ASSEMBLY EDUCATION COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
ASSEMBLY, No. 1864
with committee amendments
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: JUNE 17, 1996
The Assembly Education Committee favorably reports Assembly Bill No. 1864 with committee amendments.
As amended by committee, this bill establishes an Educational Technology Teacher Training Program in the Department of Education to train teachers to effectively use educational technology. This bill implements a recommendation of the Education Technology Task Force which was formed by the Commission on Business Efficiency of the Public Schools to assist the Legislature and Executive branch in formulating a Statewide educational technology policy. The recommendation was contained in the March, 1996 task force report, Technology and New Jersey's Schools in the 21st Century.
The Educational Technology Teacher Training Program is to be developed and administered by the Commissioner of Education. Under the bill's provisions, the commissioner is to forward a request for proposals for the establishment of educational technology teacher training programs to local school districts and other appropriate applicants. A local school district or other applicant which wants to participate in the program shall submit a proposal to the commissioner which outlines the district's or applicant's plan to offer educational technology training to teachers and other school staff. The proposal must include information which outlines the manner in which the technology training program will become self-supporting at the end of a three-year grant period through a fee-for-service arrangement, private sector support, or some other mechanism as developed by the grant recipient.
The technology training program will provide grants on a competitive basis to local school districts which have successfully integrated technology within their own educational programs, or other appropriate applicants, to develop and offer educational technology training programs to the teachers and staff of other school districts. The commissioner shall select grant recipients based on the quality of the proposed educational technology teacher training program including: the leadership and experience of the grant applicant in the effective use of educational technology within the classroom; the location of the proposed training site; and the potential for the training program to operate independently of grant funds at the end of the three-year period.
The commissioner is to award grants to support at least 21 teacher training sites in the amount of $200,000 per site. There is to be a phase-in of sites over the three-year period with at least seven sites established in the first year, seven in the second, and seven in the third. In establishing the phase-in schedule, the commissioner is to ensure that there is an equitable distribution of sites in terms of geographic location with at least on site established in each county.
Each training site shall include instruction on basic technology skills, and program offerings related to word processing, data bases, and spreadsheet design. In addition, the training sites shall include educational multimedia program offerings, telecommunications program offerings, and program offerings which provide instruction on implementing teaching strategies that support the integration of technology in the classroom.
This bill also establishes the Educational Technology Teacher Training Fund. This fund will be used to provide the grants to school districts or other applicants as approved by the commissioner to develop and administer educational technology training programs for school district staff. The grants shall be provided for a three-year period after which the technology training program shall be supported on a fee-for-service basis, through private sector-school district partnership funding, or both. During the initial three-year period, the grant funding shall be supplemented on a fee-for-service basis to offset costs which may exceed the grant amount.
The commissioner is to annually evaluate the effectiveness of the teacher training programs being operated by grant recipients. Three years following the bill's effective date, the commissioner is to report to the Governor and the Legislature on the progress of the program.
The committee amended the bill to increase the number of teacher training sites to at least 21 and to increase the amount of individual grant awards to $200,000. The amendments also clarify the services which are to be offered at each training site and delete the bill's appropriation.