Tennessee adopted such a policy, explains Jacqueline Shrago, one of the state's two directors of technology, because some of its poorest schools have used federal Title I funding on technology. Of the states that don't target technology funds to promote equity, many distribute the money on an equal per-pupil basis. Only 12 states have special funding or formal programs to help schools upgrade their physical infrastructure to support technology. Most leave that responsibility to districts. Unfortunately, says Paul Abramson, an educational consultant and the editorial director of School Planning and Management magazine, districts rarely think about upgrading school buildings for technology at the same time they open up a school's walls for other kinds of renovations.
States are all over the map when it comes to technology standards for students.
Thirty-eight states have standards or graduation requirements pertaining to technology. Eleven of those have a set of standards pertaining exclusively to technology, while an additional five have a set that combines technology with some other subject. Many states include technology as a strand within the standards for some other subject, most often science. Some states focus on the technology skills students should acquire, while others emphasize the history of technology or its role in society. North Carolina is the furthest along of any state in requiring students to demonstrate that they have technology skills.