BILL NUMBER: AB 934 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 20, 2015
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 amended, Bonilla. Education technology: K-12 High-Speed
Network: advisory board: membership. board
duties.
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. members. Existing law requires
the K-12 HSN 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 require the K-12 HSN advisory
board to 4. to, on or before January 1,
2017, identify strategies to address the lack of technical expertise
at K-12 public schools and to engage all relevant stakeholders to
identify strategies to support public schools with, at a minimum,
network designs, network implementation, and network maintenance.
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:
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.
(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 network uses to benefit teaching and
learning.
(c) The Superintendent shall 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.
(d) The Superintendent shall establish 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) Four 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, at least two of whom shall
be classroom teachers or instructional specialists.
(7) The president of the state board or his or her designee.
(e) The K-12 HSN advisory board shall meet quarterly
and shall recommend policy direction and provide broad operational
guidance to the Superintendent and the Lead Education Agency. The
K-12 HSN 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 K-12 HSN
advisory board shall report 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 by
March 1, 2007. 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 K-12 HSN advisory board shall, on or before January 1,
2017, do both of the following:
(1) Identify strategies to address the lack of technical expertise
at K-12 public schools.
(2) Engage all relevant stakeholders to identify strategies to
support public schools with, at a minimum, network designs, network
implementation, and network maintenance.
(f)
(g) 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 that the
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 the 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 K-12 HSN
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) Ongoing technical oversight of the program, including external
evaluation and independent validation, where appropriate. To
accomplish this objective, the Lead Education Agency shall contract
for an independent evaluation to be completed and provided to the
Superintendent by March 1, 2009. The Superintendent shall report the
results of the evaluation, including a response and recommendations
to correct any adverse findings from the evaluation, to the Governor
and the Legislature by April 30, 2009.
(6) (A) 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 the 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.