I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3582 

To support the development, implementation, and evaluation of innovative 

strategies and methods to increase out-of-school access to digital learning 

resources for eligible students in order to increase student and educator 

engagement. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2015 

Mr. WELCH (for himself and Mr. MCKINLEY) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To support the development, implementation, and evaluation 

of innovative strategies and methods to increase outof-school access to digital learning resources for eligible 

students in order to increase student and educator engagement. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Digital Learning Eq5 uity Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DIGITAL LEARNING EQUITY. 

2 Title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

3 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) is amended at the 

4 end by adding the following: 

5 ‘‘PART D—DIGITAL LEARNING EQUITY 

6 DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM 

7 ‘‘SEC. 4401. PURPOSE. 

8 ‘‘The purpose of this part is to support the develop9 ment, implementation, and evaluation of innovative strate10 gies and methods to improve out-of-school access to digital 

11 learning resources for eligible students in order to— 

12 ‘‘(1) increase student participation in the class13 room, including the ability to complete homework as14 signments and participate in innovative digital learn15 ing models; 

16 ‘‘(2) improve student access to postsecondary 

17 education and workforce opportunities by increasing 

18 the ability of students to apply for employment, 

19 postsecondary education, and financial aid opportu20 nities; 

21 ‘‘(3) increase the education technology and dig22 ital learning resources options available to educators 

23 to support student learning by ensuring methods 

24 and resources used during the school day remain ac25 cessible during out-of-school hours; 


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1 ‘‘(4) increase student, educator, and parent en2 gagement by facilitating greater communication and 

3 connection between school and home; and 

4 ‘‘(5) increase the identification and dissemina5 tion of strategies to support students lacking out-of6 school access to digital learning resources and the 

7 Internet, including underserved student populations 

8 and students in rural and remote geographic areas. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 4402. DEFINITIONS. 

10 ‘‘In this part: 

11 ‘‘(1) ACCESS TECHNOLOGY.—The term ‘access 

12 technology’ means any service or device that pro13 vides out-of-school Internet access as its primary 

14 function and does not include a computer device. 

15 ‘‘(2) DIGITAL LEARNING.—The term ‘digital 

16 learning’ means an educational practice that effec17 tively uses technology to strengthen a student’s 

18 learning experience within and outside of the class19 room and at home, including— 

20 ‘‘(A) interactive learning resources that en21 gage students in academic content; 

22 ‘‘(B) access to online databases and pri23 mary source documents; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the use of data, data analytics, and 

2 information to personalize learning and provide 

3 targeted supplementary instruction; 

4 ‘‘(D) student collaboration with content ex5 perts, peers, and educators; 

6 ‘‘(E) digital learning content, video, soft7 ware, or simulations; 

8 ‘‘(F) access to online courses; and 

9 ‘‘(G) other resources that may be devel10 oped, as the Secretary may determine. 

11 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en12 tity’ means any of the following entities that serve 

13 a high-need school: 

14 ‘‘(A) A local educational agency. 

15 ‘‘(B) A State educational agency. 

16 ‘‘(C) An educational service agency. 

17 ‘‘(D) A consortium of State educational 

18 agencies, local educational agencies, or edu19 cational service agencies. 

20 ‘‘(E) An Indian tribe or Indian organiza21 tion. 

22 ‘‘(F) A State educational agency, local 

23 educational agency, educational service agency, 

24 Indian tribe, or Indian organization, in partner25 ship with— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a nonprofit foundation, corpora2 tion, institution, or association; 

3 ‘‘(ii) a business; 

4 ‘‘(iii) an after-school program or sum5 mer program; 

6 ‘‘(iv) a library; 

7 ‘‘(v) a community learning center; or 

8 ‘‘(vi) other community or social serv9 ices organizations, as the Secretary may 

10 determine. 

11 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE STUDENT.—The term ‘eligible 

12 student’ means a student who lacks out-of-school ac13 cess to digital learning resources and attends a high14 need school serviced by an eligible entity. 

15 ‘‘(5) HIGH-NEED SCHOOL.—The term ‘high16 need school’ means a school served by an eligible en17 tity that— 

18 ‘‘(A) has a high concentration of students 

19 aged 5 through 17 who— 

20 ‘‘(i) are in poverty, as counted in the 

21 most recent census data approved by the 

22 Secretary; 

23 ‘‘(ii) are eligible for a free or reduced 

24 priced lunch under the Richard B. Russell 


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1 National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 

2 1751 et seq.); 

3 ‘‘(iii) are in families receiving assist4 ance under the State program funded 

5 under part A of title IV of the Social Secu6 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); or 

7 ‘‘(iv) are eligible to receive medical as8 sistance under the Medicaid program 

9 under title XIX of the Social Security Act 

10 (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.); 

11 ‘‘(B) has a high percentage of students 

12 who lack out-of-school Internet access; 

13 ‘‘(C) is in need of improvement and or is 

14 among the State’s persistently lowest achieving 

15 schools; or 

16 ‘‘(D) has significant gaps in achievement 

17 among the categories of students described in 

18 section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II). 

19 ‘‘(6) OUT-OF-SCHOOL INTERNET ACCESS.—The 

20 term ‘out-of-school Internet access’ means a service 

21 provided to an eligible student for out-of-school use 

22 by wire or radio that provides the capability to 

23 transmit data to and receive data from all or sub24 stantially all Internet endpoints, including any capa25 bilities that are incidental to and enable the operVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:25 Sep 24, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3582.IH H3582

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1 ation of the communications service, with a speed 

2 and capacity sufficient to facilitate digital learning, 

3 but excluding— 

4 ‘‘(A) dial-up Internet access service; or 

5 ‘‘(B) Internet access service that is re6 stricted by monthly data caps set lower than 1 

7 gigabyte. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 4403. DEMONSTRATION GRANT PROGRAM AUTHOR9 IZED. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

11 grants to eligible entities, subject to meeting the applica12 tion requirements in subsection (e), to develop, implement, 

13 and evaluate innovative strategies to increase out-of-school 

14 Internet access for eligible students. 

15 ‘‘(b) DEMONSTRATION PERIOD.—Each eligible enti16 ty, in accordance with the application requirements in sub17 section (e), shall propose to the Secretary the period of 

18 time over which it desires to exercise demonstration au19 thority, except that such period shall not exceed 2 years. 

20 ‘‘(c) RURAL AREAS.—From the amounts appro21 priated under section 4405 for a fiscal year, the Secretary 

22 shall reserve not less than 30 percent for grants to eligible 

23 entities that propose to carry out the activities described 

24 in subsection (e)(1) in rural areas, as described in section 

25 6211(b)(1)(A)(ii). The Secretary shall reduce the amount 


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1 described in this subsection if the Secretary does not re2 ceive a sufficient number of applications that propose to 

3 carry out the activities described in subsection (e)(1) in 

4 rural areas that meet the requirements of subsection (e). 

5 ‘‘(d) MATCHING FUNDS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that is a 

7 State educational agency or includes a State edu8 cational agency, that receives a grant under this sec9 tion shall provide matching funds, from non-Federal 

10 sources (which may be provided in cash or in-kind), 

11 in an amount equal to 10 percent of the amount of 

12 grant funds provided to the eligible entity to carry 

13 out the activities supported by the grant. 

14 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the 

15 matching requirement under paragraph (1) for an 

16 eligible entity that demonstrates that such require17 ment imposes an undue financial hardship. 

18 ‘‘(e) APPLICATION.—To receive a grant under this 

19 section, an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary an 

20 application at such time and in such manner as the Sec21 retary may reasonably require and containing the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(1) A description of how the entity will— 

24 ‘‘(A) increase student access to digital 

25 learning opportunities outside of the school day, 


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1 which may include providing access technology 

2 for eligible students; 

3 ‘‘(B) integrate the out-of-school use of the 

4 access technology into the school’s educational 

5 curriculum and objectives; 

6 ‘‘(C) provide eligible students with nec7 essary training in digital literacy to ensure ap8 propriate and effective use of the digital learn9 ing resources and access technology; 

10 ‘‘(D) ensure parents, educators, and stu11 dents are informed of appropriate use of the 

12 digital learning resources and access tech13 nology; and 

14 ‘‘(E) have in place a policy that meets the 

15 same requirements as described in paragraphs 

16 (1) and (2) of section 2441(a). 

17 ‘‘(2) A description of the eligible students who 

18 will be served, disaggregated by— 

19 ‘‘(A) the categories of students described 

20 in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II); and 

21 ‘‘(B) homeless students and children or 

22 youth in foster care. 

23 ‘‘(3) In the case of an eligible entity that wishes 

24 to award subgrants to local educational agencies or 

25 local educational agencies in partnership with the 


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1 entities described in subparagraphs (A) through (F) 

2 of section 4402(3)— 

3 ‘‘(A) a description of how the eligible enti4 ty will award such subgrants; and 

5 ‘‘(B) an assurance that the eligible entity 

6 consulted with appropriate staff of participating 

7 local educational agencies and the entities de8 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of 

9 section 4402(3), as applicable, in the develop10 ment of the eligible entity’s application under 

11 this subsection. 

12 ‘‘(4) A description of the process, activities, and 

13 performance measures that the eligible entity will 

14 use to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of the 

15 grant funds awarded under this part for eligible stu16 dents, including measures of changes in— 

17 ‘‘(A) the percentage of students who lack 

18 access to out-of-school Internet access; 

19 ‘‘(B) student participation in the class20 room, including the ability to complete home21 work and take part in innovative learning mod22 els; 

23 ‘‘(C) student engagement, through such 

24 measures as attendance rates and chronic ab25 senteeism; 


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1 ‘‘(D) student access to postsecondary edu2 cation and workforce opportunities, including 

3 the ability to apply for employment, postsec4 ondary education, and student financial aid pro5 grams; and 

6 ‘‘(E) any other valid and reliable indicators 

7 of student, educator, or parent engagement or 

8 participation, as determined by the eligible enti9 ty. 

10 ‘‘(5) A description of the way in which the eligi11 ble entity will solicit and collect meaningful feedback 

12 from participating students, educators, parents, and 

13 school administrators on the effectiveness of the 

14 demonstration program. 

15 ‘‘(6) A description of how the eligible entity will 

16 procure the access technology and out-of-school 

17 Internet access necessary to carry out the dem18 onstration program, including whether the entity will 

19 utilize bulk purchasing or other strategies that make 

20 efficient use of program funds. 

21 ‘‘(7) If the applicant is a State educational 

22 agency or includes a State educational agency, an 

23 assurance that the applicant will provide matching 

24 funds as required under subsection (d). 


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1 ‘‘(f) USE OF FUNDS.—Each eligible entity receiving 

2 a grant under this part shall use the funds awarded to 

3 develop, implement, and evaluate strategies and methods 

4 used to increase student access to digital learning re5 sources at home through such practices as— 

6 ‘‘(1) providing a targeted distribution of access 

7 technology to eligible students; 

8 ‘‘(2) educating and training students, parents, 

9 and educators about the appropriate use of access 

10 technology outside of the classroom; and 

11 ‘‘(3) evaluating the effectiveness of the strate12 gies and methods used under this part, through such 

13 means as student, educator, and parent surveys. 

14 ‘‘(g) RESTRICTION.—Funds awarded under this part 

15 shall only be used to promote out-of-school access to dig16 ital learning resources for eligible students and shall not 

17 be used to address the networking needs of an entity that 

18 is eligible to receive support under the E-rate program. 

19 ‘‘(h) RESERVATION FOR SUPPORT AND EVALUA20 TION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity that re22 ceives a grant under this section may reserve not 

23 more than 8 percent of the grant amount for each 

24 fiscal year to provide technical support to particiVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:25 Sep 24, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3582.IH H3582

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1 pating schools and for the purposes of conducting 

2 the evaluation described in section 4404. 

3 ‘‘(2) EVALUATION.—Not less than 50 percent 

4 of any amount reserved under paragraph (1) shall 

5 be used for the purposes of conducting the evalua6 tion described in section 4404. 

7 ‘‘(i) NATIONAL ACTIVITIES.—From the amounts ap8 propriated under section 4405, the Secretary may reserve 

9 not more than 1 percent for national activities to provide 

10 technical assistance and support grantees. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 4404. EVALUATION. 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with the criteria out13 lined in paragraphs (4) and (5) of section 4403(e), the 

14 Secretary shall establish an evaluation template through 

15 which an eligible entity will record and submit the out16 comes and participant feedback associated with the pro17 gram carried out under this part. 

18 ‘‘(b) SUBMISSION; DEADLINE.—Not later than 90 

19 days after the termination of an eligible entity’s dem20 onstration authority under this part, the eligible entity 

21 shall submit to the Secretary the results of the evaluation. 

22 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION.—Nothing in this section shall be 

23 construed to prohibit an eligible entity from recording and 

24 submitting additional data or indicators associated with 


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1 the success of the program executed under the demonstra2 tion authority. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 4405. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

5 this section such sums as may be necessary for each of 

6 fiscal years 2016 through 2021.’’. 

7 SEC. 3. REPORT ON STUDENT HOME ACCESS TO DIGITAL 

8 LEARNING RESOURCES. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

10 the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Commu11 nications Commission, in consultation with relevant Fed12 eral agencies, shall complete a national study on the edu13 cational trends and behaviors associated with access to 

14 digital learning resources outside of the classroom, which 

15 shall include an analysis of extant data and new surveys 

16 about students and teachers that provide— 

17 (1) a description of the various locations from 

18 which students access the Internet and digital learn19 ing resources outside of the classroom, including 

20 through an after-school or summer program, a li21 brary, and at home; 

22 (2) a description of the various devices and 

23 technology through which students access the Inter24 net and digital learning resources outside of the 


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1 classroom, including through a computer or mobile 

2 device; 

3 (3) data associated with the number of students 

4 who lack out-of-school Internet access, disaggregated 

5 by— 

6 (A) the categories of students described in 

7 section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Elementary 

8 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

9 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)); 

10 (B) homeless students and children or 

11 youth in foster care; and 

12 (C) students in geographically diverse 

13 areas, including urban, suburban, and rural 

14 areas; 

15 (4) data associated with the causes for a stu16 dent lacking home Internet access; 

17 (5) data associated with the proportion of edu18 cators who assign homework or implement innova19 tive learning models that require or are substantially 

20 augmented by a student having out-of-school Inter21 net access and the frequency of the need for such 

22 access; 

23 (6) a description of the learning behaviors asso24 ciated with students who lack home Internet access, 

25 including— 


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1 (A) student participation in the classroom, 

2 including the ability to complete homework and 

3 participate in innovative learning models; 

4 (B) student engagement, through such 

5 measures as attendance rates and chronic ab6 senteeism; and 

7 (C) a student’s ability to apply for employ8 ment, postsecondary education, and financial 

9 aid programs; 

10 (7) an analysis of the how a student’s lack of 

11 home Internet access impacts the instructional prac12 tice of educators, including— 

13 (A) the extent to which educators alter in14 structional methods, resources, homework as15 signments, and curriculum in order to accom16 modate differing levels of out-of-school Internet 

17 access; and 

18 (B) strategies employed by educators, 

19 school leaders, and administrators to address 

20 the differing levels of out-of-school Internet ac21 cess among students; and 

22 (8) a description of the ways in which State 

23 educational agencies, local educational agencies, 

24 schools, and other entities have developed effective 

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1 side of the school day, including partnerships devel2 oped. 

3 (b) PUBLIC DISSEMINATION.—The Federal Commu4 nications Commission shall widely disseminate the find5 ings of the study under this section— 

6 (1) in a timely fashion; 

7 (2) in a form that is understandable, easily ac8 cessible, and publicly available and usable, or adapt9 able for use in, the improvement of educational prac10 tice; 

11 (3) through electronic transfer and other 

12 means, such as posting, as available, to the website 

13 of the Commission; and 

14 (4) to all State educational agencies and other 

15 recipients of funds under this Act. 

Æ 


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