Published: 2015-07-08
Key Benefits:
(a) This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the Education Technology Grant Act of 2002.
(b) For the purposes of this chapter, “school district” means a school district, a county office of education, or a charter school.
(Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 582, Sec. 1. Effective September 16, 2002.)
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The federal Enhancing Education Through Technology Act of 2001, Part D of Title II of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110), provides resources to California with the primary goal to improve pupil academic achievement through the use of technology in elementary schools and secondary schools.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that California use the funding provided under the federal Enhancing Education Through Technology Act in a manner consistent with federal law to improve pupil academic achievement, with emphasis on using the funding to prepare pupils to enter high school with the academic and technology literacy skills to support success in high school, as well as to assist in the acquisition, development, interconnection, implementation, improvement, and maintenance of an effective educational technology infrastructure in a manner that expands access to technology for pupils, particularly for disadvantaged pupils, and teachers.
(Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 582, Sec. 1. Effective September 16, 2002.)
(a) The Education Technology Grant Program of 2002 is hereby established to provide grants to eligible school districts, county offices of education, or charter schools for purposes of implementing and supporting a comprehensive system that effectively uses technology to improve pupil academic achievement.
(b) As used in this chapter, “using technology to improve pupil academic achievement” means using technology and technology-based resources that are aligned with state adopted instructional materials, curriculum frameworks, and academic content standards adopted by the State Board of Education as a fundamental tool for both teaching and learning throughout the curriculum to help pupils meet or exceed the state academic content standards adopted by the State Board of Education.
(c) For purposes of Part D of Title II of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110), a formula grant of insufficient size is a formula grant of six thousand dollars ($6,000) or less in any fiscal year.
(Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 681, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 2005.)
(a) Eligibility for a grant pursuant to this chapter shall be limited to a school district or a consortium of school districts that meets all of the following criteria:
(1) The school district, or the school districts in the consortium, are among the school districts in the state with the highest number or percentage of children from families with an income below the poverty line established by the federal Director of the Office of Management and Budget, as annually revised by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall seek a waiver to allow eligibility for small and rural school districts to be based on income information used for free and reduced cost meals and not on federal census data.
(2) The school district, consortium of school districts, county office of education, or direct-funded charter school meets either of the following criteria:
(A) The school district or consortium of school districts operates one or more schools identified under Section 1116 of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110).
(B) The school district or consortium of school districts have a substantial need for assistance in acquiring and using technology.
(b) The grant awarded may only be used to serve pupils in grades 4 to 8, inclusive.
(c) For purposes of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), “direct-funded charter school” means a charter school for which a state warrant is drawn in favor of the county superintendent of schools who has jurisdiction over the local educational agency that granted the school’s charter and deposited in the appropriate fund or account of the charter school.
(Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 681, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 2005.)
(a) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall administer this program and the application process for the award of grants. The Superintendent of Public Instruction, with the approval of the State Board of Education, shall award grants on a competitive basis. All grants funded pursuant to this chapter shall comply with the requirements of Part D of Title II of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110). The amount of each grant shall be calculated as described in Section 52295.35.
(b) The department shall develop a process to provide priority scoring to small school districts in reviewing grant applications. This process shall address unique issues related to small school districts including, but not limited to, the size of the school district, its current access to technology, and the pupil population served by the district.
(c) The Superintendent of Public Instruction may adopt emergency regulations in order to administer the Education Technology Grant Program of 2002 and allocate program funds.
(d) This chapter shall be implemented only to the extent of the amount of moneys from federal funds appropriated for the purposes of this chapter in the annual Budget Act or other legislation.
(Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 681, Sec. 7. Effective January 1, 2005.)
(a) Applicants within each of the 11 California Technology Assistance Project regions shall compete against other applicants from that region. The amount of funding for grants available to each region shall be determined based upon the proportionate enrollment of pupils in grades 4 to 8, inclusive, in eligible schools from that region, but a region shall not be allocated less than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) or 2 percent of available grant funds, whichever amount is greater.
(b) If a region is allocated more funding than is needed for its eligible applicants, the Superintendent may develop a policy to ensure that all funding is distributed to other regions for their eligible but unfunded applicants.
(c) Grants shall be awarded to an eligible school district for the eligible school or schools specified in the program application. All grant funds shall be spent in a manner consistent with the local educational agency technology plan, pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 51871.5 and subdivision (a) of Section 2414 of Part D of Title II of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-110), and the program application and shall be used for the eligible school or schools specified in the approved application.
(d) The initial one-time implementation grant for a school selected to receive a grant shall be calculated based upon three hundred dollars ($300) per pupil for pupils in grades 4 to 8, inclusive. Upon recommendation from the department, the state board may adopt criteria that establish fixed minimum grant levels for a small school.
(e) Subject to availability of federal funding appropriated for competitive grants under Part D of Title II of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-110), any grant recipient that successfully completes the initial grant shall receive an additional one-time grant of forty-five dollars ($45) per pupil in grades 4 to 8, inclusive, at the school or schools selected for funding. The purpose of this funding shall be to continue implementation of the grant recipients’ approved technology plan in a manner consistent with the requirements of Part D of Title II of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-110), including plans to sustain the use of technology as a tool in improving teaching and pupil academic achievement once the grant period ends.
(Amended by Stats. 2006, Ch. 538, Sec. 124. Effective January 1, 2007.)
(a) The amount of a grant may not be less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), nor more than sixty percent of the funds available in the region.
(b) Subject to availability of federal funding appropriated for competitive grants under Part D of Title II of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110), the duration of the grant shall be consistent with the federal requirements.
(c) This section is operative on July 1, 2005.
(Added by Stats. 2004, Ch. 681, Sec. 10. Effective January 1, 2005.)
Grant funds shall be expended by each school included in the program application, as follows:
(a) A minimum of 25 percent of the total grant shall be spent on high-quality professional development that provides school teachers, principals, and administrators with the capacity to integrate technology effectively into curricula and instruction that are aligned with state academic content standards adopted by the State Board of Education and the applicable curriculum framework content standards adopted by the State Board of Education.
(b) Remaining funds, if any, shall be expended in a manner consistent with the approved application.
(Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 582, Sec. 1. Effective September 16, 2002.)
The grant application and criteria for scoring grants shall address all of the following:
(a) Implementation and support of a comprehensive system based on research that effectively uses technology to improve pupil academic achievement in a manner consistent with other school district and school efforts to improve pupil academic achievement.
(b) The acquisition, development, interconnection, implementation, improvement, and maintenance of an effective educational technology infrastructure in a manner that expands access to technology for pupils, particularly for disadvantaged pupils, and teachers.
(c) The ongoing professional development of teachers, principals, and administrators by providing ongoing access to training and support, as well as updated research in teaching and learning through electronic means.
(d) The utilization of electronic networks and other innovative methods, including, but not limited to, distance learning, to deliver specialized or rigorous academic courses and curricula for pupils in areas that would not otherwise have access to those courses and curricula, particularly in geographically isolated regions.
(e) The rigorous evaluation of grant activities, particularly regarding the impact of the program on pupil academic achievement. This evaluation process shall include a process and accountability measures that will be used to evaluate the extent to which activities funded under a grant are effective in all of the following areas:
(1) Integrating technology into teaching and learning.
(2) Increasing the ability of teachers to teach.
(3) Assisting pupils in meeting state academic content standards.
(f) The use of technology to extend learning beyond the traditional schoolday.
(g) The use of technology to promote parent and family involvement in education and communication among pupils, parents, teachers, and administrators.
(Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 582, Sec. 1. Effective September 16, 2002.)
Each school that receives funding from a grant awarded pursuant to this chapter shall collect and provide evaluation data and reports to the State Department of Education that are necessary to satisfy state and United States Department of Education evaluation and reporting requirements to ensure that grant recipients comply with statutory requirements and to examine the extent to which they have effectively expended funds to meet the goals of Part D of Title II of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110).
(Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 582, Sec. 1. Effective September 16, 2002.)
In consultation with the State Department of Education and consistent with the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110), the California Technology Assistance Project shall provide assistance to school districts in the application process and shall assist grant recipients with the implementation and evaluation of their grants, subject to federal funding being allocated in the state budget for this technical assistance.
(Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 582, Sec. 1. Effective September 16, 2002.)
