Quality K-12 Education

Deploying broadband and related communication technologies, including smart meters in the home and smart grids to upgrade our power grid, have the potential of revolutionizing energy management and economic development, according to a new report by the Progressive States Network released in association with our partners, Communications Workers of America, the Sierra Club and the Blue Green Alliance. Last Thursday, leaders from those organizations convened at a panel on Capitol Hill, hosted by U.S. Representative Edward Markey, Chairman of the U.S. House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, and joined by Nick Sinai, Director of Energy and Environment for the FCC's Broadband Strategy Plan, to discuss the findings of the report entitled Networking the Green Economy

In January, members of the predominantly conservative Texas Board of Education discussed revising the state's social studies curriculum to include highly partisan perspectives on civil rights, the role of government, and American history in general.  Some of the more divisive suggestions range from banning mention of activist and union organizer Cesar Chavezciting Ronald Reagan’s "leadership in restoring national confidence' following Jimmy Carter’s presidency." to

States and local governments may now use federal E-rate funds to provide the general public access to schools’ and public libraries’ Internet facilities, according to a recent Federal Communications Commission order.  Schools receiving funding under the E-rate program may extend their services to the general public during non-operating hours, that is, after school, weekends, holidays, and summer vacation.

In the State of the Union speech, President Barack Obama stated, "...jobs must be our number-one focus in 2010, and that's why I'm calling for a new jobs bill." With the fiscal crisis forcing states to layoff hundreds of thousands of teachers, nurses and police officers, the need for more federal job creation and state fiscal relief support is clear.  And there is substantial momentum building around this issue in the states.

This Dispatch highlights the trends in the initial grants when it comes to mapping, deployment and adoption broadband, outline broadband policies that states have been pursuing (using federal and state funding), and why these broadband investments are so critical to the long-term economy of our states.

As this Dispatch will highlight, the first step is to fund jobs that support long-term economic competitiveness, notably by investing in people and physical infrastructure.  While the economic climate for profit-making business opportunities is more limited, investments in education, health care, transit and energy efficiency can create immediate jobs while strengthening building blocks for long-term growth.

With the new year, Progressive States Network is working with allies to launch a campaign to demand a new, federal job creation plan that includes fiscal relief to state and local governments in order to foster economic growth and create and maintain jobs. We are asking state legislators to sign onto a letter to promote this job creation plan, the full text of which can be seen at www.progressivestates.org/jobcreation. Legislators can sign the letter at www.progressivestates.org/jobcreation or by emailing jobcreation@progressivestates.org. 

In his major stimulus speech in January, President Barack Obama stated, "I am confident [the stimulus] will save or create at least three million jobs over the next few years."  In particular, he emphasized that state fiscal relief "will save the public sector jobs of teachers, cops, firefighters and others who provide vital services."

The FCC has been holding a series of workshops in an effort to collect information that will be useful in the creation of a National BroadbandPlan.  On September 1st, state and local telecommunications officialsparticipated in a workshop entitled State and Local Governments:  Toolkits and Best Practices,at which the FCC aimed to learn from the experiences of state and localgovernments that have proactively addressed broadband deployment andadoption issues in their communities.

As President Obama mentioned earlier this year, the United States has "one of the highest high-school dropout rates out of any industrialized nation."  Currently only about 7 out of 10 public school students graduate high-school with a diploma.