BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 227
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 30, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
AB 227 (Hall) - As Introduced: February 2, 2011
SUBJECT : Education technology planning
SUMMARY : Modifies the guidelines and criteria required for the
development of district education technology plans, as
specified, and encourages districts to partner with the
California Technology Assistance Project (CTAP), information
technology companies and nonprofit organizations to develop
tools to supplement the existing Internet safety curriculum.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the education component of the guidelines and
criteria developed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction
(SPI) for education technology plans to include, but not be
limited, to a component to educate pupils and teachers on all
of the following:
a) The prevention of cyberbullying and legal consequences
for pupils engaging in cyberbullying;
b) The active use of parental content control software;
and,
c) Responsible use by pupils of mobile communication
technology.
2)Encourages school districts to partner with the CTAP,
information technology companies, and nonprofit organizations
to develop tools to supplement the existing Internet safety
curriculum that addresses the educational component of the
guidelines and criteria developed by the SPI.
3)Provides that school districts that have a current
three-to-five-year education technology plan as of July 1,
2011 are not required to include the specified components
until after the plan expires or is voluntarily replaced.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires a school district to have a three- to five-year
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education technology plan as a precondition to receiving any
technology grant administered by the California Department of
Education (CDE).
2)Requires the SPI to develop guidelines and criteria to be
included in the education technology plan, and requires the
guidelines and criteria to include a component to educate
pupils and teachers on the appropriate and ethical use of
information technology in the classroom, Internet safety, the
manner in which to avoid committing plagiarism, the concept,
purpose, and significance of a copyright so that pupils are
equipped with the skills necessary to distinguish lawful from
unlawful online downloading, and the implications of illegal
peer-to-peer network file sharing.
3)Prohibits, pursuant to the federal Children's Internet
Protection Act (CIPA), a local educational agency (LEA) from
using certain federal funds to purchase computers for an
elementary or secondary school to use for Internet access, or
to pay for direct costs associated with Internet access at
that school, unless the school or its governing local
educational agency has in place an Internet safety policy, as
specified, for both minors and adults, that includes the
operation of a technology protection measure with respect to
any of those computers with Internet access.
4)Authorizes school districts, county offices of education and
state special schools to apply to the SBE to participate in
grant programs related to education technology.
5)Authorizes the CDE to administer the CTAP, composed of
regional consortia that administer, with three-year grant
funding awarded by the State Board of Education (SBE), a
regionalized network of technical assistance providers to
schools and school districts on the implementation of
educational technology. Repeals the provisions of CTAP on
January 1, 2014.
6)Requires CDE to award grants, based on certain criteria, to
fund a school district or county office of education in each
region of the CTAP to act as the regional lead agency to
administer the service of that region.
7)Prohibits the suspension, or recommendation for expulsion, of
a pupil from school unless the principal determines that the
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pupil has committed any of various specified acts, including,
bullying, including but not limited to bullying by means of an
electronic act, as defined.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : In order to receive education technology funds, a
county office of education, school district, or direct-funded
charter school must have an approved education technology plan.
Once a district's technology plan is approved, this technology
plan is also used to apply for the E-rate federal program that
provides eligible K-12 public schools and libraries 20% to 90%
discounts on approved telecommunications, Internet access, and
internal connections costs.
Current law requires the SPI to develop guidelines and criteria
to be included in the education technology plan, and requires
the guidelines and criteria to include a component to educate
pupils and teachers on specified components. The SPI has
developed the following broad categories for criteria to be
included in education technology plans: plan duration,
stakeholders, curriculum, professional development, hardware,
software, infrastructure, funding and budget, monitoring and
evaluation, adult literacy providers, and research-based
methods.
As a result of AB 307 (Chavez), Chapter 313, Statutes of 2006
the curriculum criteria now include Internet safety and the
ethical use of technology. The internet safety criterion and
guidelines require, "A list of goals and an implementation plan
that describe how the district will address Internet safety,
including how to protect online privacy and avoid online
predators." This requirement applies to all technology plans
submitted in 2008-09 and after. This bill adds the following
components to the curriculum criteria of the plan:
a) The prevention of cyber bullying and legal consequences
for pupils engaging in cyber bullying;
b) The active use of parental content control software;
and,
c) Responsible use by pupils of mobile communication
technology.
Under current law, pursuant to the federal CIPA, schools and
libraries may not receive the discounts offered by the E-rate
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program unless they certify that they have an Internet safety
policy and technology protection measures in place. An Internet
safety policy must include technology protection measures to
block or filter Internet access to specified content and to
monitor online activities of minors.
Existing mechanisms ensure schools have Internet safety policies
in place as well as protection measures to filter access to
specified content. This bill seeks to expand the educational
component of the technology plans to ensure pupils and teachers
learn about preventing cyber bullying and the consequence for
engaging in such activities, as well as using content control
software, and using mobile communication technology responsibly.
What is cyber bullying ? Cyber bullying is the use of electronic
devices and information, such as e-mail, instant messages, text
messages, mobile phones, and web sites, to send or post harmful
messages or images about an individual or a group.
According to the author, "Recent incidents of harassment and
cyber bullying across the country have led to violence against
youth and the tragic suicides of middle, high school and college
students. These tragedies have raised a nationwide awareness of
this crisis and a demand for states to take a more active role
to protect students from bullying, intimidation and harassment."
The author further contends, "AB 227 is an important step to
protect students using the Internet and fight cyber bullying by
requiring a school district seeking state or federal technology
grants to use content control software on school computers, to
establish clear guidelines to prevent cyber bullying and to
inform students of the legal consequences of cyber bullying
whether they are using a school computer or a mobile device."
A poll commissioned in 2006 by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids,
showed that one in three teens and one in six preteens have been
victims of cyber bullying and that more than 2 million of those
victims told no one about the attacks. In September of 2007,
the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) Task Force
on School and Campus Safety released a report that includes
specific recommendations to address school safety issues.
Recommendations from the Task Force included a recommendation
for states to "continue to implement and expand bullying
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prevention measures, including cyber bullying." The report
stated, "Bullying was recognized as an important issue in
examining school violence. The growth in the use of technology
and social networking sites by younger Americans has fueled a
fear among professionals that cyber bullying will become the
means most often utilized to harass, threaten or otherwise cause
distress. And while certainly more prevalent in the elementary
and secondary school setting, issues related to bullying or
intimidation are increasingly relevant in other nontraditional
settings."
The bill as currently drafted requires school districts that
have plans that expire on July 1, 2011 or after that date but
before January 1, 2012, - the effective date of this bill should
it be enacted- to have to revise and resubmit their plan to
comply with the new requirements of this bill. Prior
legislation that added other components to the technology plans
gave districts the opportunity to wait until their approved plan
expired or was voluntarily replaced to comply with the new
provisions. Staff recommends the bill be amended to allow for
the same flexibility to school districts that have an approved
plan by deleting from page 3, line 8 "on July 1, 2011" and
inserting "July 1, 2012." This would give districts a time frame
by when they would have to comply with the new requirements
without requiring revision of current plans before they expire.
Technical amendment : On page 2, line 35, delete "parental"
Prior legislation : AB 678 (Hall) of 2009, modifies the
guidelines and criteria required for the development of district
education technology plans, as specified, and encourages
districts to partner with information technology companies and
nonprofit organizations to develop tools to supplement the
existing Internet safety curriculum. AB 678 was held in the
Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 86 (Lieu), Chapter 646, Statutes of 2008, adds bullying and
bullying committed by means of an electronic act to the list of
reasons for which a student may be suspended or recommended for
expulsion.
AB 88 (Lieu), of 2007 requires the CDE to work with the
Department of Consumer Affairs to ensure that the list of
resources regarding Internet safety from the California Cyber
Safety Resource Center addresses specified criteria. Requires
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CDE to distribute, and make available on its Internet Web site
the list of Internet safety resources and allowed local
educational agencies to incorporate the resources into existing
curricula. AB 88 was placed on the Senate floor inactive file.
AB 307 (Chavez), Chapter 313, Statutes of 2006 requires the
Superintendent of Public Instruction, by July 1, 2007, to
develop guidelines for information regarding the safe use of the
Internet that should be included in a school district's
education technology plan.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
Anti-Defamation League
California Association of Student Councils
California Federation of Teachers
California Partnership to End Domestic
California State PTA
School for Integrated Academics and Technologies
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Marisol Avi�a / ED. / (916) 319-2087