LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 678, as amended, Hall. Education technology.
Existing law requires a school district to have a current 3- to
5-year education technology plan as a precondition to receiving a
technology grant administered by the State Department of Education.
The Superintendent of Public Instruction is required to develop
guidelines and criteria to be included in the education technology
plan. The guidelines and criteria are required to include a component
to educate pupils and teachers on the appropriate and ethical use of
information technology in the classroom, Internet safety, the manner
in which to avoid committing plagiarism, the concept, purpose, and
significance of a copyright so that pupils are equipped with the
skills necessary to distinguish lawful from unlawful online
downloading, and the implications of illegal peer-to-peer network
file sharing.
The Superintendent is required to ensure that each school
district has access to technical assistance and an approved online
technology plan builder that the department determines is in
compliance with state and federal requirements. The Superintendent is
required to maintain a record of school districts that have a 3- to
5-year education technology plan and to make that information
available to interested public agencies.
This bill would require the component of the guidelines and
criteria that educates pupils and teachers on the topics listed above
to include the negative impacts to pupils from cyberbullying, the
active use of parental content control
software, and the responsible use by pupils of mobile communication
technology. The bill would encourage school districts to partner with
information technology companies and nonprofit organizations to
develop tools to supplement the existing Internet safety curriculum
that addresses the educational component of the guidelines and
criteria and would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these
provisions.

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Comments/questions on AB 678 (Hall): Education technology.