Three Democratic and one Republican lawmaker on May 23 introduced legislation designed to ensure no child is left behind when it comes to technology.

Numerous education organizations hailed the new bill—H.R. 2449, the Achievement Through Technology and Innovation (ATTAIN) Act--saying it will make significant improvements to the federal Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program as part of the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).

Although specific funding levels have not yet been reported in association with the measure, ATTAIN will enable states and school districts to improve support for the educational needs of today's students through the use of technology, ed-tech groups said. At press time, the text of H.R. 2449 had not yet been received from the Government Printing Office, according to the web site of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Introduced by Democratic Reps. Lucille Roybal-Allard of California, Ruben Hinojosa of Texas, and Ron Kind of Wisconsin, as well as Republican Rep. Judy Biggert of Illinois, the ATTAIN Act would overhaul EETT, improving support for disadvantaged schools and students and ensuring that teachers are properly equipped to use technology effectively. More specifically, it would focus funds on professional development and systemic reform that leverage 21st-century technologies, prioritize funding to schools in need of improvement, and require states to assess whether students have attained technological literacy by the eighth grade.

The ATTAIN Act is based on input from education stakeholders, including the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA), and Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA).

"When schools are properly equipped to meet the technology needs of students, and when they have properly trained teachers, students are engaged, eager to learn, and are ultimately better prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st century," said Roybal-Allard.

"One of the most effective ways we can sharpen America's competitive edge is by investing in technology in the classroom," said Hinojosa. "This bill will further the technological prowess of our nation's schools and students and ultimately will increase our economic prosperity and capacity for innovation."

The primary source of federal funding for school technology, EETT is a block-grant program in which the federal government doles out funding to the states, which then pass this funding on to local districts. States must distribute 50 percent of the funds competitively and the other half by formula.

The program has seen its share of funding decline from nearly $700 million in FY 2004 to $496 million in FY 2005 and then to $273 million last year and this year. Advocates of educational technology say this steady erosion of funds has severely curtailed many states' and school districts' ed-tech programs--and it makes no sense, they say, given the president's stated commitment to ensuring the global competitiveness of American students.