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1999 SESSION

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HB 2321 Family Involvement in Technology (FIT) program.

Introduced by: Mitchell Van Yahres | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles

SUMMARY AS PASSED: (all summaries)

Family Involvement in Technology (FIT) program. Establishes, with such funds as may be appropriated for this purpose, the Family Involvement in Technology program, a superintendent’s region grants program. The FIT program will promote parental and family involvement in children’s education, found a partnership between families and schools, increase students’ time on task, integrate educational technology into the public school curriculum to meet the Standards of Learning objectives, and increase access to educational technology, particularly in schools with large populations of disadvantaged children (federal Title I schools). Upon appropriation of funds, eight grants, one grant to each superintendent’s region, will be awarded to provide at least 100 computers per center on the condition that each project focus, to the extent feasible, on increasing educational technology in Title I schools. Each superintendent’s region will be responsible for determining how the computers are distributed and the components of the FIT program in the region, so long as such components are consistent with the provisions of the section. The FIT program will include (i) measurable goals and objectives; (ii) an assessment of the needs of the students to be included in the project; (iii) assurances that the project will increase access to educational technology in schools with populations of at least 75 percent disadvantaged children; (iv) training of the relevant teachers, students, and families in computer technology, including, but not limited to, the appropriate supervision of children while engaged in using computers and researching on the Internet; (vi) the establishment, if feasible, of an interactive network between the school administration, the relevant teachers, and the relevant students’ homes; (vii) better integration of educational technology into the school curriculum; (viii) activities to promote awareness of the project, increase access to educational technology, and continually assess the school-community needs; (ix) collaboration with available public and private resources, including any educational technology corporation; and (x) improved communications between parents, teachers, and administrators which are designed to improve students’ academic achievement. The Board shall evaluate and determine, in cooperation with the superintendents’ regions, and, based upon objective criteria, the success of the program. In accordance with this analysis, the Board will make, within one year of implementation of this provision, such recommendations as it deems appropriate, to the Governor and the General Assembly, for the FIT program, which may include continuation of the program in its original form, phasing out of the program, termination or revision of the program at a date certain, or extension of the program to other schools. This program is modeled after the Indiana Buddy System.


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