Section 51871.

(a) The California Technology Assistance Project shall be administered by the State Department of Education to provide a regionalized network of technical assistance to schools and school districts on the implementation of education technology as set forth in policies of the State Board of Education. The California Technology Assistance Project shall be composed of regional consortia that will work collaboratively with school districts and county offices of education to meet locally defined educational needs that can be effectively addressed with the use of technology, including, but not necessarily limited to, all of the following areas:

(1) Professional development.

(2) Electronic learning resources.

(3) Hardware.

(4) Telecommunications infrastructure.

(5) Technical assistance to school districts in developing a support system to operate and maintain an education technology infrastructure, including improving pupil recordkeeping and tracking related to pupil instruction.

(6) Coordination with and support for the funding and implementation of federal, state, and local programs.

(7) Funding.

(8) Technical assistance and information to support access, planning, and the use of high-speed telecommunications networks.

(9) Technology planning and implementation assistance to rural and technologically underserved school districts and county offices of education.

(b) The State Board of Education shall authorize grants to fund a school district or county office of education in each region of the California Technology Assistance Project to act as the lead agency to administer the services of that region. The term of a grant awarded pursuant to this section may not exceed three years. Grant funding may be awarded and received for subsequent terms of three years as provided in this section. The lead agency shall be chosen based on the extent to which it provides a plan that clearly documents or describes all of the following:

(1) Knowledge of technology to improve teaching and learning.

(2) Technology planning and technical assistance.

(3) Proven success in providing professional development in technology and curriculum integration.

(4) An ability to work collaboratively with school districts, county offices of education, and businesses in the region.

(5) The ability to deliver services specified in this article to all school districts and county offices of education in its region.

(6) The support of school districts and county offices of education for the regional lead agency application in the region.

(7) The capacity to assist schools to utilize high-speed telecommunications networks.

(8) Specific strategies for documenting and addressing the needs of rural schools and technologically underserved school districts and county offices of education.

(9) A plan for evaluating the implementation of, access to, use of, and local impact of, the services provided by the region.

(c) Funding to support the regional education technology services provided by the California Technology Assistance Project shall be provided through the annual Budget Act. To receive funding for the second and subsequent years of a grant awarded pursuant to subdivision (b), the lead agency shall submit an annual report to the State Board of Education for approval that describes the services provided, the persons served, and the funds expended for those services in the prior year. School districts and county offices of education within the California Technology Assistance Project region shall have an opportunity to comment on the report.

(Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 482, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2005. Repealed as of January 1, 2014, pursuant to Section 51874.)