HB5000 Engrossed LRB095 18464 RAS 44550 b

1     AN ACT concerning education.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5 Children's Low-cost Laptop Act.
 
6     Section 5. Policy and purpose. The General Assembly finds
7 that the decreasing cost of computer technology makes it
8 possible today to equip more children than ever before with
9 21st century learning tools. The dramatic expansion of low-cost
10 computing options and the worldwide reliance on computer
11 technology for commerce, education, information, and social
12 interaction makes it ever more important to introduce computing
13 skills to students at an early age. Accordingly, the State
14 Board of Education shall establish a pilot project to provide a
15 low-cost laptop computer to each student, teacher, and relevant
16 administrator in a participating elementary school and
17 implement the use of educational software and computer skills
18 training in order to improve academic achievement and the
19 progress measures listed in subsection (a) of Section 20 in
20 this Act.
 
21     Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
22     "Elementary school" means any school that maintains grades

 

 

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1 one through 6.
2     "Low-cost laptop" means a portable personal computer
3 suitable for use among elementary school-aged children, under
4 $400 in initial cost.
5     "State Board" means the State Board of Education.
 
6     Section 15. Pilot project; Elementary Students' Low-cost
7 Laptop Fund.
8     (a) The State Board shall provide for the administration of
9 a low-cost laptop pilot project. The pilot project shall be for
10 a period of at least 2 years. In administering the pilot
11 project, the State Board shall:
12         (1) select participating elementary schools;
13         (2) define the conditions for the distribution and use
14     of laptop computers and other technologies;
15         (3) coordinate a statewide grant program to purchase
16     and distribute laptop computers and other technologies;
17         (4) monitor local pilot project implementation; and
18         (5) conduct a final evaluation of the pilot project.
19     (b) The Elementary Students' Low-Cost Laptop Fund is
20 created as a special fund in the State treasury. All money in
21 this Fund shall be used, subject to appropriation, by the State
22 Board for the pilot project. To implement the pilot project,
23 the State Board may use any funds appropriated by the General
24 Assembly for the purposes of the pilot project, as well as any
25 gift, grant, or donation given for the pilot project. The State

 

 

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1 Board may solicit and accept a gift, grant, or donation of any
2 kind from any source, including from a foundation, private
3 entity, governmental entity, or institution of higher
4 education, for the implementation of the pilot project. Funds
5 for the pilot project may not be used for the construction of a
6 building or other facility. The State Board shall use pilot
7 project funds for the following:
8         (1) low-cost laptop computers;
9         (2) replacements for any of the following low-cost
10     laptop components: batteries, power cords, or other
11     software and hardware; and
12         (3) the hiring of staff to administer professional
13     development and technical support for participating
14     teachers; for the purposes of this item (3), "professional
15     development" means the training of certified teaching
16     professionals in the integration of low-cost laptop
17     computers into the classroom curriculum.
18     The State Board may not allocate more than $100 million for
19 the pilot project. The pilot project may be implemented only if
20 sufficient funds are available under this Section for that
21 purpose.
 
22     Section 20. Program participation requirements. A school
23 or district may apply to the State Board for the establishment
24 of a low-cost laptop pilot project grant for an entire school
25 or for a particular grade or group of classrooms in a school.

 

 

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1     The State Board shall select up to 300 schools to
2 participate in the pilot project. At least one-third of the
3 selected schools shall be located in the City of Chicago; at
4 least one-third shall be located in the area that makes up the
5 counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, and that portion
6 of Cook County that is located outside of the City of Chicago;
7 and at least one-third shall be located in the remainder of the
8 State.
9     The State Board shall select the participating districts or
10 schools for the pilot project based on each district's or
11 school's need for the pilot project. In selecting participants,
12 the State Board shall consider each school's:
13         (1) free and reduced lunch eligible student
14     population;
15         (2) access to educational technology resources;
16         (3) rate of satisfactory performance on standardized
17     tests;
18         (4) readiness to incorporate technology into its
19     classrooms;
20         (5) availability of technology support staff and
21     professional development funds; and
22         (6) planned methods of measuring the progress of the
23     pilot project.
 
24     Section 25. Reporting.
25     (a) The school board of each school participating in the

 

 

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1 pilot project shall send an annual progress report to the State
2 Board no later than August 1 of each year that the school is
3 participating in the pilot project. The report must include the
4 project's effect on:
5         (1) academic progress of students who are
6     participating in the pilot project, as measured by
7     performance on assessment instruments;
8         (2) student progress in schools or classrooms
9     participating in the pilot project as compared with student
10     progress in schools or classrooms not participating;
11         (3) student performance on assessment instruments
12     required by the State Board;
13         (4) school cost savings on textbook or other purchases
14     replaced by laptop abilities;
15         (5) attendance rates;
16         (6) teacher performance and retention;
17         (7) communications among students, teachers, parents,
18     and administrators;
19         (8) parental involvement in education;
20         (9) community involvement and support for the school;
21     and
22         (10) student proficiency in technologies or "computer
23     literacy".
24     (b) Each school or district participating in the grant
25 pilot project shall determine how the low-cost laptops are
26 assigned and retained.

 

 

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1     (c) After the expiration of the pilot project, the State
2 Board shall review the project based on the annual reports the
3 State Board receives from the school board of participating
4 school districts.
 
5     Section 27. No authority to make or promulgate rules.
6 Notwithstanding any other rulemaking authority that may exist,
7 neither the Governor nor any agency or agency head under the
8 jurisdiction of the Governor has any authority to make or
9 promulgate rules to implement or enforce the provisions of this
10 Act. If, however, the Governor believes that rules are
11 necessary to implement or enforce the provisions of this Act,
12 the Governor may suggest rules to the General Assembly by
13 filing them with the Clerk of the House and Secretary of the
14 Senate and by requesting that the General Assembly authorize
15 such rulemaking by law, enact those suggested rules into law,
16 or take any other appropriate action in the General Assembly's
17 discretion. Nothing contained in this Act shall be interpreted
18 to grant rulemaking authority under any other Illinois statute
19 where such authority is not otherwise explicitly given. For the
20 purposes of this Act, "rules" is given the meaning contained in
21 Section 1-70 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, and
22 "agency" and "agency head" are given the meanings contained in
23 Sections 1-20 and 1-25 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure
24 Act to the extent that such definitions apply to agencies or
25 agency heads under the jurisdiction of the Governor.
 

 

 

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1     Section 30. Repeal. This Act is repealed on August 31,
2 2011.
 
3     Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
4 Section 5.708 as follows:
 
5     (30 ILCS 105/5.708 new)
6     Sec. 5.708. The Elementary Students' Low-cost Laptop Fund.
7 This Section is repealed on August 31, 2011.
 
8     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
9 becoming law.