(a) The Department of Education shall administer, within available appropriations, a program to assist local and regional school districts to improve the use of information technology in their schools. Under the program, the department shall provide grants to local and regional boards of education and may provide other forms of assistance such as the provision of purchasing under state-wide contracts with the Department of Information Technology. Grant funds may be used for: (1) Wiring and wireless connectivity, (2) the purchase or leasing of computers, and (3) interactive software and the purchase and installation of software filters.
(b) Local and regional boards of education shall apply to the department for grants at such time and in such manner as the Commissioner of Education prescribes. In order to be eligible for a grant, a local or regional board of education shall: (1) Have a technology plan that was developed or updated during the three-year period preceding the date of application for grant funds and, once the Commission for Educational Technology develops the long-range plan required pursuant to subdivision (5) of subsection (c) of section 4d-80, the local technology plan shall be consistent with such long-range plan, (2) provide that each school and superintendent's office be able to communicate with the Department of Education using the Internet, (3) present evidence that it has applied or will apply for a grant from the federal Universal Service Fund, and (4) submit a plan for the expenditure of grant funds in accordance with subsection (c) of this section.
(c) The plan for the expenditure of grant funds shall: (1) Establish clear goals and a strategy for using telecommunications and information technology to improve education, (2) include a professional development strategy to ensure that teachers know how to use the new technologies to improve education, (3) include an assessment of the telecommunication services, hardware, software and other services that will be needed to improve education, (4) provide for a sufficient budget to acquire and maintain the hardware, software, professional development and other services that will be needed to implement the strategy for improved education, (5) include an evaluation process that enables the school to monitor progress towards the specified goals and make adjustments in response to new developments and opportunities as they arise. The plan developed pursuant to this subsection shall be submitted to the department with the grant application.
(d) (1) Each school district shall be eligible to receive a minimum grant under the program as follows: (A) Each school district in towns ranked from one to one hundred thirteen, inclusive, when all towns are ranked in ascending order from one to one hundred sixty-nine based on town wealth, as defined in subdivision (26) of section 10-262f, shall be eligible to receive a minimum grant in the amount of thirty thousand dollars, and (B) each school district in towns ranked from one hundred fourteen to one hundred sixty-nine, inclusive, when all towns are ranked in ascending order from one to one hundred sixty-nine based on town wealth, as defined in subdivision (26) of section 10-262f, shall be eligible to receive a minimum grant under the program in the amount of fifteen thousand dollars. Such minimum grant may be increased for certain school districts pursuant to subdivision (4) of this subsection. (2) The department shall use (A) one hundred thousand dollars of the amount appropriated for purposes of this section for the Technical Education and Career System for wiring and other technology initiatives at such schools, and (B) fifty thousand dollars of the amount appropriated for purposes of this section for technology grants to state charter schools. The amount of the grant each state charter school receives shall be based on the number of students enrolled in the school. (3) The department may retain up to one per cent of the amount appropriated for purposes of this section for coordination, program evaluation and administration. (4) Any remaining appropriated funds shall be used to increase the grants to (A) priority school districts pursuant to section 10-266p, (B) transitional school districts pursuant to section 10-263c, and (C) school districts in towns ranked from one to eighty-five, inclusive, when all towns are ranked in ascending order from one to one hundred sixty-nine based on town wealth, as defined in section 10-262f. Each such school district shall receive an amount based on the ratio of the number of resident students, as defined in said section 10-262f, in such school district to the total number of resident students in all such school districts.
(e) Each school district that participates in an interdistrict magnet school or in an endowed academy shall provide funds from the grant it receives pursuant to this section to such interdistrict magnet school or endowed academy in an amount equal to the per student amount of such grant multiplied by the number of students from such district enrolled in the interdistrict magnet school or endowed academy.
(f) Any unexpended funds appropriated for purposes of this section shall not lapse at the end of the fiscal year but shall be available for expenditure during the next fiscal year.
(g) No funds received pursuant to this section shall be used to supplant federal, state or local funding to the local or regional board of education for technology.
(h) Expenditure reports shall be filed with the Department of Education as requested by the commissioner. School districts shall refund (1) any unexpended amounts at the close of the program for which the grant was awarded, and (2) any amounts not expended in accordance with the approved grant application.
(P.A. 00-187, S. 41, 75; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 00-1, S. 18, 46; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-1, S. 44, 54; P.A. 03-174, S. 10; P.A. 04-57, S. 1; P.A. 12-116, S. 87; P.A. 17-237, S. 78.)
History: P.A. 00-187 effective July 1, 2000; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 00-1 amended Subsec. (d)(4)(C) to make a technical change and replace towns ranked in “descending” order with towns ranked in “ascending” order, effective July 1, 2000; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-1 amended Subsec. (d)(1) to remove provision for minimum grant of $10,000 and to substitute formula in Subparas. (A) and (B) for determining amount of the minimum grant, effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 03-174 amended Subsec. (b)(1) by substituting a three-year period preceding the date of application for a two-year period, effective July 1, 2003; P.A. 04-57 amended Subsec. (a)(1) by adding reference to wireless connectivity, effective July 1, 2004; pursuant to P.A. 12-116, “vocational-technical schools” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “technical high schools” in Subsec. (d)(2), effective July 1, 2012; P.A. 17-237 amended Subsec. (d)(2)(A) by replacing “technical high schools” with “Technical Education and Career System”, effective July 1, 2017.
Structure Connecticut General Statutes
Title 10 - Education and Culture
Chapter 172 - Support of Public Schools. Transportation
Section 10-250. - Report showing number of children.
Section 10-251. - Penalty for refusing to give age of child.
Section 10-252. - Children in state receiving homes. Employment of teachers.
Section 10-255. - Waiver of forfeiture.
Section 10-256. - Misapplication of school money.
Section 10-257. - Income of town deposit fund.
Section 10-257h. - Data to be transmitted.
Section 10-257i. - Educational roundtable committee.
Section 10-258. - Trust funds.
Section 10-259. - Fiscal and school year defined.
Section 10-260. - State aid to towns.
Section 10-260a. - Auditing of state grants for public education. Review of procedures manual.
Section 10-261. - Definitions.
Section 10-261a. - Equalized net grand lists for purposes of educational equalization grants.
Section 10-261b. - Data re transfers of real property for preparation of equalized net grand lists.
Section 10-262f. - Definitions.
Section 10-262h. - Equalization aid grants.
Section 10-262j. - Minimum budget requirement.
Section 10-262k. - Grants for compensatory education programs.
Section 10-262l. - Grants for improvement in student achievement.
Section 10-262m. - Grants for high level of foster care placements in a school district.
Section 10-262n. - Grants to improve the use of technology in schools.
Section 10-262o. - Grant program for teacher technology training programs.
Section 10-262q. - Centralized web-based site for educators.
Section 10-262r. - Computer-assisted writing, instruction and testing. Pilot program.
Section 10-262t. - Grants to support plans that implement cost-saving strategies.
Section 10-262u. - Alliance districts.
Section 10-263. - Withholding of payments; adjustments for underpayments and overpayments of grants.
Section 10-263c. - Transitional school district grant program.
Section 10-263e. - Safe learning grant program.
Section 10-264. - Temporary additional payment.
Section 10-264e. - Grant applications.
Section 10-264f. - Grants for single districts or one or more schools within a district.
Section 10-264g. - Grants for two or more districts.
Section 10-264h. - Grants for capital expenditures for interdistrict magnet school facilities.
Section 10-264i. - Transportation grants for interdistrict magnet school programs.
Section 10-264p. - Sliding tuition scale for preschool programs offered at certain magnet schools.
Section 10-264r. - Reduced-isolation setting standards.
Section 10-265a. - Definitions.
Section 10-265aa. - The Partnership for Connecticut, Inc. Purposes, powers and reports.
Section 10-265b. - State grants for vocational education equipment.
Section 10-265bb. - Duties of the corporation.
Section 10-265c. - Distribution of funds. Grant application; limitations.
Section 10-265cc. - Board of directors.
Section 10-265d. - Bond authorization.
Section 10-265dd. - Funding to further the purposes of the collaboration.
Section 10-265e. - Definitions.
Section 10-265ee. - Financial assistance provided by the corporation. State assistance.
Section 10-265f. - Early reading success grant program.
Section 10-265ff. - Philanthropic Match account.
Section 10-265i. - Grants for priority school districts for the purchase of library books.
Section 10-265j. - Model early childhood learning programs.
Section 10-265n. - Even start family literacy program.
Section 10-265o. - Municipal aid for new educators grant program.
Section 10-265p. - Wraparound services grant program.
Section 10-265q. - Educational reform district science grant program.
Section 10-265r. - Heating, ventilation and air conditioning system grant program.
Section 10-265s. - Heating, ventilation and air conditioning system pipeline training pilot program.
Section 10-265t. - Bond issue for school air quality improvement grants.
Section 10-266aa. - State-wide interdistrict public school attendance program.
Section 10-266cc. - Lighthouse schools.
Section 10-266dd. - Sheff Lighthouse Schools.
Section 10-266ee. - Dr. Joseph S. Renzulli Gifted and Talented Academy. Grant.
Section 10-266j. - Intercommunity programs for disadvantaged children.
Section 10-266m. - Transportation grants.
Section 10-266p. - Priority school district grant program.
Section 10-266q. - Proposals and plans for expenditure of grant.
Section 10-266r. - Evaluation of program. Financial statement of expenditures.
Section 10-266s. - Interdistrict leadership grant program.
Section 10-266w. - School breakfast grant program.
Section 10-266x. - Development of innovative programs for educational improvement.
Section 10-266y. - Competitive grant program for certain high school projects.
Section 10-273a. - Reimbursement for transportation to and from elementary and secondary schools.
Section 10-276b. - Diverse learning environment for state-funded interdistrict programs.
Section 10-280a. - Transportation for pupils in nonprofit private schools outside school district.
Section 10-280c. - Nonpublic school transportation services pilot program.
Section 10-281. - Transportation for pupils in nonprofit private schools within school district.