Section 51006.

The Legislature finds that the increasing integration of computers and computer technology into our economy has profound implications for our society, and equally important implications for state educational policy.

The Legislature also finds that the methods of distribution of computer resources in the public schools will have a substantial effect upon the state's ability to meet the economic, political, and social challenges of the new technological era. Without adequate and early exposure to a basic computer education and computer resources, many students may be placed at a significant disadvantage in their opportunities to secure success in academics and the job market in the future. As females compose 51 percent of the student population in the state's public elementary and secondary schools, and ethnic minorities constitute over one-third of that population, it is imperative that California adopt a policy to ensure equitable access to technological education programs.

(Added by Stats. 1984, Ch. 293, Sec. 1.)