HB 242-PUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDING: DIGITAL LEARNING  8:34:43 AM CHAIR DICK announced that the final order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 242, "An Act relating to funding for digital learning as a component of public school funding." 8:34:55 AM REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT moved to adopt the proposed committee substitute (CS) for HB 242, labeled 27-LS0845\B, Mischel, 2/22/12, as the working draft. REPRESENTATIVE SEATON objected for discussion. 8:35:19 AM REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON explained the CS, paraphrasing from a prepared statement, which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: Two changes were made to the bill based on the comments heard from the Committee last week when this bill was heard. 1. Issue: No reporting or accountability for the new funds a. Page 2, line 17, We have added a reporting requirement to provide insight into how the school districts are using their digital learning funds. 2. Issue: Using the funds for professional development a. Page 3, line 14, e explicitly called out professional development of teachers as a use for the funding. 8:36:53 AM REPRESENTATIVE SEATON removed his objection, and without further objection Version B was before the committee. REPRESENTATIVE SEATON requested that the required accountability report include information noting whether technical devices are retained at the schools for use at specified time periods, or checked out to the students for continuous access. Research conducted in Canby, Oregon, has reported that dramatic scholastic improvement has been achieved when students have full accessibility to the devices. Practice time is increased through the availability the student experiences by having the device checked out to them, similar to a schoolbook, he said. 8:39:02 AM REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT moved to report CSHB 242, Version LS0845\B, Mischel, 2/22/12, out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. Without objection CSHB 242(EDC) was moved from the House Education Standing Committee. The committee took an at-ease at 8:39 a.m. 8:39:42 AM REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON commented that the legislation is important to facilitate change in the classroom, and thanked the committee for the input and swift movement of the bill. CHAIR DICK said there is a creative and inspiration aspect to technological devices, and he said curriculum development may well be improved by their use. REPRESENTATIVE SEATON said the cost of curriculum is reported to be reduced through the use of technological devices. The teaching standards remain the same, but learning styles for each child can now be tailored in a way that heretofore would have been costly to create and maintain. He stressed that the use of technical devices provides a cost efficient means to create individualized, targeted, accessible curriculum. CHAIR DICK noted that development and engineering of games and applications for computer devices is among the ten most desired college careers.