BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 934
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Date of Hearing: May 13, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
934 (Bonilla) - As Amended April 20, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires the K-12 High Speed Network (HSN) advisory
board, on or before January 1, 2017, to identify strategies to
address the lack of technical expertise at K-12 public schools
and engage all relevant stakeholders to identify strategies to
AB 934
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support public schools with, at a minimum, network designs,
network implementation, and network maintenance.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Minor/absorbable costs to the K-12 HSN (administered by the
Imperial County Office of Education) for the advisory board to
meet and identify strategies to support network connectivity and
infrastructure.
COMMENTS:
1)Background. Current law establishes the K-12 HSN to provide
high-speed, high-bandwidth Internet connectivity to the public
school system. The Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI)
is required to measure the success of the K-12 HSN and ensure
that the benefits of the K-12 HSN are maximized to the extent
possible. HSN is tasked with providing specific services and
functions, including: reliable and cost-effective Internet
service; reliable and secure interconnectivity among K-12
public schools, connection to higher education institutions of
California, and connection to state and local agencies to
facilitate efficient interaction, including transmission of
data; videoconferencing and related distance learning
capabilities; and statewide coordination of network uses to
benefit teaching and learning.
The SPI is tasked with establishing an advisory board to the
K-12 HSN composed of the SPI, county superintendent of
schools, as specified, school site representatives and the
president of the State Board of Education. The advisory
committee meets quarterly to recommend policy direction and
recommendations for measuring the success of the network,
improving network oversight and monitoring, strengthening
AB 934
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accountability, and optimizing the use of the K-12 HSN and its
ability to improve education.
2)Purpose. The 2014 Budget Act directed the K-12 HSN to prepare
a report to evaluate network connectivity and infrastructure.
This report, released April 17, 2015 made five key
observations.
a) The quality of technical support of network
infrastructure varies among districts and county offices of
education and could be improved.
b) California's K-12 public schools lack access to last and
middle mile infrastructure.
c) Some school sites in California cannot fully utilize
their last mile connection because their internal
infrastructure is inadequate.
d) State and national reports call for expanded broadband
capacity to meet 21st Century goals for teaching, learning
and assessment.
e) Data collection on connectivity in K-12 schools is
inconsistent, impacting planning efforts in school
districts and county offices of education.
This bill builds on the recommendations in the April 2015,
report and requires the K-12 High Speed Network (HSN) advisory
board to identify strategies to address the lack of technical
expertise at K-12 public schools.
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3)Governor's Budget Proposal. The Governor's January Budget
proposes to provide $100 million in one-time Proposition 98
funding to support Internet connectivity and infrastructure
for schools through the existing Broadband Infrastructure
Improvement Grants (BIIG) program, established as part of the
2014 Budget Act. The Governor also proposes to use $8.8
million from the K-12 HSN reserve funds to provide BIIG grants
in 2015-16. This would reduce the HSN reserve from $14.3 to
$5.5 million, bringing the reserve to 32% of their total
budget.
The LAO notes several concerns with the Governor's proposal
and, among other things, recommends the Legislature not
provide the K-12 HSN with a new Proposition 98 General Fund
budget appropriation in 2015-16, and instead require the HSN
to use $8.3 million in reserve funds for 2015-16 operations.
They further recommend the Legislature evaluate an appropriate
reserve level for future budget years. Both the Assembly and
Senate budget committees have held the issue open pending May
Revision updates.
Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916)
319-2081