An Act To Amend the Telecommunications Education Access Fund
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §7104-B, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2001, c. 522, §2, is further amended to read:
5. Guidelines for funding. The commission shall allocate money from the fund using the following guidelines:
A. To ensure a basic level of connectivity for all of the qualified schools and qualified libraries in the State;
B. To ensure that all qualified schools, qualified libraries and the Raymond H. Fogler Library at the University of Maine are capable of using the advanced technology equipment obtained through the fund;
C. To ensure that more technologically sophisticated equipment is available to students in grades 9 to 12 and in larger qualified libraries in the State;
D. To provide for necessary equipment to use the services obtained through the fund;
E. To provide for internal connections necessary to use the services obtained through the fund;
F. To provide training to teachers so that they may assist and educate their students in the use of the advanced technology equipment;
G. To provide for the establishment of computer technology training programs in schools to provide training to students in areas such as, but not limited to, electronic commerce, Internet proficiency and World Wide Web-enabled systems; and
H. To provide for electronic database content to be used for the purposes of accessing information by schools and libraries.
A minimum of 25% of each annual program budget must be devoted to targeted projects that are innovative and technologically advanced.
Effective 90 days following adjournment of the 125th Legislature, First Regular Session, unless otherwise indicated.