93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2003 and 2004
HB4944

 

Introduced 02/05/04, by Michael K. Smith

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
30 ILCS 105/5.625 new
105 ILCS 5/2-3.135 new

    Amends the School Code and the State Finance Act. Requires the State Board of Education to establish a 3-year technology immersion pilot project to provide a wireless laptop computer to each student, teacher, and relevant administrator in a participating school and implement the use of software, on-line courses, and other appropriate learning technologies that have been shown to improve academic achievement and specified progress measures. Creates the Technology Immersion Pilot Project Fund as a special fund in the State treasury, with moneys being used by the State Board for the pilot project. Requires participating school districts to send an annual progress report to the State Board. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1     AN ACT relating to schools.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
5 Section 5.625 as follows:
 
6     (30 ILCS 105/5.625 new)
7     Sec. 5.625. The Technology Immersion Pilot Project Fund.
8 This Section is repealed on August 31, 2007.
 
9     Section 10. The School Code is amended by adding Section
10 2-3.135 as follows:
 
11     (105 ILCS 5/2-3.135 new)
12     Sec. 2-3.135. Technology immersion pilot project.
13     (a) The State Board of Education shall by rule establish a
14 technology immersion pilot project to provide a wireless laptop
15 computer to each student, teacher, and relevant administrator
16 in a participating school and implement the use of software,
17 on-line courses, and other appropriate learning technologies
18 that have been shown to improve academic achievement and the
19 progress measures listed in subsection (f) of this Section.
20     (b) The pilot project shall be for a period of at least 3
21 years. The State Board shall establish a procedure and develop
22 criteria for the administration of the pilot project. In
23 administering the pilot project, the State Board shall:
24         (1) select participating school districts or schools;
25         (2) define the conditions for the distribution and use
26     of laptop computers and other technologies;
27         (3) purchase and distribute laptop computers and other
28     technologies;
29         (4) enter into contracts as necessary to implement the
30     pilot project;

 

 

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1         (5) monitor local pilot project implementation; and
2         (6) conduct a final evaluation of the pilot project.
3     (c) The Technology Immersion Pilot Project Fund is created
4 as a special fund in the State treasury. All money in the
5 Technology Immersion Pilot Project Fund shall be used, subject
6 to appropriation, by the State Board for the pilot project. To
7 implement the pilot project, the State Board may use any funds
8 appropriated by the General Assembly for the purposes of the
9 pilot project as well as any gift, grant, or donation given for
10 the pilot project. The State Board may solicit and accept a
11 gift, grant, or donation of any kind from any source, including
12 from a foundation, private entity, governmental entity, or
13 institution of higher education, for the implementation of the
14 pilot project. Funds for the pilot project may not be used for
15 the construction of a building or other facility.
16     The State Board shall use pilot project funds for the
17 following:
18         (1) the purchase of wireless laptop computers so that
19     each student, teacher, and relevant administrator in a
20     participating classroom has a wireless laptop computer for
21     use at school and at home;
22         (2) the purchase of other equipment, including
23     additional computer hardware and software;
24         (3) the hiring of technical support staff for school
25     districts or schools participating in the pilot project;
26     and
27         (4) the purchase of technology-based learning
28     materials and resources.
29     The State Board may not allocate more than $10 million for
30 in the pilot project. The pilot project may be implemented only
31 if sufficient funds are available under this Section for that
32 purpose.
33     (d) A school district may apply to the State Board for the
34 establishment of a technology immersion pilot project for the
35 entire district or for a particular school or group of schools
36 in the district.

 

 

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1     The State Board shall select 8 school districts to
2 participate in the pilot project. Four school districts shall
3 be located in the Chicago Metropolitan Area and 4 shall be
4 located in the remainder of the State.
5     The State Board shall select the participating districts
6 and schools for the pilot project based on each district's or
7 school's need for the pilot project. In selecting participants,
8 the State Board shall consider the following criteria:
9         (1) whether the district or school has limited access
10     to educational resources that could be improved through the
11     use of wireless laptop computers and other technologies;
12         (2) whether the district or school has the following
13     problems and whether those problems can be mitigated
14     through the use of wireless laptop computers and other
15     technologies:
16             (A) documented teacher shortages in critical
17         areas;
18             (B) limited access to advanced placement courses;
19             (C) low rates of satisfactory performance on
20         assessment instruments under Section 2-3.64 of this
21         Code; and
22             (D) high dropout rates;
23         (3) the district's or school's readiness to
24     incorporate technology into its classrooms;
25         (4) the possibility of obtaining a trained technology
26     support staff and high-speed Internet services for the
27     district or school; and
28         (5) the methods the district or school will use to
29     measure the progress of the pilot project in the district
30     or school in accordance with subsection (f) of this
31     Section.
32     The State Board shall if possible select at least 8 schools
33 to participate in the pilot project.
34     (e) Each participating school district or school shall
35 establish a technology immersion committee to assist in
36 developing and implementing the technology immersion pilot

 

 

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1 project.
2     The school board of a participating district or of a
3 district in which a participating school is located shall
4 appoint individuals to the committee. The committee may be
5 composed of the following:
6         (1) educators;
7         (2) district-level administrators;
8         (3) community leaders;
9         (4) parents of students who attend a participating
10     school; and
11         (5) any other individual the school board finds
12     appropriate.
13     The committee shall develop an academic improvement plan
14 that details how the pilot project should be implemented in the
15 participating district or school. In developing the academic
16 improvement plan, the committee shall consider (i) the
17 educational problems in the district or school that could be
18 mitigated through the implementation of the pilot project and
19 (ii) the technological and nontechnological resources that are
20 necessary to ensure the successful implementation of the pilot
21 project.
22     The committee shall recommend to the school board how the
23 pilot project funds should be used to implement the academic
24 improvement plan. The committee may recommend annually any
25 necessary changes in the academic improvement plan to the
26 school board. The State Board must approve the academic
27 improvement plan or any changes in the academic improvement
28 plan before disbursing pilot project funds to the school board.
29     (f) The school board of each school district participating
30 in the pilot project shall send an annual progress report to
31 the State Board no later than August 1 of each year that the
32 district is participating in the pilot project. The report must
33 state in detail the type of plan being used in the district or
34 school and the effect of the pilot project on the district or
35 school, including the following:
36         (1) the academic progress of students who are

 

 

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1     participating in the pilot project, as measured by
2     performance on assessment instruments;
3         (2) if applicable, a comparison of student progress in
4     a school or classroom that is participating in the pilot
5     project as compared with student progress in the schools or
6     classrooms in the district that are not participating in
7     the pilot project;
8         (3) any elements of the pilot project that contribute
9     to improved student performance on assessment instruments
10     administered under Section 2-3.64 of this Code or any other
11     assessment instrument required by the State Board;
12         (4) any cost savings and improved efficiency relating
13     to school personnel and the maintenance of facilities;
14         (5) any effect on student dropout and attendance rates;
15         (6) any effect on student enrollment in higher
16     education;
17         (7) any effect on teacher performance and retention;
18         (8) any improvement in communications among students,
19     teachers, parents, and administrators;
20         (9) any improvement in parental involvement in the
21     education of the parent's child;
22         (10) any effect on community involvement and support
23     for the district or school; and
24         (11) any increased student proficiency in technologies
25     that will help prepare the student for becoming a member of
26     the workforce.
27     (g) Each student participating in the pilot project may
28 retain the wireless laptop computer provided under the pilot
29 project as long as the student is enrolled in a school in a
30 participating school district.
31     (h) After the expiration of the 3-year pilot project, the
32 State Board shall review the pilot project based on the annual
33 reports the State Board receives from the school board of
34 participating school districts.
35     (i) This Section is repealed on August 31, 2007.
 

 

 

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1     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
2 becoming law.