I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1323
To narrow the digital divide.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 29, 2001
Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ (for herself, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. OWENS, Ms.
BROWN of Florida, Mr. BALDACCI, and Mr. MCGOVERN) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the
Workforce
A BILL
To narrow the digital divide.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Education Technology
Equity Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. EQUITABLE ACCESS OF TECHNOLOGY.
Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following new part:
‘‘PART F—EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY EQUITY
‘‘SEC. 3601. FINDINGS.
‘‘The Congress finds the following:
‘‘(1) Having access and being able to effectively
use new technologies, such as computers and the
Internet, will be critical to the economic and overall
success of American businesses, communities, and
individuals in the 21st century.
‘‘(2) It is estimated that every 3 out of 5 jobs
created during the next 5 years will have relatively
high skills requirements.
‘‘(3) The information technology industry indi-
cates that it will be unable to fill more than 800,000
this year.
‘‘(4) The E-Rate program has connected 95
percent of all public schools to the Internet.
‘‘(5) A digital divide exists and has grown and
for the poorest Americans has grown by 29 percent
since 1997.
‘‘(6) White families are more than twice as like-
ly to have access to a computer and the Internet
than Black and Hispanic families.
‘‘(7) 4 to 5 students per computer is the ratio
that many experts consider to represent a reasonable
level for the effective use of computers within
schools. The national average student to computer
ratio is 6 to 1. In schools with the highest con-
centrations of poverty, the average student to com-
puter ratio is 16 to 1.
‘‘(8) According to a number of experts, a base-
line model for Internet connection that provides stu-
dents and teachers with the ability to fully engage
in telecommunications opportunities would cost be-
tween $9,350,000,000 to $22,050,000,000 with an
additional 
annual 
cost 
of 
$1,750,000,000 
to
$4,600,000,000.
‘‘SEC. 3602. PURPOSE.
‘‘The purpose of this part is to enable every child in
America to cross the digital divide by ensuring that all
children, especially those who are disadvantaged and from
low-income and minority families, have access to the most
advanced and effective technology and technology edu-
cation.
‘‘SEC. 3603. RESERVATION AND ALLOTMENTS.
‘‘(a) RESERVATION.—From the amount made avail-
able under section 3607 to carry out this part for each
fiscal year, the Secretary—
‘‘(1) shall reserve 0.5 percent of such amount
for grants to Guam, American Samoa, the United
States Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of Palau,
the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of
Micronesia; and
‘‘(2) shall reserve 1 percent of such amount for
the Secretary of the Interior to carry out programs
under this part for Indian children.
‘‘(b) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY ALLOTMENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), and after making the reservations in sub-
section (a), the Secretary shall, for each fiscal year,
allocate among the States the remainder according
to the ratio between the amount each State received
under part A of title I for the preceding year and
the sum of such amounts received by all the States.
‘‘(2) MINIMUM.—For any fiscal year, the Sec-
retary shall not allot to a State an amount under
this subsection that is less than 1⁄2 of 1 percent of
the total amount allotted to all the States under this
subsection.
‘‘(3) REALLOTMENT.—Except as provided in
paragraph (2), The Secretary may reallot any
amount of any allotment to a State if the Secretary
determines that the State will be unable to use such
amount within 2 years of such allotment. Such re-
allotments shall be made on the same basis as allot-
ments are made under paragraph (1).
‘‘(c) WITHIN-STATE DISTRIBUTION
OF FUNDS.—
Each State educational agency having an approved appli-
cation pursuant to section 3604 and receiving an alloca-
tion under subsection (b), shall allocate—
‘‘(1) not less than 95 percent of such allocation
to local educational agencies in accordance with the
provisions of section 1125; and
‘‘(2) not more than 5 percent for State level ac-
tivities, including technical assistance, and evalua-
tion, of which not more than 40 percent may be
used for administration.
‘‘(d) LOCAL DISTRIBUTION.—Each local educational
agency that receives a grant under this part shall—
‘‘(1) annually rank such agency’s schools from
highest to lowest based on—
‘‘(A) the percentage of children eligible for
participation in the school lunch program under
the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch
Act; and
‘‘(B) the need of each school for computers
as determined by the agency; and
‘‘(2) serve such schools in rank order.
‘‘SEC. 3604. APPLICATIONS.
‘‘(a) STATE APPLICATION.—Each State educational
agency seeking a grant under this part shall submit an
application in such form, and containing such information,
as the Secretary may reasonably require. At a minimum,
the application shall provide an assurance that the State
will provide technical assistance to local educational agen-
cies in developing a comprehensive system for the acquisi-
tion and use of technology and technology-enhanced cur-
ricula, instruction, and administrative support resources.
‘‘(b) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY APPLICATION.—
Each local educational agency seeking a grant under this
part shall submit an application to the State educational
agency that includes, at a minimum—
‘‘(1) the student to computer ratios;
‘‘(2) the Internet connectivity of schools to be
served;
‘‘(3) an assurance that the agency will report
annually to the State regarding the student to com-
puter ratio and Internet connectivity of schools to be
served; and
‘‘(4) a plan for a comprehensive system for the
acquisition and use of technology and technology-en-
hanced curricula, instruction, and administrative
support services.
‘‘SEC. 3605. LOCAL USES OF FUNDS.
‘‘(a) REQUIRED USES.—A local educational agency
that receives a grant under this part shall use such grant
to purchase computers.
‘‘(b) PERMISSIBLE USE.—
‘‘(1) SPECIAL RULE.—A local educational agen-
cy that receives a grant under this part may use
such funds for purposes described in paragraph (2)
if all schools in the local educational agency have a
student to computer ratio equal to or less than 6 to
1. Such ratio shall be certified by the State edu-
cational agency prior to any such use of funds.
‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL
USES.—If the condition in
paragraph (1) is met, a local educational agency
may use funds reserved under this part for—
‘‘(A) teacher training;
‘‘(B) integrating technology into cur-
riculum;
‘‘(C) maintenance and support; and
‘‘(D) computers for home use by students
and teachers.
‘‘SEC. 3606. REPORTING.
‘‘(a) STATE REPORTING.—Each State educational
agency that receives a grant award under this part shall
submit an annual report to the Secretary regarding the
student to computer ratios and Internet connectivity of
schools provided assistance under this part.
‘‘(b) LOCAL REPORTING.—Each local educational
agency that receives a grant award under this part shall
submit an annual report to the State educational agency
regarding the student to computer ratios and Internet
connectivity of schools provided assistance under this part.
‘‘SEC. 3607. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
‘‘There 
are 
authorized 
to 
be 
appropriated
$1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 and such sums as
may be necessary for the 4 succeeding fiscal years to carry
out the purposes of this part.’’.
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