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PRINTER'S NO. 2268
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
431
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY PHILLIPS-HILL, SNYDER, BIZZARRO, R. BROWN, DAVIS,
DRISCOLL, A. HARRIS, IRVIN, RAPP, RYAN, THOMAS, NEILSON,
WATSON, PICKETT, WARD AND GROVE, AUGUST 15, 2017
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, AUGUST 15, 2017
A RESOLUTION
Urging the Auditor General to conduct an audit of the Department
of Education's administration of the Educational Technology
Fund and to report the findings of the audit to the House of
Representatives.
WHEREAS, Under 66 Pa.C.S. § 3014(j), the Department of
Education was directed to establish the Education Technology
Program to provide grants to school entities for specified
purposes through the Education Technology Fund (E-Fund), which
was established under 66 Pa.C.S. § 3015(d); and
WHEREAS, Beginning in 2005 and continuing through 2010, the
Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission was directed to annually
assess each nonrural telecommunications carrier that filed an
amended network modernization plan an amount based on retail
access lines served, with the amount of the assessment to be
deposited in the E-Fund; and
WHEREAS, Between 2005 and 2011, the E-Fund provided $60
million in private sector support through competitively awarded
grants to eligible local educational agencies in this
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Commonwealth to:
(1) purchase or lease telecommunications services,
infrastructure or facilities to establish and support
broadband networks between, among and within school entities;
(2) purchase or lease telecommunications network
equipment and end-user equipment to enable the effective use
of broadband networks between, among and within school
entities;
(3) establish distance learning initiatives that use the
broadband networks; and
(4) procure related technical support services;
and
WHEREAS, E-Fund prioritization was given to school entities
seeking funds:
(1) for discounted broadband services or infrastructure,
facilities or equipment from local exchange
telecommunications companies that contributed to the E-Fund;
(2) to establish regional networks that serve multiple
school districts and school entities; or
(3) to deploy high-speed broadband in school entities
lacking broadband services or that had broadband service with
bandwidths less than 1.544 megabits per second;
and
WHEREAS, The legislative intent underlying the creation of
the E-Fund was to:
(1) increase the capacity of schools in this
Commonwealth to use network technologies to help students
learn;
(2) close the equity gap by narrowing the digital divide
and encourage a culture of collaboration; and
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(3) drive down costs and incentivize the deployment of
affordable, high-speed broadband services to underserved
areas for both schools and consumers in this Commonwealth;
and
WHEREAS, E-Fund recipients were required to provide 100%
matching funds to ensure that they had adequate resources to
sustain their projects beyond initial implementation; and
WHEREAS, Matching funds were primarily secured through the
Federal Schools and Libraries Program, also known as the E-rate
program, which was administered by the Universal Service
Administrative Company under the direction of the Federal
Communications Commission to effect a digital transformation in
schools by providing discounts on services and products that
enable classrooms and libraries to receive communications
services; and
WHEREAS, Since the E-Fund's inception, there have been no
annual reports or audits of the E-Fund to determine whether the
funding was disbursed under the statutory requirements contained
in 66 Pa.C.S. Ch. 30 or to ensure that the $60 million program,
which required at least $60 million in matching funds, met its
goals of providing schools and communities in this Commonwealth
with high-speed Internet connectivity that enhances educational
opportunities for students in urban, suburban and rural school
districts; and
WHEREAS, Reliable high-speed Internet is imperative to school
districts in this Commonwealth and is a critical resource to
ensure that all students are able to compete in the 21st-century
global workforce; and
WHEREAS, Schools in this Commonwealth continue to struggle to
obtain and maintain high-speed broadband as defined by the
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Federal Government; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania's pursuit of public policies that
further close the digital divide is contingent on having an
inventory and an audit of the $60 million E-Fund expended from
2005 through 2011 to further advance the deployment of high-
speed broadband throughout this Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, The Department of the Auditor General is responsible
for conducting audits to ensure that State money is spent
legally and properly to serve the residents of this Commonwealth
by improving government accountability and transparency and the
effective use of taxpayer dollars; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urge the Auditor
General to conduct an audit of the Department of Education's
administration of the E-Fund; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Auditor General issue a report regarding
the audit, which shall include the following information for the
lifetime of the Education Technology Program and the E-Fund:
(1) a listing of each school entity that received grant
money, the amount of grant money received and an
identification of whether the grant money was used to
establish, maintain or expand a program authorized under 66
Pa.C.S. § 3014(j)(2);
(2) for each school entity that received grant money:
(i) an identification of whether the school entity
was given priority in grant funding as authorized under
66 Pa.C.S. § 3014(j)(4);
(ii) the program or programs authorized under 66
Pa.C.S. § 3014(j)(2) on which the grant money was
expended; and
(iii) the number of students impacted by the program
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or programs authorized under 66 Pa.C.S. § 3014(j)(2) on
which the grant money was expended;
(3) the criteria used to determine:
(i) the eligibility of a school entity to receive
grant money; and
(ii) the amount of grant money that a school entity
received;
(4) the criteria used to ensure that the school entities
that received grant money were geographically dispersed
throughout this Commonwealth as required under 66 Pa.C.S. §
3014(j)(4);
(5) the amount of matching funds provided by each school
entity that received grant money and a description of the
source of the matching funds;
(6) the process that a school entity used to apply for
grant money;
(7) for programs funded with grant money, an
identification of any waiver or reduction by a school entity
of financial bond requirements imposed on a bidder in the
school entity's requests for proposal and the reasons for the
waiver or reduction;
(8) the names of each school entity belonging to a
consortium which was the applicant for the E-Fund grants;
(9) the breakdown by school of E-Fund grants to a
consortium;
(10) the names of each school entity that withdrew from
membership in a consortium before or after the E-Fund grant
award announcement;
(11) when a school entity withdrew from membership in a
consortium after an E-Fund grant was awarded, along with the
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amount of E-Fund grants paid to the school entity that
withdrew from the consortium or the amount returned to the E-
Fund by the consortium as a result of the school entity's
withdrawal;
(12) the criteria used to analyze award recipient's
financial fitness or stability and under what conditions an
exemption from review of specific criteria was granted to
specific award recipients; and
(13) the names of award recipients who defaulted on
their award contracts and the amount penalized for each
infraction;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Auditor General report its findings to
the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Consumer
Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives and the
Secretary of Education no later than December 31, 2018.
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