1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to education; establishing a technology grant 
  1.3             program; appropriating money; proposing coding for new 
  1.4             law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 124C. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [124C.75] [MINNESOTA TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENT 
  1.7   PROGRAM.] 
  1.8      Subdivision 1.  [POLICY.] The legislature finds that 
  1.9   Minnesota schools have a serious shortage of information and 
  1.10  computing technology to meet student learning needs and goals.  
  1.11  School districts throughout Minnesota lack the financial 
  1.12  resources necessary to incorporate information technology into 
  1.13  their school buildings and districts.  The financial resources 
  1.14  are inadequate to build a statewide system of compatible 
  1.15  technologies to support a cohesive information network of 
  1.16  Minnesota schools, agencies, libraries, and higher education 
  1.17  institutions.  Financial resources are also inadequate to 
  1.18  electronically link schools within a district to each other and 
  1.19  to provide the equipment to support the links.  Finally, 
  1.20  financial resources are inadequate to provide sufficient 
  1.21  computing capacity to effectively implement and use information 
  1.22  technologies within schools and classrooms.  It is unlikely that 
  1.23  all Minnesota school districts will be able to make an 
  1.24  investment in technology in a timely manner to provide equitable 
  1.25  access to technology for their schools and students.  The policy 
  2.1   and purpose of this subdivision and subdivisions 2 to 4 is to 
  2.2   use the resources of the state to ensure that all Minnesota 
  2.3   students have equitable access to information and computing 
  2.4   technology in Minnesota's public schools. 
  2.5      Subd. 2.  [ESTABLISHMENT.] The technology improvement grant 
  2.6   program is established with money appropriated to the 
  2.7   commissioner of the department of children, families, and 
  2.8   learning for the purpose of improving public schools through the 
  2.9   acquisition of information technology.  Grants are given for the 
  2.10  following purposes: 
  2.11     (1) network installation grants to install wiring for 
  2.12  computer networks; 
  2.13     (2) priority grants for school sites where the ratio of 
  2.14  computers to students is less than one computer for every 12 
  2.15  elementary students, or is less than one computer for every 
  2.16  eight secondary students; and 
  2.17     (3) technology enhancement grants for school sites that are 
  2.18  at or above the computer-to-student ratios under clause (2). 
  2.19     The computer-to-student ratio must be measured at the 
  2.20  school site.  Computers used to determine the 
  2.21  computer-to-student ratio must meet the technical standards set 
  2.22  by the telecommunication council under subdivision 3. 
  2.23     Charter schools are considered a school district for the 
  2.24  purpose of these grants. 
  2.25     Subd. 3.  [REQUIREMENTS.] A school district must use these 
  2.26  grant awards to install computer networks and to purchase 
  2.27  computers to improve student access to technology in support of 
  2.28  learning.  Technology installed and purchased with a grant award 
  2.29  must meet the technical standards and specifications established 
  2.30  by the Minnesota telecommunication council under Laws 1995, 
  2.31  First Special Session chapter 3, article 12, section 7. 
  2.32     Subd. 4.  [NETWORK INSTALLATION GRANTS.] A grant award may 
  2.33  be made to a school district to install a local or a wide area 
  2.34  computer network in the school district.  State grant awards 
  2.35  under this subdivision must be matched by an equal contribution 
  2.36  from the school district. 
  3.1      Subd. 5.  [PRIORITY GRANTS.] A priority grant award may be 
  3.2   made to a school district for one or more school sites.  The 
  3.3   amount of the grant is equal to the lesser of the amount the 
  3.4   district has expended to purchase computers for the school site 
  3.5   or sites, or an amount that would bring the school site's ratio 
  3.6   of computers to students to the level in subdivision 2. 
  3.7      Subd. 6.  [ENHANCEMENT GRANTS.] A technology enhancement 
  3.8   grant may be used to improve the ratio of computers to students 
  3.9   for school sites where the ratio of computers to students equals 
  3.10  or exceeds the ratios under subdivision 2. 
  3.11     Subd. 7.  [GRANT AWARD.] The commissioner shall develop 
  3.12  application forms and procedures for awarding technology 
  3.13  improvement grants.  A school district must submit an 
  3.14  application on the specified form with all the information 
  3.15  required by the commissioner.  The application must contain a 
  3.16  technology improvement plan for the district and each school 
  3.17  site within the district.  The Minnesota telecommunication 
  3.18  council must review the district's technology improvement plans 
  3.19  to determine if they conform to the technical standards for 
  3.20  statewide computer and telecommunication compatibility.  If the 
  3.21  applications for technology improvement grants exceed the amount 
  3.22  available to fund them, the commissioner shall establish 
  3.23  priorities within the limits of appropriations for awarding 
  3.24  grants based on local needs and the availability of local 
  3.25  resources for technology improvements. 
  3.26     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  3.27     $95,000,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  3.28  commissioner of the department of children, families, and 
  3.29  learning to make grants to school districts under section 1 for 
  3.30  technology improvement projects.  Of this amount, $15,000,000 is 
  3.31  for the state match for the network installation grants, 
  3.32  $70,000,000 is for priority grants, and $10,000,000 is for 
  3.33  enhancement grants.  The appropriation does not cancel but is 
  3.34  available until expended.