WHEREAS Delaware students are digital natives who live in a global, connected world and need to be educated in this space to be made college and career ready; and

WHEREAS all Delaware students deserve to have access to educational technologies to enhance learning and provide them with the technological skills and savvy they will need to be productive and globally competitive citizens; and

WHEREAS there are six school districts participating in the Brandywine, Indian River, New Castle County Votech and Colonial (“BRINC”) consortium that is modeling the use of technology in classrooms, providing professional development for teachers, and providing valuable insight for lessons learned about the expanding use of instructional technology; and

WHEREAS the educator preparation programs in Delaware are including the use of technology for instruction in their curriculum; and

WHEREAS teachers need ongoing professional development to ensure they are able to confidently and effectively integrate technology as an instructional tool in their classrooms; and

WHEREAS the State of Delaware currently pays for 10 megabytes of bandwidth to schools, which falls well below the recommended amount to support the internet needs of the student population; and

WHEREAS infrastructure should be engineered to support the internet demand of a school in order to support current and innovative technology uses; and

WHEREAS the availability of assistive technology is of particular importance to the successful education of students with special needs and is influenced by the funds available to public schools’ special education programs; and

WHERAS the State of Delaware Educational Technology Plan has not been updated since 2001;

NOW, THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the 148th General Assembly of the State of Delaware, the House of Representatives concurring therein, that a “Task Force on State Educational Technology” is established.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Task Force on State Educational Technology shall review the current condition of technology in the public education classrooms and educational settings of the State and shall prepare a plan to outline actions that support Delaware becoming the premier state for utilizing technology in pre- kindergarten to grade 12 education. The taskforce shall:

(a) Review current need of expansion of State-provided bandwidth;

(b) Determine the current use of educational technology in classrooms or education settings of the State;

(c) Determine the current use of educational technology, assistive technology and instructional materials for students with special needs and incorporate, as appropriate, the work from the Department of Education’s comprehensive review of the delivery of special education services, including assistive technology, authorized by Section 307 of the FY 2015 budget epilogue;

(d) Determine the current readiness of staff to teach using educational technology in the State’s public education classrooms and education settings and determine the need for improved ongoing professional development in the integration of technology and assistive technology in teaching and utilization of the State educational technology standards;

(e) Recommend strategies and goals for improving and equalizing access to and use of educational technology and assistive technology in all public school systems across the State, including State-run schools;

(f) Coordinate strategies for pre-kindergarten to grade 12 educational technology with national standards;

(g) Recommend a phased plan for the implementation of the State educational technology plan;

(h) Recommend a funding plan for the implementation of the State educational technology plan;

(i) Recommend a plan to track and assess progress in the implementation of goals set forth in the State Educational Technology Plan.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Task Force shall be composed of the following members, or a designee appointed by the respective member serving by virtue of position:

(a) The Secretary of the Department of Education;

(b) The Special Education Officer of the Department of Education;

(d) The Secretary of the Department of Technology and Information;

(e) The Secretary of the Office of Management and Budget;

(f) The Controller General;

(g) The Chair of the Senate Education Committee;

(h) The Chair of the House Education Committee;

(i) One member of the State Board of Education;

(j) Four members appointed by the Delaware Chiefs Association with at least 2 of the members from districts participating in the BRINC consortium;

(a) One member of the Digital Learning Cadre appointed by the Secretary of Education;

(b) One member appointed by the Governor’s Advisory Council for Exceptional Citizens;

(d) Two educators appointed by the Delaware State Education Association that have a strong background in using technology in the classroom;

(e) One educator appointed by the Charter School Network that has a strong background in using technology in the classroom;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Educational Technology Taskforce shall be administered with staff support using the resources of the Department of Education and the Department of Information and Technology. A representative of the Department of Education shall act as Chair of the Task Force. The Task Force shall convene its first meeting no later than 60 days after enactment and shall meet every other month thereafter. The Task Force shall report and present its findings by March 30, 2016 to the Chair and members of the Bond Committee, the Joint Finance Committee and the House and Senate Education Committees.

SPONSOR:	Sen. Townsend & Sen. Sokola & Rep. Jaques & Rep. Paradee
	Sen. Bonini