WHEREAS, The California Educational Technology Blueprint for 2014–2017, recommends: Ensure that every student, teacher, and administrator have access to Internet-connected devices with instruction on how to use technology, as well as best practices; removing barriers that restrict teachers from using technology to educate students with professional development; and forming partnerships to enhance technology and Internet connectivity of every school district, regardless of a school district’s budget constraints; and

WHEREAS, In the past, the state has established, funded, and implemented regional educational technology assistance services, known as the California Technology Assistance Projects, along with a state level process for reviewing and informing educators about electronic learning resources aligned to the state content standards, known as the California Learning Resource Network, that have the potential to improve learning; and

WHEREAS, Comprehensive evaluation of state-funded statewide and regional educational technology support services authorized by the Legislature and implemented by the State Department of Education with direct support by county offices of education, from 1995 until 2015, clearly documented by external evaluation, cost-effective professional development, and technical support to school districts resulting in increased and effective application of technology and digital learning resources to support implementation of state content standards by school districts that utilized these services; and

WHEREAS, Since the elimination of the regional California Technology Assistance Projects, there is no statewide or regional system of assistance for school districts and schools to apply for and procure access to Internet and related support offered by E-Rate, Broadband Infrastructure Improvement Grants, and other state, federal, and private funding sources; and

WHEREAS, The state consolidated funding for state and regional educational services into the local control funding formula has support, but with varied levels of strategic coherence in school district planning and implementation of programs and resources; and

WHEREAS, The State Board of Education, the Legislature, the Governor, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction have developed and disseminated to all school district superintendents, policies and guidelines addressing the ways in which school districts can plan and allocate state and federal education funding, to address the effective uses of digital resources; and

WHEREAS, With the implementation of the common core, California invested over $2,000,000,000 to help school districts implement the new standards and provide teacher and school administrator access to professional development and ongoing support; and

WHEREAS, “Build capacity for local and regional decision making regarding instructional materials, including digital curriculum resources,” as recommended in the California Education Technology Blueprint, by establishing a process for determining appropriate use and alignment of digital learning resources with the state adopted academic curriculum frameworks, and computer science, media literacy, Internet safety, and digital citizenship standards and guidelines with funding to implement this process; and

WHEREAS, The state continuously updates state adopted K–12 standards and guidelines to ensure that young adults are prepared with knowledge and skills necessary to safely, responsibly, and critically consume and use social media and other forms of media; and

WHEREAS, The American Civil Liberties Union and the California County Superintendent Educational Services Association have jointly issued a memo providing the framework for how school districts can adopt digital instructional materials that fully honors the equity principle at the heart of the Williams Settlement legislation and sufficiency requirement; and

WHEREAS, Digital early literacy, used in preschools, has been shown to reduce the 30-million word gap that less-advantaged children bring to kindergarten and traditionally has remained with them throughout the K–12 years, called the achievement gap, suggesting new legislation and funding be considered to establish state-adopted digital early literacy curriculum: and

WHEREAS, There is a need to coordinate between the instructional programs delivered at the K–12 and postsecondary educational levels that could potentially be addressed through the use of articulated student information systems, online courses, and professional development; and

WHEREAS, A significant number of schools and homes, especially in low-income and rural areas, lack sufficient access to the Internet while classroom and homework assignments utilize digital instructional resources and require Internet access at home resulting in what is now known as the “homework gap”; and

WHEREAS, California provided Broadband Infrastructure Improvement Grants to connect and upgrade connections to a significant number of the last hard-to-reach schools to give students access to updated learning resources and the updated assessment system; and

WHEREAS, The Superintendent of Public Instruction has coordinated with other state entities and associations including, but not be limited to, the California Emerging Technology Fund, K–12 High Speed Network, the California Broadband Council, and other entities and education associations representing teachers and administrators, that have developed and implemented policies and initiatives related to school and home access to the high-speed Internet; and

WHEREAS, In 2012, the Superintendent of Public Instruction solicited representative input from teachers, school administrators, legislators, and education association representatives to draft the California Education Technology Blueprint for the technology access, use, and support needed to optimize educational opportunities for all students; and

WHEREAS, The California Education Technology Blueprint recommended: Legislative action is needed to provide legislatively authorized regional and statewide support programs and services designed to meet current and emerging needs of all teachers and school administrators to effectively use technology to support student learning; now, therefore, be it further