Amended in Senate April 24, 2013

Amended in Senate April 1, 2013

Senate Bill No. 505

Introduced by Senator Jackson

February 21, 2013

An act to amend begin delete Sections 11800 and 51874 end delete begin insert Section 11800 end insert of the Education Code, relating to education technology.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 505, as amended, Jackson. Education technology: K-12 High-Speed begin delete Network: California Technology Assistance Project. end delete begin insert Network. end insert

Existing law establishes the K-12 High-Speed Network for the purpose of enriching pupil educational experiences and improving pupil academic performance by providing high-speed, high-bandwidth Internet connectivity to the public schools. Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to use a competitive grant process to select a local educational agency to serve as the Lead Education Agency to administer the network on behalf of the Superintendent. Existing law requires the Superintendent to establish a K-12 HSN advisory board. Existing law requires the advisory board, by March 1, 2007, to report to specified entities recommendations for measuring the success of the network, improving network oversight and monitoring, strengthening accountability, and optimizing the use of the network and its ability to improve education. Existing law specifies the duties of the Lead Education Agency with regard to the administration of the network.

This bill would additionally provide for the achievement of the above-stated purpose of the network by providing statewide support services, as specified, to schools and school districts in the implementation of digital learning resources and technology tools as set forth in the policies of the State Board of Education. The bill would eliminate the use of the competitive grant process in selecting the Lead Education Agency. The bill would require the advisory board to report annually to specified entities its recommendations regarding the network. The bill would specify additional duties of the Lead Education Agency to include begin insert , among other things, end insert entering into contracts to provide identified needs that are more efficiently and effectively provided on a statewide basis and entering into contracts for regional consortia to meet the locally defined educational needs of school districts related to the use of technology. To the extent that this bill would impose additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would create a state-mandated local program.

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Existing law creates the California Technology Assistance Project administered by the State Department of Education to provide a regionalized network of technical assistance to schools and school districts on the implementation of education technology. The California Technology Assistance Project is composed of regional consortia that work collaboratively with school districts and county offices of education to meet locally defined educational needs that can be effectively addressed with the use of technology. Existing law requires the State Board of Education to award grants to fund a school district or county office of education in each region of the California Technology Assistance Project to act as the lead agency to administer the services of that region, specifies duties of the department for this program, and authorizes school districts, county offices of education, and state special schools to participate in grant programs related to education technology. Under existing law, these provisions remain in effect only until January 1, 2014.

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This bill would extend that date to January 1, 2017.

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The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 11800 of the Education Code is amended
to read:

11800.  

(a) (1) The K-12 High-Speed Network (K-12 HSN)
is hereby established for the purpose of enriching pupil educational
experiences and improving pupil academic performance by
providing high-speed, high-bandwidth Internet connectivity to the
public school system, as defined by Section 6 of Article IX of the
California Constitution, and by providing statewide support
services to schools and school districts in the implementation of
digital learning resources and technology tools as set forth in the
policies of the state board.

(2) The California Education Network is hereby established,
consisting of the California Research and Education Network
(CalREN) and the K-12 HSN.

(b) The Superintendent shall measure the success of the K-12
HSN and ensure that the benefits of the K-12 HSN are maximized
to the extent possible. The K-12 HSN shall provide critical services
and functions for public primary and secondary local educational
agencies, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(1) Reliable and cost-effective Internet service.

(2) Reliable and secure interconnectivity among public school
entities offering kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive,
in California, connection to higher education institutions of
California, and connection to state and local agencies to facilitate
efficient interaction, including transmission of data.

(3) Videoconferencing and related distance learning capabilities.

(4) Statewide coordination of support services that benefit
teaching and learning with the common core standards and in
support of the computer-adaptive assessment system adopted by
the state board.

(c) Funding shall be provided in the annual Budget Act to the
K-12 HSN to provide centralized statewide educational technology
services that address regional and statewide needs and are more
efficiently and effectively provided or coordinated on a statewide
basis to support the common core standards and computer-adaptive
assessments implemented by the state board. The statewide
educational technology services to be supported include, but are
not limited to, all of the following:

(1) Review of electronic learning resources, including, but not
limited to, software, online resources, online courses, and video,
for alignment with the common core standards adopted by the state
board.

(2) Professional development focused on digital school
leadership for educational administrators in the areas of data-driven
decisionmaking, computer-adaptive testing, digital teaching and
learning with the common core standards curriculum, technology
planning, professional development needs of staff, financial
planning for technology, and operations and maintenance.

(3) Access for schools for training, support, and other resources
for technical professionals in California.

(4) Statewide coordination of a regional assistance program to
provide technical assistance to schools and school districts in the
implementation of digital learning resources and tools.

(d) The Superintendent shall maintain a K-12 HSN advisory
board to be composed of all of the following members:

(1) The Superintendent, or his or her designee.

(2) The county superintendent of schools of the Lead Education
Agency.

(3) A county superintendent of schools of a county with an
average daily attendance of more than 60,000 pupils, appointed
by the Superintendent. The member appointed pursuant to this
paragraph shall serve a renewable two-year term.

(4) Three school district superintendents, appointed by the
Superintendent. Members appointed pursuant to this paragraph
shall represent school districts that are diverse as to geography and
size, and that serve socioeconomically and culturally diverse pupil
populations. Members appointed pursuant to this paragraph shall
serve renewable two-year terms.

(5) Two county superintendents of schools appointed by the
majority of the votes of all of the county superintendents of schools.
Members appointed pursuant to this paragraph shall serve
renewable two-year terms.

(6) Three schoolsite representatives, which shall include not
less than two classroom teachers or instructional specialists.

(7) The president of the state board or his or her designee.

(e) The advisory board shall meet quarterly and shall recommend
policy direction and broad operational guidance to the
Superintendent and the Lead Education Agency. The advisory
board, in consultation with the Lead Education Agency, shall
develop recommendations for measuring the success of the
network, improving network oversight and monitoring,
strengthening accountability, and optimizing the use of the K-12
HSN and its ability to improve education. The advisory board shall
report annually its recommendations to the Legislature, the
Governor, the Department of Finance, the president of the state
board or his or her designee, and the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
It is the intent of the Legislature that the report identify and
recommend specific annual performance measures that should be
established to assess the effectiveness of the network.

(f) The duties of the Lead Education Agency shall include all
of the following:

(1) Entering into appropriate contracts for the provision of
high-speed, high-bandwidth Internet connectivity, provided such
contracts secure the necessary terms and conditions to adequately
protect the interests of the state. Terms and conditions shall include,
but are not limited to, all of the following:

(A) Development of comprehensive service level agreements.

(B) Protection of any ownership rights of intellectual property
of the state that result due to participation of the state in the K-12
HSN.

(C) Appropriate protection of assets of the state acquired due
to its participation in the K-12 HSN.

(D) Assurance that appropriate fee structures are in place.

(E) Assurance that any interest earned on funds of the state for
this purpose are used solely to the benefit of the project.

(2) Development of an annual budget request for the K-12 HSN
for submission to the department and the Department of Finance
to be included in the annual Budget Act.

(3) Development, in consultation with the advisory board
established pursuant to subdivision (d), of specific goals and
objectives for the program with appropriate reporting of success
measures developed by the Superintendent pursuant to subdivision
(b).

(4) Ongoing fiscal oversight of the program, including
mechanisms to control statewide costs and exposure. To
accomplish this objective, the Lead Education Agency shall
contract for an annual independent audit of the program. The
independent auditor shall report the audit findings to the
Superintendent, the Legislature, and the Governor by December
15 of each year.

(5) (A) The Lead Education Agency shall administer grant
programs to promote the most cost-effective manner for the
completion of connectivity for all public schools of the state and
cost-effective applications that meet instructional needs to the
extent that funds are provided for these purposes in the annual
Budget Act.

(B) Before the appropriation of any state funds for purposes of
this paragraph, the Lead Education Agency shall submit
information justifying the need for additional grant funds,
including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(i) The number of schools and school districts that are already
connected.

(ii) The means by which the costs associated with connectivity
were covered for schools and school districts that are already
connected.

(iii) Obstacles to connection for those schools and school
districts that are not yet connected.

(iv) Other local options and funding sources for purposes of
connectivity and applications.

(6) Entering into appropriate contracts to provide identified
needs that are more efficiently and effectively provided on a
statewide basis. The statewide education technology services to
be supported by this section shall include, but are not limited to,
all of the following:

(A) Review of electronic learning resources, including, but not
limited to, software, online resources, online courses, and video,
for alignment with the common core standards adopted by the state
board.

(B) Professional development focused on digital school
leadership for educational administrators in the areas of data-driven
decisionmaking, integrating technology into standards-based
curriculum, technology planning, professional development needs
of staff, financial planning for technology, and operations and
maintenance.

(C) Access for schools for training, support, and other resources
for technical professionals in California.

(7) Entering into appropriate contracts for regional consortia to
meet the locally defined educational needs of school districts as
they address common core standards curriculum and
computer-adaptive assessments that can be addressed effectively
with the use of technology, including, but not limited to, the
following areas:

(A) Professional development.

(B) Electronic learning resources.

(C) Hardware.

(D) Telecommunication infrastructure.

(E) Technical assistance to school districts in developing a
support system to operate and maintain an education technology
infrastructure, including improving pupil recordkeeping and
tracking related to pupil instruction.

(F) Coordination with, and support for, the funding and
implementation of federal, state, and local programs.

(G) Funding.

(H) Technical assistance and information to support access,
planning, and the use of high-speed telecommunication networks.

(I) Technology planning and implementation assistance to rural
and technologically underserved school districts and county offices
of education.

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(g) As a condition of spending any of the funds provided in the
annual Budget Act for the K-12 HSN, the Lead Education Agency
shall develop an expenditure plan to address pupils’ progress to
academic proficiency and submit the plan to the Superintendent.
The expenditure plan shall include an explanation of the manner
in which the objectives of the program will be met, including the
additional statewide educational technology services pursuant to
subdivision (c) and the contracts for regional consortia pursuant
to subparagraph (C) of paragraph (7) of subdivision (f).

end insert begin insert

(h) At a minimum, the Superintendent shall consider the quality
and rigor of the manner in which the Lead Education Agency meets
the conditions outlined in subdivision (g).

end insert begin insert

(i) If the Superintendent determines that the Lead Education
Agency fails to meet the conditions specified in subdivision (g),
the Superintendent may restrict the Lead Education Agency from
spending the funds provided for the K-12 HSN.

end insert begin insert

(j) Nothing in this section shall be construed as imposing new
mandates on school districts.

end insert

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SEC. 2.  

Section 51874 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

51874.  

Sections 51871, 51872, 51873, this section, and the
heading of this article shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2017, and as of that date are repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that is enacted before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends that date.

end delete

begin delete SEC. 3. end delete
begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.