[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1323 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1323

                     To narrow the digital divide.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 29, 2001

 Ms. Velazquez (for herself, Mr. Crowley, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Owens, Ms. 
   Brown of Florida, Mr. Baldacci, and Mr. McGovern) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
                             the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
                     To narrow the digital divide.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Education Technology Equity Act of 
2001''.

SEC. 2. EQUITABLE ACCESS OF TECHNOLOGY.

    Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 6101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
part:

                 ``PART F--EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY EQUITY

``SEC. 3601. FINDINGS.

    ``The Congress finds the following:
            ``(1) Having access and being able to effectively use new 
        technologies, such as computers and the Internet, will be 
        critical to the economic and overall success of American 
        businesses, communities, and individuals in the 21st century.
            ``(2) It is estimated that every 3 out of 5 jobs created 
        during the next 5 years will have relatively high skills 
        requirements.
            ``(3) The information technology industry indicates that it 
        will be unable to fill more than 800,000 this year.
            ``(4) The E-Rate program has connected 95 percent of all 
        public schools to the Internet.
            ``(5) A digital divide exists and has grown and for the 
        poorest Americans has grown by 29 percent since 1997.
            ``(6) White families are more than twice as likely to have 
        access to a computer and the Internet than Black and Hispanic 
        families.
            ``(7) 4 to 5 students per computer is the ratio that many 
        experts consider to represent a reasonable level for the 
        effective use of computers within schools. The national average 
        student to computer ratio is 6 to 1. In schools with the 
        highest concentrations of poverty, the average student to 
        computer ratio is 16 to 1.
            ``(8) According to a number of experts, a baseline model 
        for Internet connection that provides students and teachers 
        with the ability to fully engage in telecommunications 
        opportunities would cost between $9,350,000,000 to 
        $22,050,000,000 with an additional annual cost of 
        $1,750,000,000 to $4,600,000,000.

``SEC. 3602. PURPOSE.

    ``The purpose of this part is to enable every child in America to 
cross the digital divide by ensuring that all children, especially 
those who are disadvantaged and from low-income and minority families, 
have access to the most advanced and effective technology and 
technology education.

``SEC. 3603. RESERVATION AND ALLOTMENTS.

    ``(a) Reservation.--From the amount made available under section 
3607 to carry out this part for each fiscal year, the Secretary--
            ``(1) shall reserve 0.5 percent of such amount for grants 
        to Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of 
        Palau, the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of 
        Micronesia; and
            ``(2) shall reserve 1 percent of such amount for the 
        Secretary of the Interior to carry out programs under this part 
        for Indian children.
    ``(b) State Educational Agency Allotments.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), and 
        after making the reservations in subsection (a), the Secretary 
        shall, for each fiscal year, allocate among the States the 
        remainder according to the ratio between the amount each State 
        received under part A of title I for the preceding year and the 
        sum of such amounts received by all the States.
            ``(2) Minimum.--For any fiscal year, the Secretary shall 
        not allot to a State an amount under this subsection that is 
        less than \1/2\ of 1 percent of the total amount allotted to 
        all the States under this subsection.
            ``(3) Reallotment.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
        The Secretary may reallot any amount of any allotment to a 
        State if the Secretary determines that the State will be unable 
to use such amount within 2 years of such allotment. Such reallotments 
shall be made on the same basis as allotments are made under paragraph 
(1).
    ``(c) Within-State Distribution of Funds.--Each State educational 
agency having an approved application pursuant to section 3604 and 
receiving an allocation under subsection (b), shall allocate--
            ``(1) not less than 95 percent of such allocation to local 
        educational agencies in accordance with the provisions of 
        section 1125; and
            ``(2) not more than 5 percent for State level activities, 
        including technical assistance, and evaluation, of which not 
        more than 40 percent may be used for administration.
    ``(d) Local Distribution.--Each local educational agency that 
receives a grant under this part shall--
            ``(1) annually rank such agency's schools from highest to 
        lowest based on--
                    ``(A) the percentage of children eligible for 
                participation in the school lunch program under the 
                Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act; and
                    ``(B) the need of each school for computers as 
                determined by the agency; and
            ``(2) serve such schools in rank order.

``SEC. 3604. APPLICATIONS.

    ``(a) State Application.--Each State educational agency seeking a 
grant under this part shall submit an application in such form, and 
containing such information, as the Secretary may reasonably require. 
At a minimum, the application shall provide an assurance that the State 
will provide technical assistance to local educational agencies in 
developing a comprehensive system for the acquisition and use of 
technology and technology-enhanced curricula, instruction, and 
administrative support resources.
    ``(b) Local Educational Agency Application.--Each local educational 
agency seeking a grant under this part shall submit an application to 
the State educational agency that includes, at a minimum--
            ``(1) the student to computer ratios;
            ``(2) the Internet connectivity of schools to be served;
            ``(3) an assurance that the agency will report annually to 
        the State regarding the student to computer ratio and Internet 
        connectivity of schools to be served; and
            ``(4) a plan for a comprehensive system for the acquisition 
        and use of technology and technology-enhanced curricula, 
        instruction, and administrative support services.

``SEC. 3605. LOCAL USES OF FUNDS.

    ``(a) Required Uses.--A local educational agency that receives a 
grant under this part shall use such grant to purchase computers.
    ``(b) Permissible Use.--
            ``(1) Special rule.--A local educational agency that 
        receives a grant under this part may use such funds for 
        purposes described in paragraph (2) if all schools in the local 
        educational agency have a student to computer ratio equal to or 
        less than 6 to 1. Such ratio shall be certified by the State 
        educational agency prior to any such use of funds.
            ``(2) Additional uses.--If the condition in paragraph (1) 
        is met, a local educational agency may use funds reserved under 
        this part for--
                    ``(A) teacher training;
                    ``(B) integrating technology into curriculum;
                    ``(C) maintenance and support; and
                    ``(D) computers for home use by students and 
                teachers.

``SEC. 3606. REPORTING.

    ``(a) State Reporting.--Each State educational agency that receives 
a grant award under this part shall submit an annual report to the 
Secretary regarding the student to computer ratios and Internet 
connectivity of schools provided assistance under this part.
    ``(b) Local Reporting.--Each local educational agency that receives 
a grant award under this part shall submit an annual report to the 
State educational agency regarding the student to computer ratios and 
Internet connectivity of schools provided assistance under this part.

``SEC. 3607. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000,000 for fiscal 
year 2002 and such sums as may be necessary for the 4 succeeding fiscal 
years to carry out the purposes of this part.''.
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