Kerry Intros Education Portal Legislation
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United States Senator John Kerry Tuesday introduced new legislation aimed at funding state education portals. The legislation, dubbed the "Empowering Teaching and Learning through Education Portals Act," is designed to support teacher professional development, improve teacher retention, and offer online support for teachers and administrators.
"Few things are as important to the future of our country as the quality of our schools. The Empowering Teaching and Learning Through Education Act will help us to bridge the urban-rural educational divide that unfortunately still exists throughout our country today. This act will ensure that all districts in all corners of all the states have access to high quality resources that allow both students and teachers to grow," Kerry said in a statement released today.
According to information released by Kerry's office, the legislation establishes competitive grants for implementing and maintaining education portals and provides tax incentives for private organizations to support state portals.
State education portals provide resources for education stakeholders, including teachers, parents, students, and administrators, with online collaboration, access to lesson plans, and communications tools. The legislation also aims to support "high quality teaching, professional development and retention of teachers" and to promote "an on-line support network and learning community for teachers and administrators," according to Kerry's office. "It also provides coaching and guidance to teachers to address the challenges of teaching a diverse student body."
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About the author: David Nagel is the executive editor for 1105 Media's online education technology publications, including THE Journal and Campus Technology. He can be reached at dnagel@1105media.com.
Proposals for articles and tips for news stories, as well as questions and comments about this publication, should be submitted to David Nagel, executive editor, at dnagel@1105media.com.