Bill Text: CA SB876 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Educational technology: Digital Education Equity Program: county offices of education.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-08-11 - August 11 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. [SB876 Detail]
Download: California-2021-SB876-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Educational technology: Digital Education Equity Program: county offices of education.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-08-11 - August 11 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. [SB876 Detail]
Download: California-2021-SB876-Introduced.html
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION
Senate Bill
No. 876
| Introduced by Senator Becker |
January 25, 2022 |
An act to add Article 15 (commencing with Section 51870) to Chapter 5 of Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, relating to educational technology.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 876, as introduced, Becker.
Educational technology: Digital Education Equity Program: county offices of education: State Digital Equity Plan.
Existing law expresses the intent of the Legislature that the state should encourage the use of multiple technologies in distance learning education, and that the state should recognize the value of regional networks serving regional needs and the value of a statewide network.
This bill would establish the Digital Education Equity Program (DEEP), to be administered by the State Department of Education. The bill would require the DEEP to provide technical assistance and teacher professional development to school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools on the implementation of educational technology as set forth in policies of the State Board of Education. The bill would require the DEEP to provide guidelines and funding to all county offices of education to more effectively address locally determined educational needs with the
use of technology, as provided.
The bill would require the department to establish an Office of Educational Technology and Digital Equity with sufficient staff to administer the provisions of the bill. The bill would specify the duties of the department in administering the DEEP, including the preparation of the comprehensive State Digital Equity Plan that reflects the overall needs and priorities related to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the access and use of technology to support teaching and learning in California schools.
The bill would require, upon approval by the state board of the comprehensive State Digital Equity Plan prepared by the department, the department, in consultation with the executive director of the state board, to authorize grants of up to 3 years in duration, and eligible for renewal, to fund all county offices of education to administer services, as needed, to local educational agencies under the bill.
The bill would specify that the funding would be provided through the annual Budget Act to the Superintendent to provide centralized statewide educational technology services that address locally defined needs, as specified. The bill would also require the Superintendent to submit an annual written report to the state board and the Legislature on the services provided, persons served, and funds expended for purposes of the bill, and the extent to which the objectives of the State Digital Equity Plan were attained in the immediately preceding year. The bill would make the above-described provisions operative only in fiscal years when sufficient funding for their implementation is appropriated to the department in the Budget Act or in another statute.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Article 15 (commencing with Section 51870) is added to Chapter 5 of Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, to read:Article 15. Educational Technology
51870.
For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:(a) “Educational technology” means technology-based materials, equipment, systems, and networks used for an educational purpose.
(b) “Local educational agency” means a county office of education, school district, or charter school.
51871.
(a) The Digital Education Equity Program (DEEP) is hereby established, and shall be administered by the department, in concert with the 58 county offices of education, to provide technical assistance and teacher professional development to local educational agencies on the implementation of educational technology as set forth in policies of the state board. The DEEP shall provide the guidelines and funding to the 58 county offices of education to more effectively address locally determined educational needs with the use of technology, including, but not necessarily limited to, all of the following areas:(1) Professional development for teachers, school administrators, and technical support staff.
(2) Promoting strategies and best practices for increasing the use of technology in classroom instruction.
(3) Digital resource selection and use for pupil instruction.
(4) Digital network infrastructure and needed bandwidth for schools and homes.
(5) Technical assistance to local educational agencies in developing a support system to operate and maintain an education technology infrastructure, including improving pupil recordkeeping and tracking related to pupil instruction.
(6) Planning and coordination with, and support for, the local funding and implementation of federal, state, and local programs.
(7) Accessing and using a
variety of funding sources for instructional technology.
(8) Technical assistance and information to support access, planning, and the use of high-speed telecommunications networks.
(9) Technology planning and implementation assistance to rural and technologically underserved local educational agencies and technologically underserved pupil groups.
(10) Assistance in the use of online instruction to replace or supplement classroom instruction when necessary, and to establish online and hybrid learning proficiency for teachers as requested by the local educational agency served by the county office of education.
(11) Helping to ensure that instruction using technology is aligned to the state’s academic content standards and incorporates related pupil
learning assessment.
(12) Collaboration with the department in the development and implementation of the comprehensive State Digital Equity Plan.
(b) Upon approval of the State Digital Equity Plan on or before January 31, 2024, the department, in consultation with the executive director of the state board, shall authorize grants to each of the 58 county offices of education to fund educational technology services as needed by the local educational agencies served by the county office of education applying for a grant. Grant funding may be awarded and received for subsequent three-year terms, as provided in this section. Budget allocations for each region may be adjusted based on the annual Budget Act. County offices of education shall be awarded grant funding based on the extent to which the applicant county office of education provides a plan that clearly documents or describes
how it plans to address all of the following:
(1) Knowledge of technology to improve teaching and learning.
(2) Technology planning and technical assistance.
(3) Proven success in providing professional development in technology and curriculum integration.
(4) An ability to work collaboratively with local educational agencies and businesses in the region.
(5) The ability to deliver services specified in this article to all local educational agencies in its region.
(6) The support of local educational agencies for the county office of education application in the region.
(7) Specific strategies for documenting and addressing the needs of local educational agencies and technologically underserved pupil groups.
(8) A plan for evaluating the implementation of, access to, use of, and local impact of, the services provided by the county office of education.
(9) The capacity to assist in the use of online instruction when necessary.
(10) A commitment to help ensure that instruction using technology is aligned to the state’s academic content standards and incorporates related student learning assessments.
(11) The capacity to assist local educational agencies in developing a local education technology plan.
(c) To receive funding for the second and
subsequent years of a grant awarded pursuant to subdivision (b), the county office of education shall submit an annual report to the department for approval that describes the services provided, the persons served, and the funds expended for those services in the prior year. Local educational agencies within the county office of education shall have an opportunity to comment on the report.
51872.
(a) The department shall establish an Office of Educational Technology and Digital Equity with sufficient staff to administer this article. Funding for the Office of Educational Technology and Digital Equity shall be provided through the annual Budget Act for a minimum of three full-time equivalent staff to plan, coordinate, and support, as needed, the provisions of this article. The duties of the department under this article shall include, but are not necessarily limited to, all of the following:(1) (A) Preparing a comprehensive State Digital Equity Plan that reflects the overall needs and priorities related to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the access and use of technology to support teaching and
learning in California schools. The plan shall be prepared with input from local educational agencies and other stakeholders, and shall be submitted to, and approved by, the state board.
(B) The focus of the State Digital Equity Plan shall be on how best to meet locally defined educational needs that can be effectively addressed with the use of technology. In order to prepare the plan, the department shall collect data on the technology needs of local educational agencies, including, but not necessarily limited to, their digital infrastructure needs.
(C) The plan shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, findings and recommendations related to all of the following topics:
(i) Professional development for teachers, school administrators, and technical support staff.
(ii) Promoting strategies and best practices for increasing the use of technology in classroom instruction.
(iii) Digital resource selection and usage for pupil instruction.
(iv) Digital network infrastructure and needed bandwidth for schools and homes.
(v) Technical assistance to local educational agencies in developing a support system to operate and maintain an education technology infrastructure, including improving pupil recordkeeping and tracking related to pupil instruction.
(vi) Planning and coordination with, and support for, the local funding and implementation of federal, state, and local programs.
(vii) Accessing and
using a variety of funding sources for instructional technology.
(viii) Technical assistance and information to support access, planning, and the use of high-speed telecommunications networks.
(ix) Technology planning and implementation assistance to rural and technologically underserved local educational agencies and technologically underserved pupil groups.
(x) Assistance in the use of online instruction to supplement classroom instruction.
(xi) Helping to ensure that instruction using technology is aligned to the state’s academic content standards and incorporates related pupil learning assessment.
(xii) Coordinate with education stakeholders at local educational agencies to identify
support needs for the DEEP and to develop a needed support structure in all of the following areas:
(I) Professional development for teachers, school administrators, and support staff.
(II) Connectivity solutions.
(III) Dedicated device funding.
(D) On or before January 31, 2024, the Superintendent shall submit the plan to the state board for adoption, and the state board shall adopt the plan on or before March 31, 2024.
(2) Providing for the statewide coordination, planning, and evaluation of education technology programs and resources.
(3) Providing sufficient staff to provide ongoing support, direction, and coordination of
the regional and statewide educational technology services described in this article.
(4) Advancing the use of technology in the curriculum and in the administration of elementary and secondary schools.
(5) Providing ongoing planning, funding, and policy information to the directors for planning and distribution to local educational agencies served by the region.
(6) Coordinating educational technology planning, policies, and information with other divisions of the department to include, but not necessarily be limited to, curriculum, assessment, technical support, budget, and professional development.
(b) Funding shall be provided through the annual Budget Act to the Superintendent to provide centralized statewide educational technology services that
address locally defined needs and are more efficiently and effectively provided on a statewide basis. The department may contract with a county office of education to provide specific educational technology services that may include, but are not necessarily limited to, any or all of the following:
(1) Review of electronic learning resources, including, but not necessarily limited to, software, online resources, and video, for alignment with the content standards adopted by the state board and for the results of reviews to be accessible online, as needed by all public educators in the state.
(2) Professional development focused on digital school leadership for educational administrators in the areas of data-driven analytics, equity, and accessibility, integrating technology into standards-based curriculum, technology planning, professional development needs of staff, digital
citizenship and privacy, and financial planning for technology.
(3) Access for schools to training, support, and other resources for technical professionals in the state.
(c) The Superintendent shall annually submit a written report to the state board and the Legislature on the services provided, persons served, and funds expended for purposes of this article, and the extent to which the objectives of the State Digital Equity Plan prepared pursuant to this section were attained in the immediately preceding year. A report to be submitted to the Legislature pursuant to this subdivision shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
