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1 | AN ACT concerning education.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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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.
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5 | "State Board" means the State Board of Education.
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6 | Section 15. Pilot project; Elementary Students' Low-cost | ||||||
7 | Laptop Fund.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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8 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
9 | becoming law.
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