HB5077 Enrolled LRB095 14963 NHT 40908 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 10. The School Code is amended by changing Section
5 2-3.135 as follows:
 
6     (105 ILCS 5/2-3.135)
7     (Section scheduled to be repealed on August 31, 2010)
8     Sec. 2-3.135. Technology immersion pilot project.
9     (a) The State Board of Education shall by rule establish a
10 technology immersion pilot project to provide a wireless laptop
11 computer to each student, teacher, and relevant administrator
12 in a participating school and implement the use of software,
13 on-line courses, and other appropriate learning technologies
14 that have been shown to improve academic achievement and the
15 progress measures listed in subsection (f) of this Section.
16     (b) The pilot project shall be for a period of at least 6
17 years. The State Board shall establish a procedure and develop
18 criteria for the administration of the pilot project. In
19 administering the pilot project, the State Board shall:
20         (1) select participating school districts or schools;
21         (2) define the conditions for the distribution and use
22     of laptop computers and other technologies;
23         (3) purchase and distribute laptop computers and other

 

 

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1     technologies;
2         (4) enter into contracts as necessary to implement the
3     pilot project;
4         (5) monitor local pilot project implementation; and
5         (6) conduct a final evaluation of the pilot project.
6     (c) The Technology Immersion Pilot Project Fund is created
7 as a special fund in the State treasury. All money in the
8 Technology Immersion Pilot Project Fund shall be used, subject
9 to appropriation, by the State Board for the pilot project. To
10 implement the pilot project, the State Board may use any funds
11 appropriated by the General Assembly for the purposes of the
12 pilot project as well as any gift, grant, or donation given for
13 the pilot project. The State Board may solicit and accept a
14 gift, grant, or donation of any kind from any source, including
15 from a foundation, private entity, governmental entity, or
16 institution of higher education, for the implementation of the
17 pilot project. Funds for the pilot project may not be used for
18 the construction of a building or other facility.
19     The State Board shall use pilot project funds for the
20 following:
21         (1) the purchase of wireless laptop computers so that
22     each student, teacher, and relevant administrator in a
23     participating classroom has a wireless laptop computer for
24     use at school and at home;
25         (2) the purchase of other equipment, including
26     additional computer hardware and software;

 

 

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1         (3) the hiring of technical support staff for school
2     districts or schools participating in the pilot project;
3     and
4         (4) the purchase of technology-based learning
5     materials and resources.
6     The State Board may not allocate more than $10 million for
7 the pilot project. The pilot project may be implemented only if
8 sufficient funds are available under this Section for that
9 purpose.
10     (d) A school district may apply to the State Board for the
11 establishment of a technology immersion pilot project for the
12 entire district or for a particular school or group of schools
13 in the district.
14     The State Board shall select 7 school districts to
15 participate in the pilot project. One school district shall be
16 located in the City of Chicago, 3 school districts shall be
17 located in the area that makes up the counties of DuPage, Kane,
18 Lake, McHenry, Will, and that portion of Cook County that is
19 located outside of the City of Chicago, and 3 school districts
20 shall be located in the remainder of the State.
21     The State Board shall select the participating districts
22 and schools for the pilot project based on each district's or
23 school's need for the pilot project. In selecting participants,
24 the State Board shall consider the following criteria:
25         (1) whether the district or school has limited access
26     to educational resources that could be improved through the

 

 

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1     use of wireless laptop computers and other technologies;
2         (2) whether the district or school has the following
3     problems and whether those problems can be mitigated
4     through the use of wireless laptop computers and other
5     technologies:
6             (A) documented teacher shortages in critical
7         areas;
8             (B) limited access to advanced placement courses;
9             (C) low rates of satisfactory performance on
10         assessment instruments under Section 2-3.64 of this
11         Code; and
12             (D) high dropout rates;
13         (3) the district's or school's readiness to
14     incorporate technology into its classrooms;
15         (4) the possibility of obtaining a trained technology
16     support staff and high-speed Internet services for the
17     district or school; and
18         (5) the methods the district or school will use to
19     measure the progress of the pilot project in the district
20     or school in accordance with subsection (f) of this
21     Section.
22     The State Board shall if possible select at least 9 schools
23 to participate in the pilot project, with at least 3 from the
24 school district located in the City of Chicago and one from
25 each of the other school districts selected.
26     (e) Each participating school district or school shall

 

 

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1 establish a technology immersion committee to assist in
2 developing and implementing the technology immersion pilot
3 project.
4     The school board of a participating district or of a
5 district in which a participating school is located shall
6 appoint individuals to the committee. The committee may be
7 composed of the following:
8         (1) educators;
9         (2) district-level administrators;
10         (3) community leaders;
11         (4) parents of students who attend a participating
12     school; and
13         (5) any other individual the school board finds
14     appropriate.
15     The committee shall develop an academic improvement plan
16 that details how the pilot project should be implemented in the
17 participating district or school. In developing the academic
18 improvement plan, the committee shall consider (i) the
19 educational problems in the district or school that could be
20 mitigated through the implementation of the pilot project and
21 (ii) the technological and nontechnological resources that are
22 necessary to ensure the successful implementation of the pilot
23 project.
24     The committee shall recommend to the school board how the
25 pilot project funds should be used to implement the academic
26 improvement plan. The committee may recommend annually any

 

 

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1 necessary changes in the academic improvement plan to the
2 school board. The State Board must approve the academic
3 improvement plan or any changes in the academic improvement
4 plan before disbursing pilot project funds to the school board.
5     (f) The school board of each school district participating
6 in the pilot project shall send an annual progress report to
7 the State Board no later than August 1 of each year that the
8 district is participating in the pilot project. The report must
9 state in detail the type of plan being used in the district or
10 school and the effect of the pilot project on the district or
11 school, including the following:
12         (1) the academic progress of students who are
13     participating in the pilot project, as measured by
14     performance on assessment instruments;
15         (2) if applicable, a comparison of student progress in
16     a school or classroom that is participating in the pilot
17     project as compared with student progress in the schools or
18     classrooms in the district that are not participating in
19     the pilot project;
20         (3) any elements of the pilot project that contribute
21     to improved student performance on assessment instruments
22     administered under Section 2-3.64 of this Code or any other
23     assessment instrument required by the State Board;
24         (4) any cost savings and improved efficiency relating
25     to school personnel and the maintenance of facilities;
26         (5) any effect on student dropout and attendance rates;

 

 

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1         (6) any effect on student enrollment in higher
2     education;
3         (7) any effect on teacher performance and retention;
4         (8) any improvement in communications among students,
5     teachers, parents, and administrators;
6         (9) any improvement in parental involvement in the
7     education of the parent's child;
8         (10) any effect on community involvement and support
9     for the district or school; and
10         (11) any increased student proficiency in technologies
11     that will help prepare the student for becoming a member of
12     the workforce.
13     (g) Each student participating in the pilot project may
14 retain the wireless laptop computer provided under the pilot
15 project as long as the student is enrolled in a school in a
16 participating school district.
17     (h) After the expiration of the 6-year pilot project, the
18 State Board shall review the pilot project based on the annual
19 reports the State Board receives from the school board of
20 participating school districts.
21     (i) This Section is repealed on August 31, 2010.
22 (Source: P.A. 95-387, eff. 8-30-07.)
 
23     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
24 becoming law.