The E-Rate program is playing a pivotal role in bringing technology to this nation's children and lifelong learners and is supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans. This is the conclusion of the poll commissioned by members of the Education and Library Networks Coalition (EdLiNC) as part of this report. Furthermore, the facts and findings in a new report entitled, E-Rate: Connecting Kids and Communities to the Future, demonstrate the important catalytic role the E-Rate plays in bringing affordable access to telecommunications and advanced services in schools and libraries.

1. The public strongly supports the introduction of information technology into our nation's schools and libraries. A non-partisan poll commissioned by EdLiNC found that 87% of respondents support discounts for educational technology.
   


2. Schools and libraries are eager to adopt technology, but prior to the E-Rate many lacked the funding to do so. Schools and libraries filed more than 32,000 applications for E-Rate support in the second year the program, an increase of over 2,000 applications in year one.
   


3. Educational technology benefits students and lifelong learners.
   The introduction of information technologies in our schools and libraries has dramatically helped learners of all ages - from children learning to read to senior citizens looking for information on the latest developments around the world.
   


4. The E-Rate program's full effectiveness has been hampered by a shortage of funding.
   The need in schools and libraries for funding dramatically outstripped the amount of funding provided. In order to make the E-Rate work effectively for all schools and libraries, full funding for the program is essential.
   

Americans Support the E-Rate.

After the first year of the E-Rate, members of EdLiNC determined that it was important to assess the impact of the program and assess public support for its continuation. In order to measure the continuing public support for the program; members of EdLiNC undertook a nationwide nonpartisan poll conducted by Lake, Snell, Perry and Associates and the Tarrance Group.

The results of this poll of 1000 randomly selected registered voters surveyed between March 23 and March 25, 1999, are impressive:

• 87% of Americans support providing discounts to needy schools and libraries;
• 83% of Americans think that Internet access in schools and libraries will improve educational opportunities for all Americans;
• 87% of Americans support continuing discounts for libraries and schools.

These poll findings send a clear signal that the American people support the concept of the E-Rate.

The E-Rate is Reaching Communities

In surveying schools and libraries in communities across the country, members of EdLiNC learned the following:

The program is having an impact on remote and rural schools.

• The Kuspuk School District in Aniak, Alaska consists of eleven schools spread among eight villages along the Kiskokwim River; none of these villages are accessible by road. Because of the district's remote location, local Internet access has never been available, and long distance connections were prohibitively expensive. As a result of the E-Rate, the Kuspuk School District has been able to wire all of its school buildings and install satellite-based Internet connections at every school.

• The Chicago Public School District, which serves 430,000 students on 559 campuses, received $47.5 million in funding for telecommunications and networking services. The district itself is cash-strapped, and could ill afford the infrastructure upgrades at each of its schools that would be necessary to bring high speed Internet access to its students. As a result of the E-Rate, however, Internet access is being brought to at least one classroom in every one of the district's schools this year.

• The Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, MD is bringing technology to the entire community. Using the E-Rate to leverage funding from other sources, the library has expanded its Internet connectivity in every branch, bringing Internet access to numerous communities in the Baltimore area.

• The Houston Independent School District in Houston, TX includes 299 schools with a socially and ethnically diverse group of approximately 211,000 students, many of whom come from poor households. Approximately 27% of the students served by the district are not yet fluent in English. Although some of the more affluent schools in the district have had Internet access for years, many have never been able to afford the high cost of wiring their campuses and the steep monthly costs for Internet access. The E-Rate has allowed the district to wire schools that have not been able to afford Internet access. Without the E-Rate, many of the students - particularly low-income and minority students - would not have access to the Internet through their schools.

• St. Jude Thaddeus School, a small parochial school in Havre, Montana, has an enrollment of 225 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Before the E-Rate, the school was unable to bring Internet access to its students because of the prohibitive costs. However, E-Rate discounts have allowed them to bring access to both elementary and middle school students.

• In Louisiana, the $500,000 in E-Rate funding received by the State Library of Louisiana combined with $2,000,000 in state funding and $7,000,000 from the Gates Library Foundation to enable the state library to provide Internet access and computers for every library in the state. While just three years ago many parts of Louisiana were entirely cut off from the Internet, now every library in the state - from New Orleans to the bayou - has computers with fast Internet access, which is available for free to all Louisianans.

Overview of the Research

This report contains several research elements commissioned by members of the Education and Library Networks Coalition (EdLiNC) in the spring of 1999. This research includes:

• A survey of several dozen E-Rate applicants, conducted by Leslie Harris & Associates, about their applications and the impact that the program has had on their schools or libraries;
• A nationwide poll of 1000 households about their attitudes towards educational technologies and discounts for schools and libraries conducted by Lake, Snell, Perry & Associates and the Tarrance Group; and
• A survey of current research literature, conducted by Saul Rockman, demonstrating the impact of educational technologies on elementary and secondary students and lifelong learners.