Today's information infrastructure provides access to a growing array of software and services for education. As both the capabilities of technology and the number of its uses grow, the need to set national policy for computer networking has become increasingly apparent. The High Performance Computing Act of 1991 established government support for the development of the National Research and Education Network (NREN), which is designed to provide links with computer and information resources for researchers, educators, and students. In the past 2 years, federal networking policy has changed to emphasize rapid commercialization of infrastructure and services, broader social goals, greater focus on network users, and community participation. The proposed National Information Infrastructure Act of 1993 amends the original NREN provisions to define national policy more clearly and to increase the emphasis on social goals. The government is not alone in trying to broaden the goals and uses of the national information infrastructure, as the participation of public interest groups and individuals demonstrates. Several sources of information about the infrastructure are listed. (Contains 24 references.) (SLD)