Nebraska's Educational Service Units (ESUs) are under threat of de-funding, consolidation, and even elimination. For too long, the ESUs have been an invisible asset to school districts, providing equity to our rural schools, and expertise to our more urban schools. ESUs work from the expectation of efficiency and effectiveness, to be good stewards…

Presents excerpts from selected state-of-the-art reports on initiatives for educational technology that were received from individual states in response to a request from the yearbook editors. The 16 states represented are California, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North…

The California Planning Commission for Educational Technology was established by state legislation (AB 1470) in 1989 to develop a California Master Plan for Educational Technology for K-12 education, the California Community Colleges, the University of California, and the California State University. The Commission discussed multiple issues;…

Utah and Kentucky are among the states with the strongest public-private partnerships in technology policy for public schools. The key ingredients are strong executive leadership, a legislature that works with the governor, and agreements between the public and private sectors leading to affordable telecommunications linkages. One table is…

Connecticut has adopted a moderate approach to communications infrastructure modernization, covering a 4-year implementation period from 1993 to 1996. The state's remote educational framework, with regulatory enhancements, will allow the state to be technologically competitive with neighboring states as it allows subscribers to use evolving…

Reviews recent telecommunications activities in Maine. Highlights include state legislation that addresses regulatory developments; public utilities; public access through libraries; education networks, including elementary and secondary schools and higher education; Internet access; economic and community development; and the governor's…

This informational memorandum is the first in a series of reports focusing on the SchoolNet initiatives. It describes SchoolNet, SchoolNet Plus, and the Ameritech Agreement, presenting background information on their funding authorities, purposes, key players, organizational structures, and statutory timeframes. The report also describes how…

This overview of telecommunications in Arizona discusses library telecommunications; state library activities; the Arizona State Public Information Network; higher education projects; community outreach; business and economic development; state telecommunications policy; the paradigm shift in the public's use of telecommunications; community…

This collection of reports highlights the status of educational telecommunications in 13 western states during 1991. Topics addressed include distance education initiatives in Alaska; activities by members of the Arizona Education Telecommunications Cooperative, including colleges, public schools, and government agencies; groups active in the…

The principal objective of this report, the last in a series of three, was to develop and determine cost effectiveness of alternate plans for an effective telecommunications capability through 1975 for the State of Illinois. The State is advised to contract with communications consultants to help it save money on its telephone bill. It is also…

Provides an overview of library automation in Minnesota. Topics include regional public library systems; library automation vendors; multitype library systems; postsecondary and academic libraries; state government libraries; the Internet; telecommunications and statewide online system legislation and funding; and state library agency involvement…

The Connecticut State Legislature has adopted sweeping telecommunications legislation that will enhance distance education in the state through cable television and telecommunications technologies. This legislation eradicates the delimitation on cable operators of one-way transmission of cable signals and removes the primary statutory restriction…

Missouri's Video Instructional Development and Educational Opportunity Program (VIDEO), enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri through Senate Bill 709, encourages all educational institutions in the state to supplement educational opportunities through the use of telecommunications technology, including instructional television…

This report by the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Wisconsin's Telecommunications Infrastructure considers infrastructure to be the common network that connects individual residences, businesses, and agencies, rather than the individual systems and equipment themselves. The task force recognizes that advances in telecommunications technologies and…

Remote education has arrived in Connecticut and is promising to expand, as this discussion of its development, progress, and difficulties demonstrates. In June 1993, state legislation mandated a feasibility study of ways to bring about bidirectional educational programming among Connecticut's 26 cable-franchise operators. Cost allocation for the…