BILL NUMBER: SB 192 CHAPTERED 09/16/02 CHAPTER 582 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 16, 2002 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 14, 2002 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 30, 2002 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 28, 2002 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 26, 2002 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 5, 2002 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 29, 2001 AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 27, 2001 AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 19, 2001 INTRODUCED BY Senator O'Connell FEBRUARY 8, 2001 An act to add Chapter 8.9 (commencing with Section 52295.10) to Part 28 of the Education Code, relating to public schools, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 192, O'Connell. Education technology. Existing law, establishes various programs to enhance technology education, including, but not limited to, the Digital High School Education Technology Grant Act of 1997, to provide all high school pupils with basic computer skills so as to, among other things, improve pupil achievement in all academic subjects. Existing federal law, the Enhancing Children Through Technology Act of 2001, provides funding to improve pupil academic achievement through the use of technology in elementary schools and secondary schools. This bill would establish the Education Technology Grant Program of 2002 to provide technology education grants for schools serving pupils in grades 4 to 8, inclusive, consistent with that federal law. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Chapter 8.9 (commencing with Section 52295.10) is added to Part 28 of the Education Code, to read: CHAPTER 8.9. THE EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY GRANT ACT OF 2002 52295.10. (a) This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the Education Technology Grant Act of 2002. (b) For the purposes of this chapter, "school district" means a school district, a county office of education, or a charter school. 52295.15. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) The federal Enhancing Education Through Technology Act of 2001, Part D of Title II of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110), provides resources to California with the primary goal to improve pupil academic achievement through the use of technology in elementary schools and secondary schools. (b) It is the intent of the Legislature that California use the funding provided under the federal Enhancing Education Through Technology Act in a manner consistent with federal law to improve pupil academic achievement, with emphasis on using the funding to prepare pupils to enter high school with the academic and technology literacy skills to support success in high school, as well as to assist in the acquisition, development, interconnection, implementation, improvement, and maintenance of an effective educational technology infrastructure in a manner that expands access to technology for pupils, particularly for disadvantaged pupils, and teachers. 52295.20. (a) The Education Technology Grant Program of 2002 is hereby established to provide grants to eligible school districts, county offices of education, or charter schools for purposes of implementing and supporting a comprehensive system that effectively uses technology to improve pupil academic achievement. (b) As used in this chapter, "using technology to improve pupil academic achievement" means using technology as a fundamental tool for both teaching and learning throughout the curriculum to help pupils meet or exceed the state academic content standards adopted by the State Board of Education. 52295.25. (a) Eligibility for a grant pursuant to this chapter shall be limited to a school district or a consortium of school districts that meet all of the following criteria: (1) They are among the school districts in the state with the highest number or percentage of children from families with an income below the poverty line established by the federal Director of the Office of Management and Budget, as annually revised by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. (2) They meet either of the following criteria: (A) They operate one or more schools identified under Section 1116 of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110). (B) They have a substantial need for assistance in acquiring and using technology. (b) A grant pursuant to this chapter may only be used to serve pupils in grades 4 to 8, inclusive, except as specified in subdivision (c) of Section 52295.35. 52295.30. (a) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall administer this program and the application process for the award of grants. The Superintendent of Public Instruction, with the approval of the State Board of Education, shall award grants on a competitive basis. All grants funded pursuant to this chapter shall comply with the requirements of Part D of Title II of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110). The amount of each grant shall be calculated as described in Section 52295.35. (b) The priority for awarding grants to school districts shall be as follows: (1) First priority shall be middle and junior high schools. (2) Second priority shall be elementary schools. (3) Third priority shall be other schools that serve pupils in grades 4 to 8, inclusive. (c) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall be authorized to adopt emergency regulations in order to administer the Education Technology Grant Program and allocate program funds. (d) This chapter shall be implemented only to the extent of moneys from federal funds appropriated for the purposes of this chapter in the annual Budget Act or other legislation. 52295.35. (a) Applicants within each of the 11 California Technology Assistance Project regions shall compete against other applicants from that region. The amount of funding for grants available to each region shall be determined based upon the proportionate enrollment of pupils in grades 4 to 8, inclusive, in eligible schools from that region. (b) Grants shall be awarded to a school district for a school or schools specified in the program application. All grant funds shall be spent in a manner consistent with the local education agency technology plan, pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 51871.5 and subdivision (a) of Section 2414 of Part D of Title II of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110), and program application and shall be used for the specific school or schools included in the approved application. (c) The initial one-time implementation grant for a school selected to receive a grant shall be calculated based upon three hundred dollars ($300) per pupil for pupils in grades 4 to 8, inclusive. An additional three hundred dollars ($300) per pupil for pupils in grade 9 may be allocated if the school includes grade 9 pupils and the school did not receive funding for these pupils under the Digital High School Education Technology Grant Act of 1997 (Chapter 8.5 (commencing with Section 52250)). Upon recommendation from the State Department of Education, the State Board of Education may adopt criteria that establish fixed minimum grant levels for a small school. (d) Subject to availability of federal funding appropriated for competitive grants under Part D of Title II of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110), any grant recipient that successfully completes the initial grant shall receive an additional one-time grant of forty-five dollars ($45) per pupil in grades 4 to 8, inclusive, at the school or schools selected for funding. The purpose of this funding shall be to continue implementation of the grant recipients' approved technology plan in a manner consistent with the requirements of Part D of Title II of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110), including plans to sustain the use of technology as a tool in improving teaching and pupil academic achievement once the grant period ends. 52295.40. Grant funds shall be expended by each school included in the program application, as follows: (a) A minimum of 25 percent of the total grant shall be spent on high-quality professional development that provides school teachers, principals, and administrators with the capacity to integrate technology effectively into curricula and instruction that are aligned with state academic content standards adopted by the State Board of Education and the applicable curriculum framework content standards adopted by the State Board of Education. (b) Remaining funds, if any, shall be expended in a manner consistent with the approved application. 52295.45. The grant application and criteria for scoring grants shall address all of the following: (a) Implementation and support of a comprehensive system based on research that effectively uses technology to improve pupil academic achievement in a manner consistent with other school district and school efforts to improve pupil academic achievement. (b) The acquisition, development, interconnection, implementation, improvement, and maintenance of an effective educational technology infrastructure in a manner that expands access to technology for pupils, particularly for disadvantaged pupils, and teachers. (c) The ongoing professional development of teachers, principals, and administrators by providing ongoing access to training and support, as well as updated research in teaching and learning through electronic means. (d) The utilization of electronic networks and other innovative methods, including, but not limited to, distance learning, to deliver specialized or rigorous academic courses and curricula for pupils in areas that would not otherwise have access to those courses and curricula, particularly in geographically isolated regions. (e) The rigorous evaluation of grant activities, particularly regarding the impact of the program on pupil academic achievement. This evaluation process shall include a process and accountability measures that will be used to evaluate the extent to which activities funded under a grant are effective in all of the following areas: (1) Integrating technology into teaching and learning. (2) Increasing the ability of teachers to teach. (3) Assisting pupils in meeting state academic content standards. (f) The use of technology to extend learning beyond the traditional schoolday. (g) The use of technology to promote parent and family involvement in education and communication among pupils, parents, teachers, and administrators. 52295.50. Each school that receives funding from a grant awarded pursuant to this chapter shall collect and provide evaluation data and reports to the State Department of Education that are necessary to satisfy state and United States Department of Education evaluation and reporting requirements to ensure that grant recipients comply with statutory requirements and to examine the extent to which they have effectively expended funds to meet the goals of Part D of Title II of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110). 52295.55. In consultation with the State Department of Education and consistent with the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110), the California Technology Assistance Project shall provide assistance to school districts in the application process and shall assist grant recipients with the implementation and evaluation of their grants, subject to federal funding being allocated in the state budget for this technical assistance. SEC. 2. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are: In order to enable the Superintendent of Public Instruction to begin to distribute to eligible school districts the federal funds that it has received through the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110) for the purpose of improving pupil academic achievement through the use of technology in elementary and secondary schools, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately as an urgency statute.