National Education Technology Funding Corporation

The National Education Technology Funding Corporation is a nonprofit corporation independent of the federal government. The Act authorizes the corporation to receive discretionary grants, contracts, gifts, contributions, or technical assistance from any federal department or agency.

The corporation's purpose is to:

• Leverage resources and stimulate private investment in education technology infrastructure;
• Designate state education technology agencies to receive loans, grants, or other forms of assistance from the corporation;
• Establish criteria for encouraging states to:
  • create, maintain, utilize, and upgrade interactive high capacity networks capable of providing audio, visual, and data communications for public elementary and secondary schools and public libraries;
  • distribute resources to assure equitable aid to all elementary schools and secondary schools in the states and achieve universal access to network technology; and
  • upgrade the delivery and development of learning through innovative technology-based instructional tools and applications;
• Provide loans, grants, and other forms of assistance to state education technology agencies, with due regard for providing fair balance among types of school districts and public libraries assisted and their disparate needs;
• Leverage resources to provide maximum aid to elementary and secondary schools, and public libraries; and
• Encourage the development of education telecommunications and information technologies through public-private ventures, by serving as a clearinghouse for information on new education technologies, and by providing technical assistance, including assistance to states, if needed, to establish state education technology agencies.

www.benton.org/Policy/96act/nedfund.html
Last updated: 10 December 1996 jss