[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 9 (Monday, March 8, 1999)]
[Pages 333-334]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Internet Accessibility in Classrooms

March 1, 1999

    Vice President Gore and I have set a goal of connecting every 
classroom in America to the Internet by the year 2000. Today I am 
pleased to announce that new Department of Education data show that more 
than half of all classrooms are connected--nearly twice as many 
connections as last year. And thanks to new E-rate discounts that help 
schools and libraries connect to the Internet, we will reach our goal by 
the year 2000.
    Computers, the Internet, and educational software can make a real 
difference in the way teachers teach and students learn. Because of our 
efforts, children in the most isolated inner city or rural town will 
have access to the same universe of knowledge as a child in the most 
affluent suburb. Parents will be able to communicate more frequently 
with teachers and keep up with the progress of

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their child in school. Our children will be ``technologically 
literate''--and better prepared for the high-tech, high-wage jobs of the 
future. But we must also make sure that teachers are as comfortable with 
a computer as they are with the chalkboard. That is why Congress should 
support my $800 million educational technology initiative--including 
more than $100 million to train teachers in the latest technology.
    By giving our children the skills they need to succeed in the jobs 
of the future, we will build a stronger nation for the 21st century. I 
particularly want to thank Vice President Gore, who has done so much to 
put the future at the fingertips of our children.