Full Text of HB5000 95th General Assembly
HB5000 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008 HB5000
Introduced , by Rep. Cynthia Soto SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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New Act |
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30 ILCS 105/5.708 new |
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Creates the Children's Low-cost Laptop Act. Requires the State Board of education to establish a procedure and develop criteria for the administration of a low-cost laptop pilot project whereby low-cost laptop computers are provided to each student, teacher, and relevant administrator in a participating elementary school and the use of open-source educational software and computer skills training is implemented. Sets forth program and reporting requirements, including the requirement that the pilot program last for a period of at least 2 years. Establishes the Elementary Students' Low-cost Laptop Fund. Sets a repeal date for the Act of August 31, 2011. Amends the State Finance Act to create the Fund. Effective August 31, 2008.
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A BILL FOR
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HB5000 |
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LRB095 18464 RAS 44550 b |
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| AN ACT concerning education.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| 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 by rule establish a pilot project to | 15 |
| provide a low-cost laptop computer to each student, teacher, | 16 |
| and relevant administrator in a participating elementary | 17 |
| school and implement the use of open-source educational | 18 |
| software and computer skills training in order to improve | 19 |
| academic achievement and the progress measures listed in | 20 |
| subsection (a) of Section 20 in this Act. | 21 |
| Section 10. Definitions. In this Act: | 22 |
| "Low-cost laptop" means a portable personal computer |
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| suitable for use among elementary school-aged children, under | 2 |
| $400 in initial cost.
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| "State Board" means the State Board of Education.
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| Section 15. Pilot project; Elementary Students' Low-cost | 5 |
| Laptop Fund.
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| (a) The State Board shall establish a procedure and develop | 7 |
| criteria for the administration of a low-cost laptop pilot | 8 |
| project. The pilot project shall be for a period of at least 2 | 9 |
| years. In administering the pilot project, the State Board | 10 |
| shall: | 11 |
| (1) select participating elementary schools; | 12 |
| (2) define the conditions for the distribution and use | 13 |
| of laptop computers and other technologies; | 14 |
| (3) purchase and distribute laptop computers and other | 15 |
| technologies; | 16 |
| (4) enter into contracts as necessary to implement the | 17 |
| pilot project; | 18 |
| (5) monitor local pilot project implementation; and | 19 |
| (6) conduct a final evaluation of the pilot project. | 20 |
| (b) The Elementary Students' Low-Cost Laptop Fund is | 21 |
| created as a special fund in the State treasury. All money in | 22 |
| this Fund shall be used, subject to appropriation, by the State | 23 |
| Board for the pilot project. To implement the pilot project, | 24 |
| the State Board may use any funds appropriated by the General | 25 |
| Assembly for the purposes of the pilot project, as well as any |
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| gift, grant, or donation given for the pilot project. The State | 2 |
| Board may solicit and accept a gift, grant, or donation of any | 3 |
| kind from any source, including from a foundation, private | 4 |
| entity, governmental entity, or institution of higher | 5 |
| education, for the implementation of the pilot project. Funds | 6 |
| for the pilot project may not be used for the construction of a | 7 |
| building or other facility.
The State Board shall use pilot | 8 |
| project funds for the following: | 9 |
| (1) low-cost laptop computers; | 10 |
| (2) equipment, including batteries, power cords, or | 11 |
| other software and hardware back-ups; and | 12 |
| (3) the hiring of technical support staff to administer | 13 |
| training for participating teachers.
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| The State Board may not allocate more than $100 million for | 15 |
| the pilot project. The pilot project may be implemented only if | 16 |
| sufficient funds are available under this Section for that | 17 |
| purpose. | 18 |
| Section 20. Program participation requirements.
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| (a) A school may apply to the State Board for the | 20 |
| establishment of a low-cost laptop pilot project for the entire | 21 |
| school or for a particular grade or group of classrooms in the | 22 |
| school. | 23 |
| The State Board shall select up to 300 schools to | 24 |
| participate in the pilot project. At least one-third of the | 25 |
| selected schools shall be located in the City of Chicago; at |
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| least one-third shall be located in the area that makes up the | 2 |
| counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, and that portion | 3 |
| of Cook County that is
located outside of the City of Chicago; | 4 |
| and at least one-third shall be located in the remainder of the | 5 |
| State.
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| The State Board shall select the participating districts | 7 |
| and schools for the pilot project based on each district's or | 8 |
| school's need for the pilot project. In selecting participants, | 9 |
| the State Board shall consider each school's: | 10 |
| (1) free and reduced lunch eligible student | 11 |
| population; | 12 |
| (2) access to educational technology resources; | 13 |
| (3) rate of satisfactory performance on standardized | 14 |
| tests; | 15 |
| (4) readiness to incorporate technology into its | 16 |
| classrooms; | 17 |
| (5) availability of technology support staff; and | 18 |
| (6) planned methods of measuring the progress of the | 19 |
| pilot project. | 20 |
| (b) Each participating school shall establish a low-cost | 21 |
| laptop committee to help implement the project. The school | 22 |
| board of a participating school shall appoint individuals to | 23 |
| the committee. The committee may be composed of the following: | 24 |
| (1) educators; | 25 |
| (2) administrators; | 26 |
| (3) community leaders; |
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| (4) parents; and | 2 |
| (5) any other individual the school board finds | 3 |
| appropriate. | 4 |
| In districts with multiple participating schools, separate | 5 |
| committees for each school must be formed. Each committee shall | 6 |
| develop a low-cost laptop usage plan that outlines how the | 7 |
| laptops should be used in the participating school. The | 8 |
| committee shall consider (i) problems in the school that could | 9 |
| be improved through the low-cost laptops and (ii) the | 10 |
| capabilities of available low-cost laptops and (iii) the | 11 |
| self-directed nature of laptop learning. | 12 |
| The committee shall present the low-cost laptop usage plan | 13 |
| to the school board at least semi-annually for the life of the | 14 |
| project. | 15 |
| Section 25. Reporting.
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| (a) The school board of each school participating in the | 17 |
| pilot project shall send an annual progress report to the State | 18 |
| Board no later than August 1 of each year that the school is | 19 |
| participating in the pilot project. The report must include the | 20 |
| project's effect on: | 21 |
| (1) academic progress of students who are | 22 |
| participating in the pilot project, as measured by
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| performance on assessment instruments; | 24 |
| (2) student progress in schools or classrooms | 25 |
| participating in the pilot project as compared with
student |
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| progress in schools or classrooms not participating; | 2 |
| (3) student performance on assessment instruments | 3 |
| required by the State Board; | 4 |
| (4) school cost savings on textbook or other purchases | 5 |
| replaced by laptop abilities; | 6 |
| (5) attendance rates; | 7 |
| (6) teacher performance and retention; | 8 |
| (7) communications among students, teachers, parents, | 9 |
| and administrators; | 10 |
| (8) parental involvement in education; | 11 |
| (9) community involvement and support for the school; | 12 |
| and | 13 |
| (10) student proficiency in technologies or "computer | 14 |
| literacy". | 15 |
| (b) Each student participating in the pilot project may | 16 |
| retain the wireless laptop computer provided under the pilot | 17 |
| project as long as the student is enrolled in a participating | 18 |
| school. | 19 |
| (c) After the expiration of the pilot project, the State | 20 |
| Board shall review the project based on the annual reports the | 21 |
| State Board receives from the school board of participating | 22 |
| school districts. | 23 |
| Section 30. Repeal. This Act is repealed on August 31, | 24 |
| 2011. |
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| Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding | 2 |
| Section 5.708 as follows: | 3 |
| (30 ILCS 105/5.708 new) | 4 |
| Sec. 5.708. The Elementary Students' Low-cost Laptop Fund. | 5 |
| This Section is repealed on August 31, 2011.
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect August | 7 |
| 31, 2008.
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