SECTIONS 11600-11609 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 11600-11609

11600. This act shall be known and may be cited as the Education
Technology Grant Program Act of 1996.

11601. The State Allocation Board and the State Department of
Education are hereby authorized and empowered to make the allocations
described in Section 2 of the act adding this section.

11602. (a) The Education Technology Trust Fund is hereby created in
the State Treasury for the purposes of this chapter. Only those
moneys identified in Section 2 of the act adding this section and in
Section 18 of Assembly Bill 1302 of the 1995-96 Regular Session of
the Legislature shall be deposited into the fund for the purposes of
this chapter and, upon appropriation by the Legislature, shall be
available to fund grants authorized by the State Allocation Board and
State Board of Education, as appropriate.
(b) Of the total sum of moneys appropriated from the fund by the
act adding this section and by Assembly Bill 1302 of the 1995-96
Regular Session of the Legislature, 1 percent shall be allocated for
administrative costs of the Office of Public School Construction and
the State Department of Education, combined, for administering
technology implementation grants and staff development technology
grants.

11603. (a) The State Allocation Board shall award technology
implementation grants and the Office of Public School Construction,
as staff to the State Allocation Board, shall administer the grant
program to school districts maintaining kindergarten and grades 1 to
12, inclusive, and to county offices of education that operate
community schools, in accordance with this chapter. The State
Allocation Board may adopt rules and regulations as necessary for the
administration and implementation of this chapter.
(b) Of the total sum of moneys appropriated from the Education
Technology Trust Fund by the act adding this section and Assembly
Bill 1302 of the 1995-96 Regular Session of the Legislature, 34
percent shall be allocated to school districts having pupils enrolled
in grades 9 to 12, inclusive.
(c) Of the total sum of moneys appropriated from the Education
Technology Trust Fund by the act adding this section and Assembly
Bill 1302 of the 1995-96 Regular Session of the Legislature, 50
percent shall be allocated to school districts having pupils enrolled
in kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, and to county offices
of education.
(d) To ensure that the greatest use of the technology
implementation grant funds is derived by the pupils enrolled in
public schools, not less than 90 percent of the grant amount shall be
expended for the actual wiring of and between classrooms, school
auditoriums, school libraries, and conference rooms, or the purchase
of hardware and software necessary to utilize telecommunications and
information services for instructional purposes, or any of the above.

11603.1. (a) The State Allocation Board, in consultation with the
State Department of Education, shall develop a formula for the
allocation of technology implementation grants to applicant school
districts and county offices of education. The formula shall include
a minimum base funding per schoolsite and additional funding based on
the number of pupils enrolled at each schoolsite. The State
Allocation Board shall allocate funds to districts and county offices
of education whose applications contain all of the following
information:
(1) The number of students enrolled at each schoolsite in the
district.
(2) A description of the extent to which parents, teachers, and
the community were involved in preparing the district's technology
plan.
(3) A description of the instructional uses and benefits that will
occur as a result of using technology in the instructional program.
(4) A method of evaluating the benefits derived from using
technology in the instructional program.
(5) A description of access to the Internet by pupils.
(6) A timeline for implementing the technology plan.
(7) An estimate of the total project costs, including a
description of the amount to be paid by the technology implementation
grant and the amount to be paid by the school district or county
office of education.
(8) The extent to which schools in the school district have
acquired technology tools and telecommunications infrastructure
through other sources.
(b) The State Allocation Board and the State Department of
Education shall give first priority for funding to those schools and
school districts that have minimal or no telecommunications
infrastructure or communications systems. Schools without need shall
not be funded.

11603.2. The State Allocation Board shall allocate technology
implementation grants to eligible school districts and county offices
of education for the following purposes:
(a) The wiring of and between classrooms, school auditoriums,
school libraries, and conference rooms at a schoolsite in accordance
with guidelines established by the State Allocation Board and State
Department of Education.
(b) The purchase of hardware and software necessary to utilize
telecommunications and information services for instructional
purposes.

11603.3. Funds for technology implementation grants shall be
provided on a matching basis that requires the applicant school
district or county office of education to contribute at least 50
percent of the cost of the technology implementation plan submitted
to the State Allocation Board pursuant to Section 11603.1. An
applicant district or county office of education may count toward its
local matching share, in-kind services such as teacher labor, the
fair market value of donated equipment raised from local sources, or
other services outlined in the plan. The State Allocation Board may
waive all or a portion of this local matching requirement if the
State Department of Education determines that the requirement would
impose a financial hardship on the applicant district. The State
Department of Education shall base its determination of financial
hardship on factors including, but not necessarily limited to, all of
the following:
(a) Whether the objectives and cost of the school district's or
county office of education's proposed technology implementation plan
are reasonable.
(b) The overall financial condition of the school district or
county office of education, including other competing demands for
funds.
(c) The extent to which the school district or county office of
education has taken advantage of available funding sources, including
the per-pupil block grant funds appropriated by Section 54 of
Chapter 308 of the Statutes of 1995, that may be used for educational
technology purposes.
(d) The extent to which the school district or the county office
of education has made reasonable efforts to raise additional cash or
in-kind donations from local sources.

11605. (a) School districts and county offices of education are
eligible to receive staff development technology grants for providing
staff development in using data, video, and voice telecommunications
networks for education purposes. The State Board of Education shall
award the staff development technology grants and the State
Department of Education shall administer the staff development
technology grants. The State Board of Education shall give priority
to applications of school districts and county offices of education
that contribute 50 percent of the proposed project costs.
(b) This section shall remain in effect only until the earlier of
the date upon which all funds deposited in the Education Technology
Trust Fund, pursuant to the act adding this section and pursuant to
Assembly Bill 1519 of the 1995-96 Regular Session, are expended or
five years from the date on which the act adding this section becomes
effective.

11608. No funding shall be provided to a community schoolsite that
is not owned by the county office of education except for the
purchase or lease of computer hardware or the acquisition of computer
software.

11609. This chapter shall remain in effect only until the earlier
of the date upon which all funds deposited in the Education
Technology Trust Fund, pursuant to the act adding this chapter and
Assembly Bill 1302 of the 1995-96 Regular Session of the Legislature,
are expended or five years from the date on which the act adding
this chapter becomes effective.