Education for the 21st Century (E-21) Act - Establishes assistance programs for: (1) middle school computer literacy; and (2) high-quality educational software for all schools.
Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award grants to States (especially those with a priority on training middle school teachers) that integrate into the State curriculum the goal of making all middle school graduates in the State technologically literate. Requires use of such grants for teacher training in technology, particularly teachers in elementary, middle, and secondary schools who become technology leaders serving as experts and training other teachers.
Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive grants for students at secondary schools and institutions of higher education (IHEs) to work with IHE faculty, software developers, and experts in educational technology in developing high-quality educational software and Internet websites. Directs the Secretary to recognize outstanding software and websites developed with such assistance that focus on core curriculum areas, especially: (1) for the first year of awards, mathematics, science, and reading; and (2) for the second and third years of awards, again mathematics, science, and reading, but also social studies, the humanities, and the arts. Requires: (1) such recognized educational software to be made available to local educational agencies for free downloading from the Department of Education's Internet website; and (2) such recognized Internet websites to be accessible to any World Wide Web user.