Rep. Cynthia Soto

Filed: 4/1/2008

 

 


 

 


 
09500HB5000ham003 LRB095 18464 RAS 48805 a

1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5000

2     AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5000, AS AMENDED, by
3 replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
4 following:
 
5     "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
6 Children's Low-cost Laptop Act.
 
7     Section 5. Policy and purpose. The General Assembly finds
8 that the decreasing cost of computer technology makes it
9 possible today to equip more children than ever before with
10 21st century learning tools. The dramatic expansion of low-cost
11 computing options and the worldwide reliance on computer
12 technology for commerce, education, information, and social
13 interaction makes it ever more important to introduce computing
14 skills to students at an early age. Accordingly, the State
15 Board of Education shall establish a pilot project to provide a
16 low-cost laptop computer to each student, teacher, and relevant

 

 

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1 administrator in a participating elementary school and
2 implement the use of educational software and computer skills
3 training in order to improve academic achievement and the
4 progress measures listed in subsection (a) of Section 20 in
5 this Act.
 
6     Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
7     "Elementary school" means any school that maintains grades
8 one through 6.
9     "Low-cost laptop" means a portable personal computer
10 suitable for use among elementary school-aged children, under
11 $400 in initial cost.
12     "State Board" means the State Board of Education.
 
13     Section 15. Pilot project; Elementary Students' Low-cost
14 Laptop Fund.
15     (a) The State Board shall provide for the administration of
16 a low-cost laptop pilot project. The pilot project shall be for
17 a period of at least 2 years. In administering the pilot
18 project, the State Board shall:
19         (1) select participating elementary schools;
20         (2) define the conditions for the distribution and use
21     of laptop computers and other technologies;
22         (3) coordinate a statewide grant program to purchase
23     and distribute laptop computers and other technologies;
24         (4) monitor local pilot project implementation; and

 

 

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1         (5) conduct a final evaluation of the pilot project.
2     (b) The Elementary Students' Low-Cost Laptop Fund is
3 created as a special fund in the State treasury. All money in
4 this Fund shall be used, subject to appropriation, by the State
5 Board for the pilot project. To implement the pilot project,
6 the State Board may use any funds appropriated by the General
7 Assembly for the purposes of the pilot project, as well as any
8 gift, grant, or donation given for the pilot project. The State
9 Board may solicit and accept a gift, grant, or donation of any
10 kind from any source, including from a foundation, private
11 entity, governmental entity, or institution of higher
12 education, for the implementation of the pilot project. Funds
13 for the pilot project may not be used for the construction of a
14 building or other facility. The State Board shall use pilot
15 project funds for the following:
16         (1) low-cost laptop computers;
17         (2) replacements for any of the following low-cost
18     laptop components: batteries, power cords, or other
19     software and hardware; and
20         (3) the hiring of staff to administer professional
21     development and technical support for participating
22     teachers; for the purposes of this item (3), "professional
23     development" means the training of certified teaching
24     professionals in the integration of low-cost laptop
25     computers into the classroom curriculum.
26     The State Board may not allocate more than $100 million for

 

 

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1 the pilot project. The pilot project may be implemented only if
2 sufficient funds are available under this Section for that
3 purpose.
 
4     Section 20. Program participation requirements. A school
5 or district may apply to the State Board for the establishment
6 of a low-cost laptop pilot project grant for an entire school
7 or for a particular grade or group of classrooms in a school.
8     The State Board shall select up to 300 schools to
9 participate in the pilot project. At least one-third of the
10 selected schools shall be located in the City of Chicago; at
11 least one-third shall be located in the area that makes up the
12 counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, and that portion
13 of Cook County that is located outside of the City of Chicago;
14 and at least one-third shall be located in the remainder of the
15 State.
16     The State Board shall select the participating districts or
17 schools for the pilot project based on each district's or
18 school's need for the pilot project. In selecting participants,
19 the State Board shall consider each school's:
20         (1) free and reduced lunch eligible student
21     population;
22         (2) access to educational technology resources;
23         (3) rate of satisfactory performance on standardized
24     tests;
25         (4) readiness to incorporate technology into its

 

 

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1     classrooms;
2         (5) availability of technology support staff and
3     professional development funds; and
4         (6) planned methods of measuring the progress of the
5     pilot project.
 
6     Section 25. Reporting.
7     (a) The school board of each school participating in the
8 pilot project shall send an annual progress report to the State
9 Board no later than August 1 of each year that the school is
10 participating in the pilot project. The report must include the
11 project's effect on:
12         (1) academic progress of students who are
13     participating in the pilot project, as measured by
14     performance on assessment instruments;
15         (2) student progress in schools or classrooms
16     participating in the pilot project as compared with student
17     progress in schools or classrooms not participating;
18         (3) student performance on assessment instruments
19     required by the State Board;
20         (4) school cost savings on textbook or other purchases
21     replaced by laptop abilities;
22         (5) attendance rates;
23         (6) teacher performance and retention;
24         (7) communications among students, teachers, parents,
25     and administrators;

 

 

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1         (8) parental involvement in education;
2         (9) community involvement and support for the school;
3     and
4         (10) student proficiency in technologies or "computer
5     literacy".
6     (b) Each school or district participating in the grant
7 pilot project shall determine how the low-cost laptops are
8 assigned and retained.
9     (c) After the expiration of the pilot project, the State
10 Board shall review the project based on the annual reports the
11 State Board receives from the school board of participating
12 school districts.
 
13     Section 27. No authority to make or promulgate rules.
14 Notwithstanding any other rulemaking authority that may exist,
15 neither the Governor nor any agency or agency head under the
16 jurisdiction of the Governor has any authority to make or
17 promulgate rules to implement or enforce the provisions of this
18 Act. If, however, the Governor believes that rules are
19 necessary to implement or enforce the provisions of this Act,
20 the Governor may suggest rules to the General Assembly by
21 filing them with the Clerk of the House and Secretary of the
22 Senate and by requesting that the General Assembly authorize
23 such rulemaking by law, enact those suggested rules into law,
24 or take any other appropriate action in the General Assembly's
25 discretion. Nothing contained in this Act shall be interpreted

 

 

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1 to grant rulemaking authority under any other Illinois statute
2 where such authority is not otherwise explicitly given. For the
3 purposes of this Act, "rules" is given the meaning contained in
4 Section 1-70 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, and
5 "agency" and "agency head" are given the meanings contained in
6 Sections 1-20 and 1-25 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure
7 Act to the extent that such definitions apply to agencies or
8 agency heads under the jurisdiction of the Governor.
 
9     Section 30. Repeal. This Act is repealed on August 31,
10 2011.
 
11     Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
12 Section 5.708 as follows:
 
13     (30 ILCS 105/5.708 new)
14     Sec. 5.708. The Elementary Students' Low-cost Laptop Fund.
15 This Section is repealed on August 31, 2011.
 
16     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
17 becoming law.".