BILL NUMBER: AB 2437INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Hagman FEBRUARY 21, 2014 An act to add Section 60644.5 to the Education Code, relating to pupil assessment, and making an appropriation therefor. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2437, as introduced, Hagman. Pupil assessment: school network infrastructure. Existing law establishes various programs to measure and assess the academic performance of pupils. This bill would require the State Department of Education to establish a competitive grant program to provide grants for the construction of network infrastructure for schools with kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to enable the schools to administer adequately digital assessments of pupils that are required pursuant to state or federal law. The bill would require the department to award grants based on the needs of the local education agencies and would require, as a condition of the grant, that the local education agency provide matching funds of 50% of the project costs. The bill would, for the 2014-15 fiscal year, appropriate $500,000,000 from the General Fund to the department for the grant program. Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 60644.5 is added to the Education Code, to read: 60644.5. (a) The department shall establish a competitive grant program to provide grants for the construction of network infrastructure for schools with kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to enable the schools to administer adequately digital assessments of pupils that are required by state or federal law. (b) In administering the program, the department shall evaluate an application and award the grants based on the need of the local education agencies. (c) The department shall, as a condition of a grant, require the local education agency to provide matching funds in an amount of 50 percent of the project costs. (d) For the 2014-15 fiscal year, the sum of five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the department for the purposes of this section.