PRINTER'S NO. 3364
No. 2386 Session of 2004
INTRODUCED BY VEON, DeWEESE, THOMAS, BEBKO-JONES, BELARDI,
BROWNE, DALEY, FAIRCHILD, GEIST, GEORGE, GOODMAN, GRUCELA,
JAMES, MARKOSEK, READSHAW, SATHER, SCRIMENTI, SURRA, TIGUE,
WASHINGTON, YOUNGBLOOD, HARHAI, LaGROTTA, PALLONE, SANTONI,
SAYLOR, STURLA, TANGRETTI, WALKO, WOJNAROSKI, YUDICHAK,
FRANKEL, CORRIGAN, MANDERINO, SHANER AND BELFANTI,
MARCH 8, 2004
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, MARCH 8, 2004
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
2 act relating to the public school system, including certain
3 provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
4 schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
5 laws relating thereto," providing for grants to schools for
6 network linking educational services; and making an
7 appropriation.
8 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
9 hereby enacts as follows:
10 Section 1. The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known
11 as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding a
12 section to read:
13 Section 2527. Pennsylvania Education Network.--(a) The
14 General Assembly finds as follows:
15 (1) It is imperative for the future of Pennsylvania's
16 students that the quality and equity of learning opportunities
17 be enhanced by an advanced telecommunications network linking
18 educational services and resources in this Commonwealth.
1 (2) In 1996, Project Link to Learn was enacted, in part, to
2 create a widely accessible Statewide telecommunications
3 infrastructure for the benefit of Pennsylvania schools.
4 (3) Sufficient financial resources have not been available
5 to meet the network connectivity and network use needs of the
6 Pennsylvania Education Network established by Project Link to
7 Learn.
8 (4) The network and associated funding stream created by
9 this section will significantly enhance the telecommunications
10 abilities of intermediate units, school districts and schools
11 within this Commonwealth to help Pennsylvanians learn.
12 (b) The department of shall establish and administer, under
13 regulations promulgated by the department, a Pennsylvania
14 Education Technology Fund. This fund shall be administered in a
15 separate, tax-exempt account in the Treasury Department and
16 shall be initially funded by an appropriation in this section.
17 The department may use moneys from this fund to develop the
18 network architecture and establish the department's connection
19 to and participation in the PEN.
20 (c) (1) Grants shall be allocated to intermediate units,
21 school districts and area vocational-technical schools by the
22 department from the fund. A nonpublic school may participate in
23 the grant process only through a partnership with a school
24 district or intermediate unit.
25 (2) Grants shall be used to enhance the ability of an
26 intermediate unit, school district or area vocational-technical
27 school to connect to and utilize the PEN by improving the
28 quality of educational technology and services to meet the
29 minimum standards and specifications established in subsection
30 (d), including payment of monthly recurring charges, initial
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1 installation charges and equipment costs as follows:
2 (i) Intermediate units shall receive grants for the purposes
3 specified under subsection (d)(1)(i) and (ii).
4 (ii) School districts shall receive grants for the purposes
5 specified under subsection (d)(1)(iii).
6 (3) Any moneys remaining in the fund after distribution of
7 grant moneys for the purposes specified in clause (2) shall be
8 utilized to equip public and nonpublic schools, intermediate
9 units and other entities with the appropriate resources to
10 ensure efficient use of the PEN for the purposes provided in
11 subsection (e). Each intermediate unit, vocational-technical
12 school and school district that did not receive an allocation of
13 moneys sufficient to meet the purposes specified in subsection
14 (e)(2) because all or part of the standards in subsection (d)
15 were already achieved shall receive an allocation for the
16 purposes under subsection (f) in an amount up to one hundred per
17 centum (100%) of the moneys that would have been required to
18 meet the purposes of subsection (d).
19 (4) Any moneys remaining in the fund after distribution of
20 grant moneys for the purposes under clauses (2) and (3) shall be
21 allocated through a competitive grant process for any purposes
22 under subsection (d) or (e).
23 (5) (i) Grants under clauses (2) and (3) shall be allocated
24 through a grant review process established by the Secretary of
25 Education.
26 (ii) The department may establish matching requirements for
27 grant recipients.
28 (iii) The application for a grant shall be made at such time
29 and in such form as the Secretary of Education may require.
30 (iv) An applicant may collaborate or form a partnership with
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1 one or more of the following: a political subdivision, a school
2 district, an area vocational-technical school, an intermediate
3 unit or any other entity approved by the department.
4 (d) (1) The department, in cooperation with the Department
5 of Community and Economic Development and the Governor's Office
6 of Administration, shall establish standards regarding the
7 network architecture for the PEN. Any entity receiving moneys
8 from the fund must comply with these standards. The minimum
9 dedicated or equivalent upstream and downstream connection
10 speeds shall be as follows:
11 (i) from the department to intermediate units, one hundred
12 fifty-five (155) megabits per second;
13 (ii) from intermediate units to school districts and area
14 vocational-technical schools, forty-five (45) megabits per
15 second; and
16 (iii) from school districts to individual school buildings,
17 one and five hundred forty-four thousandths (1.544) megabits per
18 second.
19 (2) Three years after the effective date of this section,
20 and annually thereafter, the department may increase the minimum
21 connection speeds provided in subsection (d)(1).
22 (3) Nothing in this section shall prevent a grant recipient
23 from establishing connection speeds in excess of the minimum
24 speeds established pursuant to this section.
25 (4) The PEN and the standards referred to in this subsection
26 must be completed for all school districts, intermediate units
27 and area vocational-technical schools no later than December 31,
28 2006.
29 (e) In addition to the payment of equipment and service
30 costs to meet the minimum standards established in subsection
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1 (d), grants under this section shall be utilized to provide and
2 enhance all of the following:
3 (1) Twenty-four (24) hour access to educational resources.
4 (2) Teacher support services, including professional
5 development.
6 (3) Curriculum support services.
7 (4) Remedial education.
8 (5) Student assessment.
9 (6) Collaboration among the PEN participants, including
10 group purchasing of educational supplies and services.
11 (7) Parental access to educational resources.
12 (8) Data storage and management.
13 (9) Emergency management and security.
14 (10) Administrative and staff support.
15 (11) Connections, including maintenance of minimum
16 connections in subsection (d) or connectivity upgrades in excess
17 of the minimum speeds established pursuant to this section.
18 (12) Other uses of technology to enhance education in a
19 manner approved by the department.
20 (f) The provisions of this section are intended to
21 complement Federal technology initiatives, including those
22 established pursuant to the Universal Service Support Mechanism
23 for Schools and Libraries established in section 254 of the
24 Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-104, 110 Stat.
25 56). The department shall administer the grant program under
26 this section to maximize the ability of grant recipients to
27 access all sources of Federal funding. However, nothing in this
28 section shall prohibit the department from authorizing grants
29 for purposes specified in subsection (d) or (e) which are not
30 eligible for Federal funding.
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1 (g) The sum of fifty million dollars ($50,000,000), or as
2 much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the
3 Department of Education for the fiscal year July 1, 2004, to
4 June 30, 2005, in order to provide grants under this section.
5 (h) As used in this section, the following words and phrases
6 shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection:
7 "Department." The Department of Education of the
8 Commonwealth.
9 "Fund." The Pennsylvania Education Technology Fund
10 established in subsection (b).
11 "Intermediate unit." An intermediate unit established
12 pursuant to Article IX-A.
13 "Pennsylvania Education Network" or "PEN." The Statewide
14 telecommunications network established by Article XV-A.
15 Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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