Section 52270.

The Education Technology Grant Program is hereby established to provide one-time grants to school districts and charter schools for purposes of acquiring computers for instructional purposes at public schools. The president of the state board or his or her designee shall administer the application process for the award of grants.

(a) The first priority for the use of the funds is to ensure that high school pupils in schools offering three or fewer advanced placement courses have access to advanced placement courses online. Grants awarded for the first priority may be expended to purchase or lease computers and related equipment and for wiring or infrastructure necessary to achieve connectivity to online advanced placement courses.

(b) The second priority for the use of the funds is to increase the number of computers available to all other public schools that offer instruction in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive. Grants awarded for the purposes of the second priority shall be awarded at the school district level and shall be based on a ratio of pupils per computer, as determined by the president of the state board or his or her designee. A school district that receives a grant shall award the funds to its schools that have the highest number of pupils per computer. Each education technology grant awarded based on the second priority shall only be used for the purchase or lease of computers including system configuration, software, and instructional material. The grant amount awarded to each school district or charter school for the second priority shall be determined by the president of the state board or his her designee.

(c) All funds awarded pursuant to this section shall be used solely to purchase or lease equipment and related materials for instructional purposes and limited to classroom, library, or technology and media centers in order to provide access to online advanced placement courses for pupils and increase the number of computers per pupil. These grant funds are to supplement, not supplant, existing local, state, and federal education technology funds, including Digital High School funds.

(d) To receive a grant pursuant to this section, school districts and charter schools shall have developed an education technology plan or shall develop a plan with the assistance of the California Technology Assistance Project specifically for the use of the funds available pursuant to this section within 90 days after submission of the application for a grant pursuant to this chapter. The plan shall address the use of these and other technology funds to ensure they are used effectively and in a manner consistent with other education technology available at the schoolsite. School districts and charter schools that choose to lease equipment shall include in their technology plan a payment schedule, and shall identify the funding source or sources for lease payments over the life of the lease, including, but not limited to, establishing a technology leasing account and amortizing the available state funding over the term of the lease, if appropriate. In addition, the term of the lease shall be no longer than four years unless authorized at local discretion, in which case the lease or purchase shall be funded at local expense. A school district or charter school with an existing certified or approved education technology plan developed pursuant to other provisions of law may utilize the existing plan for the purposes of this program but shall, if necessary, amend that plan to meet the requirements of this subdivision if the school district or charter school chooses to lease the computers.

(e) School districts and charter schools may purchase or lease computers, related equipment and materials, and other goods and services using any statewide or cooperative contracts, schedules, or other agreements, established by the Department of General Services.

(f) Funding for the purposes of this section is contingent on an appropriation made in the annual Budget Act or other legislation, or both.

(g) Funds appropriated to carry out this section in the 2000–01 fiscal year shall only be available to high schools, or charter schools, that serve any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive.

(h) The state board may adopt emergency regulations governing the method of allocating funds for the Education Technology Grant Program for the 2000–01 fiscal year.

(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 347, Sec. 29. Effective January 1, 2012.)