California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 934


Introduced by Assembly Member Bonilla

February 26, 2015


An act to amend Section 11800 of the Education Code, relating to education technology.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 934, as introduced, Bonilla. Education technology: K-12 High-Speed Network: advisory board: membership.

Existing law establishes the K-12 High-Speed Network (K-12 HSN) 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 K-12 HSN on behalf of the Superintendent. Existing law requires the Superintendent to establish a K-12 HSN advisory board composed of various members, including, among others, 3 school district superintendents. Existing law requires the advisory board to meet quarterly and to recommend policy direction and broad operational guidance to the Superintendent and the Lead Education Agency.

This bill would increase the number of school district superintendents on the K-12 HSN advisory board to 4.

This bill would also make nonsubstantive changes.

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

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

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 11800 of the Education Code is amended
2to read:

3

11800.  

(a) (1) The K-12 High-Speed Network (K-12 HSN)
4is hereby established for the purpose of enriching pupil educational
5experiences and improving pupil academic performance by
6providing high-speed, high-bandwidth Internet connectivity to the
7public school system, as defined by Section 6 of Article IX of the
8California Constitution.

9(2) The California Education Network is hereby established,
10consisting of the California Research and Education Network
11(CalREN) and the K-12 HSN.

12(b) The Superintendent shall measure the success of the K-12
13HSN and ensure that the benefits of the K-12 HSN are maximized
14to the extent possible. The K-12 HSN shall provide critical services
15and functions for public primary and secondary local educational
16agencies, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

17(1) Reliable and cost-effective Internet service.

18(2) Reliable and secure interconnectivity among public school
19entities offering kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive,
20in California, connection to higher education institutions of
21California, and connection to state and local agencies to facilitate
22efficient interaction, including transmission of data.

23(3) Videoconferencing and related distance learning capabilities.

24(4) Statewide coordination of network uses to benefit teaching
25and learning.

26(c) The Superintendent shall use a competitive grant process to
27select a local educational agency to serve as the Lead Education
28Agency to administer the K-12 HSN on behalf of the
29Superintendent.

30(d) The Superintendent shall establish a K-12 HSN advisory
31board to be composed of all of the following members:

32(1) The Superintendent, or his or her designee.

33(2) The county superintendent of schools of the Lead Education
34Agency.

35(3) A county superintendent of schools of a county with an
36average daily attendance of more than 60,000 pupils, appointed
37by the Superintendent. The member appointed pursuant to this
38paragraph shall serve a renewable two-year term.

P3    1(4) begin deleteThree end deletebegin insertFour end insertschool district superintendents, appointed by
2the Superintendent. Members appointed pursuant to this paragraph
3shall represent school districts that are diverse as to geography and
4size, and that serve socioeconomically and culturally diverse pupil
5populations. Members appointed pursuant to this paragraph shall
6serve renewable two-year terms.

7(5) Two county superintendents of schools appointed by the
8majority of the votes of all of the county superintendents of schools.
9Members appointed pursuant to this paragraph shall serve
10renewable two-year terms.

11(6) Three schoolsite representatives,begin delete which shall include not
12less thanend delete
begin insert at leastend insert twobegin insert of whom shall beend insert classroom teachers or
13instructional specialists.

14(7) The president of the state board or his or her designee.

15(e) The advisory board shall meet quarterly and shall recommend
16policy direction andbegin insert provideend insert broad operational guidance to the
17Superintendent and the Lead Education Agency. The advisory
18board, in consultation with the Lead Education Agency, shall
19develop recommendations for measuring the success of the
20network, improving network oversight and monitoring,
21strengthening accountability, and optimizing the use of the K-12
22HSN and its ability to improve education. The advisory board shall
23report its recommendations to the Legislature, the Governor, the
24Department of Finance, the president of the state board or his or
25 her designee, and the Legislative Analyst’s Office by March 1,
262007. It is the intent of the Legislature that the report identify and
27recommend specific annual performance measures that should be
28established to assess the effectiveness of the network.

29(f) The duties of the Lead Education Agency shall include all
30of the following:

31(1) Entering into appropriate contracts for the provision of
32high-speed, high-bandwidth Internet connectivity, providedbegin delete suchend delete
33begin insert that theend insert contracts secure the necessary terms and conditions to
34adequately protect the interests of the state. Terms and conditions
35shall include, but are not limited to, all of the following:

36(A) Development of comprehensive service level agreements.

37(B) Protection of any ownership rights of intellectual property
38of the state that result due to participation of the state in the K-12
39HSN.

P4    1(C) Appropriate protection of assets of the state acquired due
2to its participation in the K-12 HSN.

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

4(E) Assurance thatbegin delete anyend deletebegin insert theend insert interest earned on funds of the state
5for this purpose are used solely to the benefit of the project.

6(2) Development of an annual budget request for the K-12 HSN
7for submission to the department and the Department of Finance
8to be included in the annual Budget Act.

9(3) Development, in consultation with the advisory board
10established pursuant to subdivision (d), of specific goals and
11objectives for the program with appropriate reporting of success
12measures developed by the Superintendent pursuant to subdivision
13(b).

14(4) Ongoing fiscal oversight of the program, including
15mechanisms to control statewide costs and exposure. To
16accomplish this objective, the Lead Education Agency shall
17contract for an annual independent audit of the program. The
18independent auditor shall report the audit findings to the
19Superintendent, the Legislature, and the Governor by December
2015 of each year.

21(5) Ongoing technical oversight of the program, including
22external evaluation and independent validation, where appropriate.
23To accomplish this objective, the Lead Education Agency shall
24contract for an independent evaluation to be completed and
25provided to the Superintendent by March 1, 2009. The
26Superintendent shall report the results of the evaluation, including
27a response and recommendations to correct any adverse findings
28from the evaluation, to the Governor and the Legislature by April
2930, 2009.

30(6) (A) begin deleteThe Lead Education Agency shall administer end deletebegin insertAdminister end insert
31grant programs to promote the most cost-effective manner for the
32completion of connectivity for all public schools of the state and
33cost-effective applications that meet instructional needs to the
34 extent that funds are provided for these purposes in the annual
35Budget Act.

36(B) Before the appropriation of any state funds for the purposes
37of this paragraph, the Lead Education Agency shall submit
38information justifying the need for additional grant funds,
39including, but not limited to, all of the following:

P5    1(i) The number of schools and school districts that are already
2connected.

3(ii) The means by which the costs associated with connectivity
4were covered for schools and school districts that are already
5connected.

6(iii) Obstacles to connection for those schools and school
7districts that are not yet connected.

8(iv) Other local options and funding sources for purposes of
9connectivity and applications.



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