Part D – Enhancing Education Through Technology

SEC. 2401. SHORT TITLE.

This part may be cited as the ‘Enhancing Education Through Technology Act of 2001’.

SEC. 2402. PURPOSES AND GOALS.

(a) PURPOSES- The purposes of this part are the following:

(1) To provide assistance to States and localities for the implementation and support of a comprehensive system that effectively uses technology in elementary schools and secondary schools to improve student academic achievement.

(2) To encourage the establishment or expansion of initiatives, including initiatives involving public-private partnerships, designed to increase access to technology, particularly in schools served by high-need local educational agencies.

(3) To assist States and localities in the acquisition, development, interconnection, implementation, improvement, and maintenance of an effective educational technology infrastructure in a manner that expands access to technology for students (particularly for disadvantaged students) and teachers.

(4) To promote initiatives that provide school teachers, principals, and administrators with the capacity to integrate technology effectively into curricula and instruction that are aligned with challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards, through such means as high-quality professional development programs.

(5) To enhance the ongoing professional development of teachers, principals, and administrators by providing constant access to training and updated research in teaching and learning through electronic means.

(6) To support the development and utilization of electronic networks and other innovative methods, such as distance learning, of delivering specialized or rigorous academic courses and curricula for students in areas that would not otherwise have access to such courses and curricula, particularly in geographically isolated regions.

(7) To support the rigorous evaluation of programs funded under this part, particularly regarding the impact of such programs on student academic achievement, and ensure that timely information on the results of such evaluations is widely accessible through electronic means.

(8) To support local efforts using technology to promote parent and family involvement in education and communication among students, parents, teachers, principals, and administrators.

(b) GOALS-

(1) PRIMARY GOAL- The primary goal of this part is to improve student academic achievement through the use of technology in elementary schools and secondary schools.

(2) ADDITIONAL GOALS- The additional goals of this part are the following:

(A) To assist every student in crossing the digital divide by ensuring that every student is technologically literate by the time the student finishes the eighth grade, regardless of the student’s race, ethnicity, gender, family income, geographic location, or disability.

(B) To encourage the effective integration of technology resources and systems with teacher training and curriculum development to establish research-based instructional methods that can be widely implemented as best practices by State educational agencies and local educational agencies.

SEC. 2403. DEFINITIONS.

In this part:

(1) ELIGIBLE LOCAL ENTITY- The term eligible local entity’ means —

(A) a high-need local educational agency; or

(B) an eligible local partnership.

(2) ELIGIBLE LOCAL PARTNERSHIP- The term eligible local partnership’ means a partnership that —

(A) shall include at least one high-need local educational agency and at least one —

(i) local educational agency that can demonstrate that teachers in schools served by the agency are effectively integrating technology and proven teaching practices into instruction, based on a review of relevant research, and that the integration results in improvement in —

(I) classroom instruction in the core academic subjects; and

(II) the preparation of students to meet challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards;

(ii) institution of higher education that is in full compliance with the reporting requirements of section 207(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and that has not been identified by its State as low-performing under section 208 of such Act;

(iii) for-profit business or organization that develops, designs, manufactures, or produces technology products or services, or has substantial expertise in the application of technology in instruction; or

(iv) public or private nonprofit organization with demonstrated experience in the application of educational technology to instruction; and

(B) may include other local educational agencies, educational service agencies, libraries, or other educational entities appropriate to provide local programs.

(3) HIGH-NEED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY- The term high-need local educational agency’ means a local educational agency that —

(A) is among the local educational agencies in a State with the highest numbers or percentages of children from families with incomes below the poverty line; and

(B)(i) operates one or more schools identified under section 1116; or

(ii) has a substantial need for assistance in acquiring and using technology.

SEC. 2404. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

(a) IN GENERAL- There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out subparts 1 and 2, $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2002, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.

(b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS BETWEEN STATE AND LOCAL AND NATIONAL INITIATIVES- The amount of funds made available under subsection (a) for a fiscal year shall be allocated so that —

(1) not less than 98 percent is made available to carry out subpart 1; and

(2) not more than 2 percent is made available to carry out subpart 2.

(c) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS FOR STUDY- Of the total amount of funds allocated under subsection (b)(2) for fiscal years 2002 through 2007, not more than $15,000,000 may be used to carry out section 2421(a).

(d) LIMITATION- Of the amount of funds made available to a recipient of funds under this part for a fiscal year, not more than 5 percent may be used by the recipient for administrative costs or technical assistance, of which not more than 60 percent may be used by the recipient for administrative costs.

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