California Senate Bill SB505 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: SB 505AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 1, 2013 INTRODUCED BY Senator Jackson FEBRUARY 21, 2013 An act to amend  Section   Sections 11800 and  51874 of the Education Code, relating to education technology. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 505, as amended, Jackson.  The California Technology Assistance Project.   Education technology: K-12 High-Speed Network: California Technology Assistance Project.   Existing law establishes the K-12 High-Speed Network 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 network on behalf of the Superintendent. Existing law requires the Superintendent to establish a K-12 HSN advisory board. Existing law requires the advisory board, by March 1, 2007, to report to specified entities recommendations for measuring the success of the network, improving network oversight and monitoring, strengthening accountability, and optimizing the use of the network and its ability to improve education. Existing law specifies the duties of the Lead Education Agency with regard to the administration of the network.   This bill would additionally provide for the achievement of the above-stated purpose of the network by providing statewide support services, as specified, to schools and school districts in the implementation of digital learning resources and technology tools as set forth in the policies of the State Board of Education. The bill would eliminate the use of the competitive grant process in selecting the Lead Education Agency. The bill would require the advisory board to report annually to specified entities its recommendations regarding the network. The bill would specify additional duties of the Lead Education Agency to include entering into contracts to provide identified needs that are more efficiently and effectively provided on a statewide basis and entering into contracts for regional consortia to meet the locally defined educational needs of school districts related to the use of technology. To the extent that this bill would impose additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would create a state-mandated local program.  Existing law creates the California Technology Assistance Project administered by the State Department of Education to provide a regionalized network of technical assistance to schools and school districts on the implementation of education technology. The California Technology Assistance Project is composed of regional consortia that work collaboratively with school districts and county offices of education to meet locally defined educational needs that can be effectively addressed with the use of technology. Existing law requires the State Board of Education to award grants to fund a school district or county office of education in each region of the California Technology Assistance Project to act as the lead agency to administer the services of that region, specifies duties of the department for this program, and authorizes school districts, county offices of education, and state special schools to participate in grant programs related to education technology. Under existing law, these provisions remain in effect only until January 1, 2014. This bill would extend that date to January 1, 2017.  The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.   This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.  Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program:  no   yes  . 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  , and by providing statewide support services to schools and school districts in the implementation of digital learning resources and technology tools as set forth in the policies of the state board  . (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   support services that  benefit teaching and learning  with the common core standards and in support of the computer-adaptive assessment system adopted   by the state board  .  (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.   (c) Funding shall be provided in the annual Budget Act to the K-12 HSN to provide centralized statewide educational technology services that address regional and statewide needs and are more efficiently and effectively provided or coordinated on a statewide basis to support the common core standards and computer-adaptive assessments implemented by the state board. The statewide educational technology services to be supported include, but are not limited to, all of the following:   (1) Review of electronic learning resources, including, but not limited to, software, online resources, online courses, and video, for alignment with the common core standards adopted by the state board.   (2) Professional development focused on digital school leadership for educational administrators in the areas of data-driven decisionmaking, computer-adaptive testing, digital teaching and learning with the common core standards curriculum, technology planning, professional development needs of staff, financial planning for technology, and operations and maintenance.   (3) Access for schools for training, support, and other resources for technical professionals in California.   (4) Statewide coordination of a regional assistance program to provide technical assistance to schools and school districts in the implementation of digital learning resources and tools.  (d) The Superintendent shall  establish   maintain  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) 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, which shall include not less than two classroom teachers or instructional specialists. (7) The president of the state board or his or her designee. (e) The advisory board shall meet quarterly and shall recommend policy direction and broad operational guidance to the Superintendent and the Lead Education Agency. The 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 advisory board shall report  annually  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 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 such 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 any 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 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)   (5)    (A) The Lead Education Agency shall 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.  (6) Entering into appropriate contracts to provide identified needs that are more efficiently and effectively provided on a statewide basis. The statewide education technology services to be supported by this section shall include, but are not limited to, all of the following:   (A) Review of electronic learning resources, including, but not limited to, software, online resources, online courses, and video, for alignment with the common core standards adopted by the state board.   (B) Professional development focused on digital school leadership for educational administrators in the areas of data-driven decisionmaking, integrating technology into standards-based curriculum, technology planning, professional development needs of staff, financial planning for technology, and operations and maintenance.   (C) Access for schools for training, support, and other resources for technical professionals in California.   (7) Entering into appropriate contracts for regional consortia to meet the locally defined educational needs of school districts as they address common core standards curriculum and computer-adaptive assessments that can be addressed effectively with the use of technology, including, but not limited to, the following areas:   (A) Professional development.   (B) Electronic learning resources.   (C) Hardware.   (D) Telecommunication infrastructure.   (E) Technical assistance to school districts in developing a support system to operate and maintain an education technology infrastructure, including improving pupil recordkeeping and tracking related to pupil instruction.   (F) Coordination with, and support for, the funding and implementation of federal, state, and local programs.   (G) Funding.   (H) Technical assistance and information to support access, planning, and the use of high-speed telecommunication networks.   (I) Technology planning and implementation assistance to rural and technologically underserved school districts and county offices of education.   SECTION 1.   SEC. 2.  Section 51874 of the Education Code is amended to read: 51874. Sections 51871, 51872, 51873, this section, and the heading of this article shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2017, and as of that date are repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends that date.  SEC. 3.   If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.