subpart 1—national programs for technology in education

Subpart Referred to in Other Sections

This subpart is referred to in section 6814 of this title.

§6831. National long-range technology plan

(a) In general

The Secretary shall develop and publish not later than 12 months after October 20, 1994, and update when the Secretary determines appropriate, a national long-range plan that supports the overall national technology policy and carries out the purposes of this part.

(b) Plan requirements

The Secretary shall—

(1) develop the national long-range plan in consultation with other Federal departments or agencies, State and local education practitioners and policymakers, experts in technology and the applications of technology to education, representatives of distance learning consortia, representatives of telecommunications partnerships receiving assistance under the Star Schools Act [20 U.S.C. 6891 et seq.], and providers of technology services and products;

(2) transmit such plan to the President and to the appropriate committees of the Congress; and

(3) publish such plan in a form that is readily accessible to the public.

(c) Contents of plan

The national long-range plan shall describe the Secretary's activities to promote the purposes of this subchapter, including—

(1) how the Secretary will encourage the effective use of technology to provide all students the opportunity to achieve State content standards and State student performance standards, especially through programs administered by the Department;

(2) joint activities in support of the overall national technology policy with other Federal departments or agencies, such as the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Institute for Literacy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Departments of Commerce, Energy, Health and Human Services, and Labor—

(A) to promote the use of technology in education, training, and lifelong learning, including plans for the educational uses of a national information infrastructure; and

(B) to ensure that the policies and programs of such departments or agencies facilitate the use of technology for educational purposes, to the extent feasible;

(3) how the Secretary will work with educators, State and local educational agencies, and appropriate representatives of the private sector to facilitate the effective use of technology in education;

(4) how the Secretary will promote—

(A) higher achievement of all students through the integration of technology into the curriculum;

(B) increased access to the benefits of technology for teaching and learning for schools with a high number or percentage of children from low-income families;

(C) the use of technology to assist in the implementation of State systemic reform strategies;

(D) the application of technological advances to use in education;

(E) increased access to high quality adult and family education services through the use of technology for instruction and professional development; and

(F) increased opportunities for the professional development of teachers in the use of new technologies;

(5) how the Secretary will determine, in consultation with appropriate individuals, organizations, industries, and agencies, the feasibility and desirability of establishing guidelines to facilitate an easy exchange of data and effective use of technology in education;

(6) how the Secretary will promote the exchange of information among States, local educational agencies, schools, consortia, and other entities concerning the effective use of technology in education;

(7) how the Secretary will utilize the outcomes of the evaluation undertaken pursuant to section 6833 of this title to promote the purposes of this part; and

(8) the Secretary's long-range measurable goals and objectives relating to the purposes of this part.

(Pub. L. 89–10, title III, §3121, as added Pub. L. 103–382, title I, §101, Oct. 20, 1994, 108 Stat. 3641.)

References in Text

The Star Schools Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(1), is part B (§§3201–3210) of title III of Pub. L. 89–10, as added by Pub. L. 103–382, title I, §101, Oct. 20, 1994, 108 Stat. 3654, which is classified generally to part B (§6891 et seq.) of this subchapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 6891 of this title and Tables.

§6832. Federal leadership

(a) Program authorized

In order to provide Federal leadership in promoting the use of technology in education, the Secretary, in consultation with the National Science Foundation, the Department of Commerce, the United States National Commission on Libraries and Information Sciences, and other appropriate Federal agencies, may carry out activities designed to achieve the purposes of this part directly or by awarding grants or contracts competitively and pursuant to a peer review process to, or entering into contracts with, State educational agencies, local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, or other public and private nonprofit or for-profit agencies and organizations.

(b) Assistance

(1) In general

The Secretary shall provide assistance to the States to enable such States to plan effectively for the use of technology in all schools throughout the State in accordance with the purpose and requirements of section 5897 ¹ of this title.

(2) Other Federal agencies

For the purpose of carrying out coordinated or joint activities consistent with the purposes of this part, the Secretary may accept funds from, and transfer funds to, other Federal agencies.

(c) Uses of funds

The Secretary shall use funds made available to carry out this section for activities designed to carry out the purpose of this part, such as—

(1) providing assistance to technical assistance providers to enable such providers to improve substantially the services such providers offer to educators regarding the uses of technology for education, including professional development;

(2) providing development grants to technical assistance providers, to enable such providers to improve substantially the services such providers offer to educators on the educational uses of technology, including professional development;

(3) consulting with representatives of industry, elementary and secondary education, higher education, adult and family education, and appropriate experts in technology and educational applications of technology in carrying out activities under this subpart;

(4) research on, and the development of, guidelines to facilitate maximum interoperability, efficiency and easy exchange of data for effective use of technology in education;

(5) research on, and the development of, applications for education of the most advanced and newly emerging technologies which research shall be coordinated, when appropriate, with the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, and other Federal agencies;

(6) the development, demonstration, and evaluation of the educational aspects of high performance computing and communications technologies and of the national information infrastructure, in providing professional development for teachers, school librarians, and other educators; enriching academic curricula for elementary and secondary schools; facilitating communications among schools, local educational agencies, libraries, parents, and local communities and in other such areas as the Secretary deems appropriate;

(7) the development, demonstration, and evaluation of applications of existing technology in preschool education, elementary and secondary education, training and lifelong learning, and professional development of educational personnel;

(8) the development and evaluation of software and other products, including multimedia television programming, that incorporate advances in technology and help achieve the National Education Goals, State content standards and State student performance standards;

(9) the development, demonstration, and evaluation of model strategies for preparing teachers and other personnel to use technology effectively to improve teaching and learning;

(10) the development of model programs that demonstrate the educational effectiveness of technology in urban and rural areas and economically distressed communities;

(11) research on, and the evaluation of, the effectiveness and benefits of technology in education;

(12) a biennial assessment of, and report to the public regarding, the uses of technology in elementary and secondary education throughout the United States upon which private businesses and Federal, State, tribal, and local governments may rely for decisionmaking about the need for, and provision of, appropriate technologies in schools, which assessment and report shall use, to the extent possible, existing information and resources;

(13) conferences on, and dissemination of information regarding, the uses of technology in education;

(14) the development of model strategies to promote gender equity concerning access to, and the use of, technology in the classroom;

(15) encouraging collaboration between the Department and other Federal agencies in the development, implementation, evaluation and funding of applications of technology for education, as appropriate; and

(16) such other activities as the Secretary determines will meet the purposes of this subpart.

(d) Non-Federal share

(1) In general

Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), the Secretary may require any recipient of a grant or contract under this section to share in the cost of the activities assisted under such grant or contract, which non-Federal share shall be announced through a notice in the Federal Register and may be in the form of cash or in-kind contributions, fairly valued.

(2) Increase

The Secretary may increase the non-Federal share that is required of a recipient of a grant or contract under this section after the first year such recipient receives funds under such grant or contract.

(3) Maximum

The non-Federal share required under this section shall not exceed 50 percent of the cost of the activities assisted pursuant to a grant or contract under this section.

(Pub. L. 89–10, title III, §3122, as added Pub. L. 103–382, title I, §101, Oct. 20, 1994, 108 Stat. 3642.)

References in Text

Section 5897 of this title, referred to in subsec. (b)(1), was repealed by Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, §1000(a)(4) [title III, §310(i)], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1535, 1501A-265.

¹ See References in Text note below.

§6833. Study, evaluation and report of funding alternatives

The Secretary, through the Office of Educational Technology, shall conduct a study to evaluate, and report to the Congress on, the feasibility of several alternative models for providing sustained and adequate funding for schools throughout the United States so that such schools are able to acquire and maintain technology-enhanced curriculum, instruction, and administrative support resources and services. Such report shall be submitted to the Congress not later than one year after October 20, 1994.

(Pub. L. 89–10, title III, §3123, as added Pub. L. 103–382, title I, §101, Oct. 20, 1994, 108 Stat. 3644.)

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in section 6831 of this title.