By: Hochberg (Senate Sponsor - Shapleigh) H.B. No. 2893
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 1, 2009;
May 6, 2009, read first time and referred to Committee on
Education; May 15, 2009, reported favorably by the following vote:
Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 15, 2009, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the technology demonstration sites project.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Subchapter D, Chapter 32,
Education Code, is amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER D. TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATION SITES [IMMERSION PILOT]
PROJECT
SECTION 2. Sections 32.151, 32.152, 32.153, and 32.154,
Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
Sec. 32.151. ESTABLISHMENT OF [PILOT] PROJECT. (a) The
agency may by rule establish the technology demonstration sites
[immersion pilot] project to:
(1) demonstrate the use of technology for improving
teaching and learning;
(2) use digital tools and resources to extend learning
opportunities from school to home; and
(3) exemplify instructional practices and lessons
that support academic learning in the classroom and at home.
(b) The project shall use existing home electronic devices
or provide access through electronic [a wireless mobile computing]
device checkout options to extend learning at home. The project
shall make electronic devices available to each student in a
participating school to allow students, at school and at home, to
[and implement the] use [of] software, on-line courses, and other
appropriate learning technologies that have been shown to improve
academic achievement and the progress measures listed in Section
32.155(e).
Sec. 32.152. [PILOT] PROJECT ADMINISTRATION. If the agency
establishes the [pilot] project under Section 32.151, the agency
shall establish a procedure and develop criteria for the
administration of the [pilot] project. In administering the
[pilot] project, the agency shall:
(1) select participating school districts or schools;
(2) define the conditions for the distribution and use
of electronic devices not currently available to all students
[computer equipment and other technologies];
(3) develop guidelines for a distribution and checkout
plan for home use of electronic devices [purchase and distribute
computer equipment and other technologies];
(4) [enter into contracts as necessary to implement
the pilot project;
[(5)] monitor local [pilot] project implementation;
and
(5) review the progress made through each
demonstration site included in the project
[(6) conduct a final evaluation of the pilot project].
Sec. 32.153. [PILOT] PROJECT FUNDING. (a) To implement
the [pilot] project, the agency may use any gift, grant, or donation
given for the [pilot] project. The agency may solicit and accept a
gift, grant, or donation of any kind from any source, including from
a foundation, private entity, governmental entity, and institution
of higher education, for the implementation of the [pilot]
project. The agency may use only undedicated and unobligated money
from the general revenue fund for purposes of the [pilot] project.
(b) Funds for the [pilot] project may not be used for the
construction of a building or other facility.
(c) The participating school districts and schools [agency]
shall use [pilot] project funds for:
(1) the purchase of electronic [wireless mobile
computing] devices so that each student in a participating
classroom has an electronic [a wireless mobile computing] device
for use at school and at home;
(2) the purchase of other equipment, including
[additional] computer hardware and software;
(3) the hiring of pedagogical and technical support
staff for school districts or schools participating in the [pilot]
project; and
(4) the purchase of technology-based learning
materials and resources.
(e) The [pilot] project may be implemented only if
sufficient funds are available under this section for that purpose.
Sec. 32.154. DISTRICT OR SCHOOL SELECTION. (a) A school
district may apply to the agency for the establishment of a
technology demonstration sites [immersion pilot] project for the
entire district or for a particular school or group of schools in
the district.
(b) The agency shall select the participating districts and
schools for the [pilot] project based on each district's or school's
need and technological readiness for the [pilot] project. [In
selecting participants, the agency shall consider the following
criteria:
[(1) whether the district or school has limited access
to educational resources that could be improved through the use of
wireless mobile computing devices and other technologies;
[(2) whether the district or school has the following
problems and whether those problems can be mitigated through the
use of wireless mobile computing devices and other technologies:
[(A) documented teacher shortages in critical
areas;
[(B) limited access to advanced placement
courses;
[(C) low rates of satisfactory performance on
assessment instruments under Subchapter B, Chapter 39; and
[(D) high dropout rates;
[(3) the district's or school's readiness to
incorporate technology into its classrooms;
[(4) the possibility of obtaining a trained technology
support staff and high-speed Internet services for the district or
school; and
[(5) the methods the district or school will use to
measure the progress of the pilot project in the district or school
in accordance with Section 32.155(e).]
(c) The agency shall [if possible] select at least five
school districts [schools] to participate in the [pilot] project.
At least one demonstration site included in the [pilot] project
should include students in grades 6-12. The agency may select at
least one [entire] school district in which each school in the
district participates [and at least one entire school in a second
district to participate] in the [pilot] project.
SECTION 3. Sections 32.155(a), (c), (d), and (e), Education
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Each participating school district or school shall
establish a community educational pipeline progress team to assist
in developing and implementing the technology demonstration sites
[immersion pilot] project.
(c) The team shall develop an academic improvement plan that
details how the [pilot] project should be implemented in the
participating district or school. In developing the academic
improvement plan, the team shall consider:
(1) the educational problems in the district or school
that could be mitigated through the implementation of the [pilot]
project; and
(2) the technological and nontechnological resources
that are necessary to ensure the successful implementation of the
[pilot] project.
(d) The team shall recommend to the board of trustees how
the [pilot] project funds should be used to implement the academic
improvement plan developed under Subsection (c). The team may
recommend annually any necessary changes in the academic
improvement plan to the board. The agency must approve the academic
improvement plan, or any changes in the academic improvement plan,
before disbursing [pilot] project funds to the board.
(e) The board of trustees of each district participating in
the [pilot] project shall send an annual progress report to the
agency not later than August 1 of each year that the district is
participating in the [pilot] project. The report must state in
detail the type of plan being used in the district or school and the
effect of the [pilot] project on the district or school, including:
(1) the academic progress of students who are
participating in a [pilot] project, as measured by performance on
assessment instruments;
(2) if applicable, a comparison of student progress in
a school or classroom that is participating in the [pilot] project
as compared with student progress in the schools or classrooms in
the district that are not participating in the [pilot] project;
(3) any elements of the [pilot] project that
contribute to improved student performance on assessment
instruments administered under Section 39.023 or any other
assessment instrument required by the agency;
(4) any cost savings and improved efficiency relating
to school personnel and the maintenance of facilities;
(5) any effect on student dropout and attendance
rates;
(6) any effect on student enrollment in higher
education;
(7) any effect on teacher performance and retention;
(8) any improvement in communications among students,
teachers, parents, and administrators;
(9) any improvement in parent involvement in the
education of the parent's child;
(10) any effect on community involvement and support
for the district or school; and
(11) any increased student proficiency in
technologies that will help prepare the student for becoming a
member of the workforce.
SECTION 4. Sections 32.156 and 32.157, Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 32.156. ELECTRONIC DEVICE [COMPUTER] RETENTION. Each
student participating in the [pilot] project may retain the
electronic [wireless mobile computing] device provided under the
[pilot] project as long as the student is enrolled in a school in a
participating school district. [The student may retain the
wireless mobile computing device after the expiration of the pilot
project.]
Sec. 32.157. [PILOT] PROJECT EVALUATION; EXPIRATION.
(a) After the expiration of the [pilot] project, the agency may
review the [pilot] project based on the annual reports the agency
receives from the board of trustees of participating school
districts. The agency may include the review of the [pilot]
project in the comprehensive annual report required under Section
39.182 that covers the 2012-2013 [2010-2011] school year.
(b) This subchapter expires August 31, 2013 [2011].
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
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