Appendix D - Legal Requirements for School Improvement and EETT Formula Grants 

EETT Technology Plan Requirements

Appendix D in the Enhancing Education Through Technology RFA references EETT's legal requirements, which are repeated below.

The specific technology plan requirements for formula and competitive grant applications for Title II, Part D in No Child Left Behind (Sec. 2414) include:

1. A description of how the applicant will use Federal funds under this subpart to improve the student academic achievement, including technology literacy, of all students attending schools served by the local educational agency and to improve the capacity of all teachers teaching in schools served by the local educational agency to integrate technology effectively into curricula and instruction.
2. A description of the applicant's specific goals for using advanced technology to improve student academic achievement, aligned with challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards.
3. A description of the steps the applicant will take to ensure that all students and teachers in schools served by the local educational agency involved have increased access to educational technology, including how the agency would use funds under this subpart (such as combining the funds with funds from other sources), to help ensure that—
   1. 1. students in high-poverty and high-needs schools, or schools identified under section 1116, have access to technology; and
   2. teachers are prepared to integrate technology effectively into curricula and instruction.
4. A description of how the applicant will-
   1. identify and promote curricula and teaching strategies that integrate technology effectively into curricula and instruction, based on a review of relevant research, leading to improvements in student academic achievement, as measured by challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards; and
   2. provide ongoing, sustained professional development for teachers, principals, administrators, and school library media personnel serving the local educational agency, to further the effective use of technology in the classroom or library media center, including, if applicable, a list of the entities that will be partners with the local educational agency involved in providing the ongoing, sustained professional development.
5. A description of the type and costs of technologies to be acquired under this subpart, including services, software, and digital curricula, and including specific provisions for interoperability among components of such technologies.
6. A description of how the applicant will coordinate activities carried out with funds provided under this subpart with technology-related activities carried out with funds available from other Federal, State, and local sources.
7. A description of how the applicant will integrate technology (including software and other electronically delivered learning materials) into curricula and instruction, and a timeline for such integration.
8. A description of how the applicant will encourage the development and utilization of innovative strategies for the delivery of specialized or rigorous academic courses and curricula through the use of technology, including distance learning technologies, particularly for those areas that would not otherwise have access to such courses and curricula due to geographical isolation or insufficient resources.
9. A description of how the applicant will ensure the effective use of technology to promote parental involvement and increase communication with parents, including a description of how parents will be informed of the technology being applied in their child's education so that the parents are able to reinforce at home the instruction their child receives at school.
10. A description of how programs will be developed, where applicable, in collaboration with adult literacy service providers, to maximize the use of technology.
11. A description of the process and accountability measures that the applicant will use to evaluate the extent to which activities funded under this subpart are effective in integrating technology into curricula and instruction, increasing the ability of teachers to teach, and enabling students to meet challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards.
12. A description of the supporting resources (such as services, software, other electronically delivered learning materials, and print resources) that will be acquired to ensure successful and effective uses of technology.

Legal Requirements Regarding School Improvement Planning

Several laws specify the content of written plans to improve schools. The requirements are as follows:

Public Schools Accountability Act

Under this Act schools are ranked on their Academic Performance Index (API). If a school is low in the rankings, the school will have an opportunity through the Immediate Interventions/Under-performing Schools Program to participate in a funded planning process in which the school assesses the learning needs of its students and prepares an action plan to improve their academic achievement. Although the express use of educational technology is not required, Education Code Section 52054(e) does require the following: “The school action plan shall focus on improving pupil academic performance, improving the involvement of parents and guardians, improving the effective and efficient allocation of resources and management of the school, and identifying and developing solutions that take into account the underlying causes for low performance by pupils.” The thoughtful use of education technology can help in all of these areas. A local technology plan could be easily woven in to support the school action plan.  

School-Based Coordinated Categorical Program

Under this program, the school site council at any school receiving categorical funding must prepare a school plan to meet the instructional needs and accommodate the learning styles of all students, including an annual budget to expend the categorical funding provided the site. The required contents of this plan are spelled out in Education Code Section 52853. As with the Immediate Interventions/Underperforming Schools Program, this plan does not specifically require the inclusion of the use of education technology.

Nonetheless, education technology needs to be considered when the school site council plans the “curricula, instructional strategies, and materials responsive to the individual needs and learning styles of each pupil.” Additionally, a local technology plan could be easily woven in to support this school site plan because the required components of the school site plan are nearly the same as the components of the local education technology plans outlined in this guide.  

Improving America’s Schools Act

School districts receiving federal Title I funds were required in 1995 to develop five-year local improvement plans. These plans focus on five themes: Standards and Assessment, Teaching and Learning, Professional Development, Family and Community Partnerships, and Funding and Governance. Several themes specifically refer to the use of technology. Under Teaching and Learning, school districts consider how they will provide all students with the opportunity to use technology that enhances curriculum and instruction. Under Professional Development, the plan needs to enable teachers to develop further expertise in subject content, teaching strategies, uses of technologies, and other essential elements in teaching according to high standards.

Congress is considering legislation to revamp and reauthorize the Improving America’s Schools Act. Therefore the planning requirement may change. The latest federal requirements for school planning are posted on the California Department of Education Web site <www.cde.ca.gov/iasa/>.

AB 307

AB 307 amended Section 51871.5 of the Education Code to include the following:

• On or after January 1, 2005, as a precondition to receiving a technology grant administered by the department, a school district shall have a current three- to five-year education technology plan. The state board may waive this requirement if it determines that the applicant school district made a good faith effort to develop a plan, but for reasons beyond its control, the district cannot develop the plan before receipt of the technology grant.
• Beginning July 1, 2008, technology plans shall include a component to educate pupils and teachers on the appropriate and ethical use of information technology in the classroom, Internet safety, the manner in which to avoid committing plagiarism, the concept, purpose, and significance of a copyright so that pupils are equipped with the skills necessary to distinguish lawful from unlawful online downloading, and theimplications of illegal peer-to-peer network file sharing.

No Child Left Behind: Title II, Part D

The specific technology plan requirements for formula and competitive grant applications for Title II, Part D in No Child Left Behind (Sec. 2414) include:

• A description of how the applicant will use Federal funds to improve the student academic achievement, including technology literacy, of all students and to improve the capacity of all teachers to integrate technology effectively into curricula and instruction.
• A description of the steps to ensure that all students and teachers have increased access to educational technology,

• A description of how the applicant will: 1) identify and promote curricula and teaching strategies that integrate technology effectively into curricula and instruction; and 2) provide ongoing, sustained professional development for teachers, principals, administrators, and school library media personnel to further the effective use of technology in the classroom or library media center.
• A description of the type and costs of technologies to be acquired including services, software, and digital curricula, and including specific provisions for interoperability among components of such technologies.
• A description of how the applicant will encourage the development and utilization of innovative strategies for the delivery of specialized or rigorous academic courses and curricula through the use of technology, including distance learning technologies, particularly for those areas that would not otherwise have access to such courses and curricula due to geographical isolation or insufficient resources.
• A description of how the applicant will ensure the effective use of technology to promote parental involvement and increase communication with parents, including a description of how parents will be informed of the technology being applied in their child's education so that the parents are able to reinforce at home the instruction their child receives at school.
• A description of how programs will be developed, where applicable, in collaboration with adult literacy service providers, to maximize the use of technology.
• A description of the process and accountability measures that the applicant will use to evaluate the extent to which activities funded under this subpart are effective in integrating technology into curricula and instruction, increasing the ability of teachers to teach, and enabling students to meet challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards.
• A description of the supporting resources (such as services, software, other electronically delivered learning materials, and print resources) that will be acquired to ensure successful and effective uses of technology.