of an effective educational technology infrastructure, including activities undertaken by State and local educational agencies to promote and provide equipment, training for teachers and school library and media personnel, and technical support;
(3) support for technical assistance, professional development, information and resource dissemination, in order to help States, local educational agencies, teachers, school library and media personnel, and administrators successfully integrate technology into kindergarten through 12th grade classrooms and library media centers;
(4) support for the development of educational and instructional programming in core subject areas, which shall address the National Education Goals;
(5) strengthening and building upon, but not duplicating, existing telecommunications infrastructures dedicated to educational purposes;
(6) development and evaluation of new and emerging educational technologies, telecommunications networks, and state-of-the-art educational technology products that promote the use of advanced technologies in the classroom and school library media center;
(7) assessment data regarding state-of-the-art uses of technologies in United States education upon which commercial and noncommercial telecommunications entities, and governments can rely for decisionmaking about the need for, and provision of, appropriate technologies for education in the United States;
(8) ensuring that uses of educational technology are consistent with the overall national technology policy established by the President, and ensuring that Federal technology-related policies and programs will facilitate the use of technology in education;
(9) ensuring that activities supported under this part will form the basis for sound State and local decisions about investing in, sustaining, and expanding uses of technology in education;
(10) establishing working guidelines to ensure maximum interoperability nationwide and ease of access for the emerging technologies so that no school system will be excluded from the technological revolution;
(11) ensuring that, as technological advances are made, the educational uses of these advances are considered and their applications are developed; and
(12) encouragement of collaborative relationships among the State agency for higher education, the State library administrative agency, the State telecommunications agency, and the State educational agency, in the area of technology support to strengthen the system of education.
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