Full Text of HB5244 94th General Assembly
HB5244eng 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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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 |
| I-Connect Computer Technology Act. | 6 |
| Section 5. Purpose. The General Assembly finds that in the | 7 |
| modern, knowledge-based economy of the 21st century it is | 8 |
| critical that all students have access to modern educational | 9 |
| technology. The General Assembly further finds that universal | 10 |
| access to portable computers has been found to increase student | 11 |
| assessment test scores and encourage student and parent | 12 |
| collaborations in learning. It is the duty of the State to | 13 |
| provide new ways to equalize and advance educational | 14 |
| opportunities for all students in public schools. In order to | 15 |
| meet the goal of universal access to modern educational | 16 |
| technology, the General Assembly finds it necessary to provide | 17 |
| students in public schools with access to portable computers. | 18 |
| Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
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| "Board" means the I-Connect Computer Technology Board. | 20 |
| "ISBE" means the Illinois State Board of Education. | 21 |
| "Low income student" means a pupil aged 3 to 17, inclusive, | 22 |
| who is (i) from a family receiving public aid, (ii) living in | 23 |
| an institution for neglected or delinquent children, (iii) | 24 |
| being supported in a foster home with public funds, or (iv) | 25 |
| eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunches. | 26 |
| "Program" means the I-Connect Computer Technology Program.
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| Section 15. I-Connect Computer Technology Program. | 28 |
| (a) The Board shall, in conjunction with the Illinois State | 29 |
| Board of Education, establish and implement the I-Connect | 30 |
| Computer Technology Program, which must meet all of the |
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| following standards: | 2 |
| (1) Beginning with the 2006-2007 school year and each | 3 |
| school year thereafter, each student entering 7th grade who | 4 |
| attends a public school meeting the criteria established in | 5 |
| Sections 22 and 23 of this Act shall receive a portable | 6 |
| computer. Additionally, each teacher teaching 7th grade | 7 |
| students in a classroom at a public school shall receive a | 8 |
| portable computer. Portable computers shall be delivered | 9 |
| to each school district and shall become the property of | 10 |
| the school district. School districts are responsible for | 11 |
| distributing the computers to students and for | 12 |
| establishing rules for student use of the computers. Each | 13 |
| portable computer must include software and other learning | 14 |
| technologies capable of being used in a classroom | 15 |
| environment. | 16 |
| (2) Each school taking part in the I-Connect Computer | 17 |
| Technology Program shall receive
teacher technology | 18 |
| training and professional development. Teachers that take | 19 |
| part in technology training courses, seminars, or other | 20 |
| related courses of instruction may credit that time towards | 21 |
| their continuing professional development requirement, | 22 |
| pursuant to Sections 21-2 and 21-14 of the School Code. | 23 |
| Professional development provided in accordance with this | 24 |
| Act must be sufficient to ensure optimal use of software | 25 |
| and other learning technologies associated with using | 26 |
| portable computers. | 27 |
| (3) A statewide or regional plan for external and | 28 |
| internal network and technical support must be created to | 29 |
| allow for contracts for technical support with private | 30 |
| businesses, governmental entities, colleges or | 31 |
| universities, or not-for-profit corporations. | 32 |
| (4) A set-aside funding mechanism must be established | 33 |
| to cover the costs of replacement portable computers and | 34 |
| parts. Nothing in this Section shall preclude a contract | 35 |
| with a vendor that places the financial duty on the vendor | 36 |
| to cover those costs in part or in whole. |
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| (b) ISBE is authorized to enter into contracts and | 2 |
| memorandums of understanding with private parties and other | 3 |
| State agencies to carry out its functions under this Act. ISBE | 4 |
| shall cooperate with each Regional Office of Education in | 5 |
| establishing a competitive procurement process for the | 6 |
| selection of vendors for the purchase of portable computers and | 7 |
| related technical support and professional development for | 8 |
| program recipients. | 9 |
| Section 20. I-Connect Computer Technology Board. | 10 |
| (a) There is created the I-Connect Computer Technology | 11 |
| Board. The Board shall be comprised of 11 members as follows: | 12 |
| the Lieutenant Governor as Chair; 5 members appointed by the | 13 |
| Governor; one member appointed by the President of the Senate, | 14 |
| one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate, one | 15 |
| member appointed by the Speaker of the House of | 16 |
| Representatives, and one member appointed by the Minority | 17 |
| Leader of the House of Representatives; and the State | 18 |
| Superintendent of Education or his or her designee. | 19 |
| (b) Each of the Governor's appointees must have a | 20 |
| background in at least one of the following areas:
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| (1) computer technical support;
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| (2) education administration at the grade K through 12 | 23 |
| level; | 24 |
| (3) teaching 6th through 12th grade students; | 25 |
| (4) community outreach; | 26 |
| (5) the Illinois Century Network or other means of | 27 |
| accessing the internet in schools; or | 28 |
| (6) working with a Regional Office of Education. | 29 |
| (c) All members shall serve 4-year terms, except that | 30 |
| members appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve for the | 31 |
| remainder of the vacated term. Vacancies shall be filled in the | 32 |
| same manner as the initial appointment. | 33 |
| (d) Board members shall receive no compensation other than | 34 |
| reimbursement for necessary travel expenses, which shall be | 35 |
| reimbursed by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor.
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| Section 22. Program participants. | 2 |
| (a) Subject to appropriation, participation for each | 3 |
| school year shall be limited to (i) no more than 2 public | 4 |
| schools in each Regional Office of Education region, (ii) no | 5 |
| more than 30 public schools in non-Chicago Cook County, and | 6 |
| (iii) no more than 30 public schools in Chicago. Nothing in | 7 |
| this Section shall be construed to limit the number of schools | 8 |
| that may apply for the Program. | 9 |
| (b) Priority shall be given to those schools where at least | 10 |
| 40% of the students are low income students, as defined in | 11 |
| Section 10 of this Act. | 12 |
| (c) All participating schools must comply with requests | 13 |
| from ISBE and the Board for information relating to the annual | 14 |
| report requirement of Section 25 of this Act. | 15 |
| (d) All participating schools shall designate at least one | 16 |
| teacher or administrator who shall have the primary | 17 |
| responsibility for ensuring that computers are being used and | 18 |
| maintained.
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| Section 23. Application. | 20 |
| (a) After a majority of members of the Board are appointed, | 21 |
| an application shall be developed by the Board and mailed to | 22 |
| the principal of every public school in Illinois that educates | 23 |
| 7th grade students. | 24 |
| (b) The application shall, at a minimum, contain all of the | 25 |
| following: | 26 |
| (1) A deadline for returning the application for | 27 |
| entrance into the Program. | 28 |
| (2) An inquiry into the adequacy of the school's | 29 |
| infrastructure to manage the computers. | 30 |
| (3) A requirement to provide the name of the school | 31 |
| coordinator required under Section 22 of this Act.
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| (4) A requirement to provide the number of 7th graders | 33 |
| anticipated for the attendance center for the school year | 34 |
| in which the portable computers would be delivered. |
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| Section 25. Annual Report. By no later than October 1st of | 2 |
| each year, the Board, in conjunction with ISBE, shall submit an | 3 |
| annual report to the Governor and the members of the General | 4 |
| Assembly on the progress of the I-Connect Computer Technology | 5 |
| Program. The report must include, at a minimum, all of the | 6 |
| following: | 7 |
| (1) The number of students receiving portable | 8 |
| computers. | 9 |
| (2) An accounting of all State, local, and federal | 10 |
| funds used to implement the Program. | 11 |
| (3) A projection for the cost of implementing the | 12 |
| Program in the next school year. | 13 |
| (4) If available, the identification of software | 14 |
| included on computers provided under the Program. | 15 |
| (5) The academic progress of the students using the | 16 |
| computers. | 17 |
| (6) If available, a comparison of academic progress | 18 |
| between those students using the computers in a specific | 19 |
| curriculum and those who are not. | 20 |
| (7) If available, the quality and quantity of increased | 21 |
| student proficiency with technology. | 22 |
| (8) If available, teacher involvement and performance. | 23 |
| (9) Of those students taking the computer home, the | 24 |
| number of households in which persons other than the | 25 |
| student use the computer. | 26 |
| (10) Recommendations for Program improvement.
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| Section 30. I-Connect Computer Technology Fund. | 28 |
| (a) The I-Connect Computer Technology Fund is created as a | 29 |
| special fund in the State treasury. All funds deposited into | 30 |
| the I-Connect Computer Technology Fund shall be used, subject | 31 |
| to appropriation, for the purposes of this Act. | 32 |
| (b) Any funds appropriated by the General Assembly for the | 33 |
| purposes of the I-Connect Computer Technology Program, as well | 34 |
| as any gift, grant, or donation of any kind given for the |
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| I-Connect Computer Technology Program from any source, | 2 |
| including from a foundation, private entity, governmental | 3 |
| entity, or institution of higher education, may be used to | 4 |
| implement the I-Connect Computer Technology Program. | 5 |
| Section 35. Local authority. It is the sole duty of school | 6 |
| districts, school administrators, and school teachers to make | 7 |
| decisions relating to the use of portable computers provided | 8 |
| under this Act, including determining: (i) standards for | 9 |
| allowing students to take computers off school property; (ii) | 10 |
| the courses or curriculums best suited for the computers; and | 11 |
| (iii) the use of particular software or learning technologies. | 12 |
| Section 40. Rules. ISBE shall adopt rules to implement and | 13 |
| administer this Act. | 14 |
| Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding | 15 |
| Section
5.663 as follows:
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| (30 ILCS 105/5.663 new)
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| Sec. 5.663. The I-Connect Computer Technology Fund.
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| Section 98. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding | 19 |
| Section 8.30 as follows: | 20 |
| (30 ILCS 805/8.30 new) | 21 |
| Sec. 8.30. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 | 22 |
| of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the | 23 |
| implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory Act of | 24 |
| the 94th General Assembly.
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 26 |
| becoming law.
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