Some key points:

• “I cannot wait to hear more details about the proposed budget,” Fletcher said. “When I interviewed Secretary Duncan and Jim Shelton this past summer, both were absolutely clear that without technology we cannot possibly be successful in the reforms the administration has outlined. We need technology for data systems to gauge how well students are doing; we need technology to engage students in learning; and we need technology to deliver professional development equitably and inexpensively to teachers so they can improve. Why go to the expense and effort to develop a plan if technology is so unimportant that it receives no dedicated funding?“

• The new budget also proposed funding for efforts to bolster education in science, technology, engineering, and math and to prepare children for entry into kindergarten.

  According to the budget document, “Our Nation’s eighth graders are scoring below their peers from many Asian and European countries, and we are neither adequately closing the achievement gaps in math and science nor providing adequate opportunities for many students from diverse backgrounds. The Budget reflects the Administration’s investment in improving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) outcomes and creating the next generation of scientists and engineers who can help drive economic growth in the coming decades.”

  A complete copy of the Obama administration’s proposed 2011 budget, as well as related documents, can be found here.