00 HOUSE BILL NO. 106 01 "An Act establishing the Alaska education technology program; and providing for 02 an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. (a) The legislature finds that 05 (1) 75 percent of the labor force in the state is unprepared to deal with rapidly 06 changing technology; 07 (2) the education system and publicly funded libraries can help in creating a 08 trained and productive labor force; 09 (3) education technology has the potential to improve the academic 10 performance of students, to prepare students for work in a technological society, and to assist 11 with education reform; 12 (4) schools and publicly funded libraries lack adequate hardware, software, and 13 training for students, patrons, and educators in education technology; 14 (5) in order to implement effective education technology programs, teacher 01 training and active participation is essential; 02 (6) an equitable distribution of education technology is necessary to ensure that 03 all public school students in the state receive comparable educational opportunities. 04 (b) It is the purpose of this Act to establish the Alaska education technology program, 05 to provide teachers, library staff, and other instructional personnel with training in how to 06 apply education technology in meeting instructional objectives, and to provide the necessary 07 equipment and materials to effectively utilize education technology within the adopted 08 curricula throughout the rural and urban schools and in publicly funded libraries of this state. 09 * Sec. 2. AS 14.03.120(e) is amended to read: 10  (e) A district shall, by October 31 of each year, provide to the state board, and 11 make available to the public, a report on the performance of each public school and 12 public school students in the district. The report must be entitled "School District 13 Report Card To The Public" and must be prepared on a form prescribed by the 14 department. The report must include 15  (1) the percent of district students in the top and bottom quarter of 16 standardized national achievement examinations; results under this paragraph shall be 17 disclosed in a manner that does not reveal the individual identities of students; 18  (2) the percent of students who are not promoted to the next grade; 19  (3) student, parent, and community member comments on the school's 20 performance; 21  (4) the annual percent change in enrollment and the percent of 22 enrollment change due to student transfers into and out of the district; 23  (5) attendance, retention, and graduation rates; 24  (6) the ways in which meaningful parent involvement in school 25 performance was achieved; 26  (7) a summary and evaluation of the environmental education 27 curriculum described in AS 14.30.380; 28  (8) uses of education technology by classroom teachers that have 29 improved student performance and the results of periodic evaluations of education 30 technology acquired under AS 14.30.810; 31  (9) other indicators of school performance required by the state board; 01 and 02  (10) [(9)] other indicators of school performance selected by the 03 district. 04 * Sec. 3. AS 14.30 is amended by adding new sections to read: 05 ARTICLE 12. ALASKA EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY. 06  Sec. 14.30.800. ALASKA EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM. (a) 07 The Alaska education technology program is established in the department. The 08 program must include 09  (1) technical assistance to a district, a public school, or a publicly 10 funded library for the purpose of planning for, purchasing, using, and evaluating results 11 of education technology; 12  (2) training for employees of a district, public school, or publicly 13 funded library in the use of education technology in the classroom or library; and 14  (3) a plan for coordinating and expanding existing networks and 15 investigating the development of new networks for educational uses, including the 16 University of Alaska computer network, Star Schools, Livenet, public television, rural 17 Alaska television, and library sharing systems; the plan required under this paragraph 18 shall be developed in consultation with the Department of Administration and must be 19 consistent with AS 44.21.315(c). 20  (b) In administering the program required under this section, the department 21 may pool grant money or other money available from each district or publicly funded 22 library in order to make a bulk purchase of education technology or to provide 23 necessary training. 24  Sec. 14.30.810. ALASKA EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY FUND 25 ESTABLISHED. (a) The Alaska education technology fund is established in the 26 department. The purpose of the fund is to (1) enhance the quality and equity of 27 education at public elementary and secondary schools by providing a percentage of the 28 project or grant money needed to purchase, install, and maintain education technology 29 in classrooms; (2) provide training in the use of education technology to help students 30 achieve student performance standards; (3) provide access to networks for public 31 schools and publicly funded libraries through the University of Alaska computer 01 network, the Department of Administration computer network, or other means 02 consistent with the program developed under AS 14.30.800 and AS 44.21.315(c); and 03 (4) provide a percentage of the cost of education technology, including computer and 04 resource sharing systems, to publicly funded libraries. Money in the fund may be used 05 to provide grants or may be expended by the department for projects that further the 06 purposes described in this subsection. The fund consists of legislative appropriations 07 to the fund and public or private donations made for the purpose of the fund. 08  (b) A project or grant application may be submitted to the department by a 09 school district on behalf of a public school, or by a publicly funded library. The 10 department shall fund projects approved by the committee or award grants from the 11 fund to a school district for a public school, or to a publicly funded library selected 12 by the committee. Money in the fund that consists of proceeds from the sale of 13 general obligation bonds may not be awarded to a school district, a public school, or 14 a publicly funded library as a grant. 15  (c) As a condition of funding a project or awarding a grant, the department 16 shall require the school district or publicly funded library to pay that percentage of the 17 cost of the project or grant required under AS 14.30.820. 18  (d) A project or grant application submitted by a school district under (b) of 19 this section must include 20  (1) educational goals and objectives; 21  (2) the sum of money to be provided by the department and by the 22 school district; 23  (3) a comprehensive plan for using the education technology selected 24 to achieve the educational goals and objectives; 25  (4) a description of the relationship between the application and the 26 district's goals for student performance outlined in the report submitted under 27 AS 14.03.120; 28  (5) required initial and ongoing training for teachers to effectively use 29 the education technology in the classroom; 30  (6) a description of the education technology proposed to be purchased; 31  (7) a proposed budget; 01  (8) a description of local efforts or resources that will be contributed; 02  (9) provisions for site preparation, equipment security, and required 03 technical and maintenance support; 04  (10) criteria and methods that will be used to periodically evaluate and 05 document progress in achieving the educational goals and objectives; 06  (11) a description of local partnerships that are or will be involved in 07 the planning, implementation, or evaluation of the project; and 08  (12) documentation of the process used by the public school to develop 09 the plan. 10  (e) A project or grant application submitted by a publicly funded library under 11 (b) of this section must include 12  (1) library goals and objectives, including how the education technology 13 will improve services of the library or access to resource sharing; 14  (2) the sum of money to be provided by the department and by the 15 publicly funded library; 16  (3) a comprehensive plan for using the education technology selected 17 to achieve library goals and objectives; 18  (4) required initial and ongoing training for library personnel to 19 effectively use the education technology; 20  (5) a description of the education technology proposed to be purchased; 21  (6) a proposed budget; 22  (7) a description of local efforts or resources that will be contributed; 23  (8) provisions for site preparation, equipment security, and required 24 technical and maintenance support; and 25  (9) whether the library participates in a resource sharing system; 26  (10) documentation of the process used by the library to develop the 27 plan. 28  (f) The board shall adopt regulations that allow a school district, a public 29 school, or a publicly funded library to obtain education technology under a permit or 30 lease with the department, for a project approved under AS 14.30.840(b). 31  (g) The department shall administer grants awarded under this section and shall 01 include a report on the projects receiving funds as part of the department's annual 02 report. 03  Sec. 14.30.820. SCHOOL DISTRICT REQUIRED PARTICIPATION IN 04 GRANT PROGRAM. (a) In order to receive a grant under this chapter, a school 05 district must provide a percentage share of the project cost, as determined under (b) 06 or (c) of this section. 07  (b) The required participating share for a city or borough school district is 08 based on the district's full value per ADM, which is calculated by dividing the full and 09 true value of the taxable real and personal property in the district, calculated as 10 described in AS 14.17.025(a)(1), by the district average daily membership, for the 11 same fiscal year for which the valuation was made. The district's full value per ADM 12 determines the district's required participating share, as follows: 13 Full Value Per ADM District Participating Share 14 $1 - $100,000 5 percent 15 100,001 - 200,000 30 percent 16 200,001 - 600,000 45 percent 17 over 600,000 55 percent. 18  (c) The required participating share for a regional educational attendance area 19 is 3.8 percent. The required share may be satisfied by federal or local money, locally 20 contributed labor, material, or equipment, or money from other sources. If a regional 21 educational attendance area can demonstrate in writing that it is unable to provide the 22 required participating share, or that the requirement to provide a participating share 23 will jeopardize receipt of federal assistance, the commissioner may waive all or a 24 portion of the required participating share. 25  (d) Funding under AS 14.11 may not be used as a source of the required 26 participating share under (b) or (c) of this section. 27  Sec. 14.30.830. POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE COMMISSIONER OF 28 REVENUE. The commissioner of revenue is the treasurer of the fund and has the 29 following powers and duties under this section: 30  (1) to act as official custodian of the cash and investments belonging 31 to the fund by securing adequate and safe custodial facilities; 01  (2) to collect the principal and income from investments owned or 02 acquired by the state treasury and deposit the amounts in separate principal and income 03 accounts for the fund; 04  (3) to invest and reinvest the assets of the fund as provided in this 05 section and as provided for the investment of funds under AS 14.25.071; 06  (4) to exercise the powers of an owner with respect to the assets of the 07 fund; 08  (5) to do all acts, whether or not expressly authorized, that the 09 commissioner of revenue considers necessary or proper in administering the assets of 10 the fund; 11  (6) to maintain accounting records of the fund in accordance with 12 investment accounting principles and with distinction between the principal and income 13 accounts of the fund; 14  (7) to engage an independent firm of certified public accountants to 15 annually audit the financial condition of the fund's investments and investment 16 transactions; 17  (8) to enter into and enforce contracts or agreements considered 18 necessary for the investment purposes of the fund; 19  (9) to report to the department the condition and investment 20 performance of the fund. 21  Sec. 14.30.840. EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE. (a) The 22 Education Technology Committee is composed of the director of the division of 23 libraries, archives, and museums and seven members appointed by the governor. The 24 governor shall appoint 25  (1) four members who are educators with demonstrated education 26 technology experience; 27  (A) one from a district with 15,000 or more students; 28  (B) one from a district with at least 6,000 but less than 15,000 29 students; 30  (C) one from a district with at least 1,000 but less than 6,000 31 students; and 01  (D) one from a district with less than 1,000 students; 02  (2) one member with demonstrated education technology experience 03 who is employed by the University of Alaska; 04  (3) one member with demonstrated education technology experience 05 who is employed by the department; and 06  (4) one member with expertise in telecommunications employed by the 07 Department of Administration. 08  (b) The committee shall review project and grant applications and approve 09 project funding or award grants to a school district or a publicly funded library from 10 the fund. In reviewing project or grant applications the committee shall consider the 11 completeness and consistency of the application in meeting the requirements of 12 AS 14.30.810(d) and (e). In funding projects or awarding grants to a district or 13 library, the committee shall incorporate the applicant's plan for utilizing education 14 technology. In funding projects or awarding grants, the committee shall develop 15 appropriate guidelines to ensure an equitable distribution of project and grant funds 16 over a five-year period. The committee shall recommend to the department the best 17 method for providing statewide teacher training and training to other instructional 18 personnel on the application and implementation of education technology as a part of 19 the classroom curriculum. 20  (c) Members of the committee serve without compensation but are entitled to 21 receive per diem and travel expenses authorized for boards and commissions under 22 AS 39.20.180. 23  Sec. 14.30.900. DEFINITIONS. In AS 14.30.800 - 14.30.900, 24  (1) "average daily membership" has the meaning given in 25 AS 14.17.250; 26  (2) "committee" means the Education Technology Committee; 27  (3) "district" has the meaning given in AS 14.17.250; 28  (4) "education technology" means instructional equipment and materials 29 that are used to enhance the quality and effectiveness of teaching and learning, 30 including hardware, software, and telecommunications; 31  (5) "fund" means the Alaska education technology fund; 01  (6) "publicly funded library" means a library eligible for a grant under 02 AS 14.56.310. 03 * Sec. 4. Notwithstanding AS 14.30.820(b) and (c), enacted in sec. 3 of this Act, the 04 required participating share 05 (1) for a city or borough school district with a full value per average daily 06 membership of more than $100,000 is 15 percent less than required under AS 14.30.820(b) 07 in the school year beginning in 1993, 10 percent less than required under AS 14.30.820(b) in 08 the school year beginning in 1994, and five percent less than required under AS 14.30.820(b) 09 in the school year beginning in 1995; and 10 (2) does not apply in a regional educational attendance area for the school year 11 beginning in 1993; for the school year beginning in 1994, the required participation is one 12 percent and for the school year beginning in 1995, the required participation is 2.4 percent. 13 * Sec. 5. Before accepting project or grant applications under AS 14.30.810(b), enacted in 14 sec. 3 of this Act, the Department of Education shall conduct 15 (1) a survey of education technology resources in public schools and publicly 16 funded libraries in the state; and 17 (2) statewide education technology planning and grant writing seminars, 18 available to all public schools, school districts, and publicly funded libraries. 19 * Sec. 6. AS 14.03.120(e)(8); AS 14.30.810, 14.30.820, 14.30.830, 14.30.840, and 20 14.30.900 are repealed June 30, 2000. 21 * Sec. 7. This Act takes effect July 1, 1993.