§ 16-7.1-12. Student technology investment fund. The general assembly establishes the Student Technology Investment Fund to provide schools and teaching staff with up-to-date educational technology and training to help students meet the demands of the 21st century. Rhode Island's Comprehensive Education Strategy calls for providing support to all schools for educational technology. The funds may be used for: curriculum development to improve teaching and learning, in-service professional development to support the effective use of technology in schools; and infrastructure requirements such as equipment, technology related instructional materials, software and networking of systems. These resources shall be used to close student performance gaps in accordance with the district's strategic plan pursuant to § 16-7.1-2 and be consistent with the technology plan of the Rhode Island Comprehensive Strategy. The general assembly shall annually appropriate some sum and distribute it based on each district's proportion of their average daily membership in the reference year as defined in § 16-7-16. For purposes of this section, average daily membership shall be defined in § 16-7-22. School districts may use funds received under this category of education aid to replace up to, but no more than, thirty five percent (35%) of the amount the school district spent for technology related expenditures in the previous fiscal year. District plans for the use of technology shall be reviewed by the legislative technology task force.

History of Section. (P.L. 1997, ch. 30, art. 31, § 1; P.L. 1998, ch. 31, art. 31, § 1.)