SF 2165

as introduced - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to education finance; providing for
telecommunications/Internet access equity aid;
appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2004,
section 127A.45, subdivision 11; proposing coding for
new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 125B.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

[125B.26] TELECOMMUNICATIONS/INTERNET ACCESS
EQUITY AID.

Subdivision 1.

Costs to be submitted.

(a) A district or
charter school shall submit its actual
telecommunications/Internet access costs for the previous fiscal
year, adjusted for any e-rate revenue received, to the
department by August 15 of each year as prescribed by the
commissioner. Costs eligible for reimbursement under this
program are limited to the following:

(1) ongoing or recurring telecommunications/Internet access
costs associated with Internet access, data lines, and video
links providing:

(i) the equivalent of one data line, video link, or
integrated data/video link that relies on a transport medium
that operates at a speed of 1.544 megabytes per second (T1) for
each elementary school, middle school, or high school under
section 120A.05, subdivisions 9, 11, and 13, including the
recurring telecommunications line lease costs and ongoing
Internet access service fees; or

(ii) the equivalent of one data line or video circuit or
integrated data/video link that relies on a transport medium
that operates at a minimum speed of 1.544 megabytes per second
(T1) for each district, including recurring telecommunications
line lease costs and ongoing Internet access service fees;

(2) recurring costs of contractual or vendor-provided
maintenance on the school district's wide area network to the
point of presence at the school building up to the router,
codec, or other service delivery equipment located at the point
of presence termination at the school or school district;

(3) recurring costs of cooperative, shared arrangements for
regional delivery of telecommunications/Internet access between
school districts, postsecondary institutions, and public
libraries including network gateways, peering points, regional
network infrastructure, Internet2 access, and network support,
maintenance, and coordination; and

(4) service provider installation fees for installation of
new telecommunications lines or increased bandwidth.

(b) Costs not eligible for reimbursement under this program
include:

(1) recurring costs of school district staff providing
network infrastructure support;

(2) recurring costs associated with voice and standard
telephone service;

(3) costs associated with purchase of network hardware,
telephones, computers, or other peripheral equipment needed to
deliver telecommunications access to the school or school
district;

(4) costs associated with laying fiber for
telecommunications access;

(5) costs associated with wiring school or school district
buildings;

(6) costs associated with purchase and/or installation of
Internet filtering; and

(7) costs associated with digital content, including
on-line learning or distance learning programming, and
information databases.

Subd. 2.

E-rates.

To be eligible for aid under this
section, a district or charter school is required to file an
e-rate application either separately or through its
telecommunications access cluster and to have a current
technology plan on file with the Department of Education.
Discounts received on telecommunications expenditures shall be
reflected in the costs submitted to the department for aid under
this section.

Subd. 3.

Reimbursement criteria.

The commissioner shall
develop criteria for approving costs submitted by school
districts and charter schools under subdivision 1.

Subd. 4.

District aid.

For fiscal year 2006 and later, a
district or charter school's Internet access equity aid equals
90 percent of the district or charter school's approved cost for
the previous fiscal year according to subdivision 1 exceeding
$10 times the district's adjusted marginal cost pupil units for
the previous fiscal year.

Subd. 5.

Telecommunications/internet access services for
nonpublic schools.

(a) Districts shall provide each year upon
formal request by or on behalf of a nonpublic school, not
including home schools located in that district or area, ongoing
or recurring telecommunications access services to the nonpublic
school either through existing district providers or through
separate providers.

(b) The amount of district aid for telecommunications
access services for each nonpublic school under this subdivision
equals the lesser of:

(1) 90 percent of the nonpublic school's approved cost for
the previous fiscal year according to subdivision 1 exceeding $5
times the number of weighted pupils enrolled at the nonpublic
school as of October 1 of the previous school year; or

(2) the product of the district's aid per adjusted marginal
cost pupil unit according to subdivision 4 times the number of
weighted pupils enrolled at the nonpublic school as of October 1
of the previous school year.

(c) For purposes of this subdivision, nonpublic school
pupils shall be weighted by grade level using the weighing
factors defined in section 126C.05, subdivision 1.

(d) Each year, a district providing services under
paragraph (a) may claim up to five percent of the aid determined
in paragraph (b) for costs of administering this subdivision.
No district may expend an amount for these telecommunications
access services which exceeds the amount allocated under this
subdivision. The nonpublic school is responsible for the
Internet access costs not covered by this section.

(e) At the request of a nonpublic school, districts may
allocate the amount determined in paragraph (b) directly to the
nonpublic school to pay for or offset the nonpublic school's
costs for telecommunications access services; however, the
amount allocated directly to the nonpublic school may not exceed
the actual amount of the school's ongoing or recurring
telecommunications access costs.

Subd. 6.

Severability.

If any portion of this section is
found by a court to be unconstitutional, the remaining portions
of the section shall remain in effect.

EFFECTIVE DATE.

This section is effective for revenue for
fiscal year 2006.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 127A.45,
subdivision 11, is amended to read:

Subd. 11.

Payment percentage for reimbursement aids.

One
hundred percent of the aid for the previous fiscal year must be
paid in the current year for the following aids:
telecommunications/Internet access equity aid according to
section 125B.26;special education special pupil aid according
to section 125A.75, subdivision 3,;aid for litigation costs
according to section 125A.75, subdivision 8,;aid for
court-placed special education expenses according to section
125A.79, subdivision 4,;and aid for special education
out-of-state tuition according to section 125A.79, subdivision 8.

EFFECTIVE DATE.

This section is effective for revenue for
fiscal year 2006.

Sec. 3. APPROPRIATIONS.

Subdivision 1.

Department of education.

The sums
indicated in this section are appropriated from the general fund
to the Department of Education for the fiscal years designated.

Subd. 2.

Internet access equity aid.

For
telecommunications/Internet access cost equity aid under
Minnesota Statutes, section 125B.26:

$9,000,000 ..... 2006

$9,000,000 ..... 2007

If the appropriation for either fiscal year is
insufficient, the aid for that year shall be prorated among
participating schools and districts so as not to exceed the
total authorized appropriation for that year.