(a) (1) The K–12 High-Speed Network (K–12 HSN) is hereby established for the purpose of enriching pupil educational experiences and improving pupil academic performance by providing high-speed, high-bandwidth Internet connectivity to the public school system, as defined by Section 6 of Article IX of the California Constitution.
(2) The California Education Network is hereby established, consisting of the California Research and Education Network (CalREN) and the K–12 HSN.
(b) The Superintendent shall collect the information necessary to measure the success of the K–12 HSN and ensure that the benefits of the K–12 HSN are maximized to the extent possible. The K–12 HSN shall provide critical services and functions for public primary and secondary local educational agencies, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Reliable and cost-effective Internet service.
(2) Reliable and secure interconnectivity among public school entities offering kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, in California, connection to higher education institutions of California, and connection to state and local agencies to facilitate efficient interaction, including transmission of data.
(3) Videoconferencing and related distance learning capabilities.
(4) Statewide coordination of network uses to benefit teaching and learning.
(c) The Superintendent shall use a competitive grant process to select a local educational agency to serve as the lead education agency to administer the K–12 HSN on behalf of the Superintendent.
(d) The Superintendent shall establish a K–12 HSN advisory board to be composed of all of the following members:
(1) The Superintendent, or his or her designee.
(2) The county superintendent of schools of the lead education agency.
(3) A county superintendent of schools of a county with an average daily attendance of more than 60,000 pupils, appointed by the Superintendent. The member appointed pursuant to this paragraph shall serve a renewable two-year term.
(4) Three school district superintendents, appointed by the Superintendent. Members appointed pursuant to this paragraph shall represent school districts that are diverse as to geography and size, and that serve socioeconomically and culturally diverse pupil populations. Members appointed pursuant to this paragraph shall serve renewable two-year terms.
(5) Two county superintendents of schools appointed by the majority of the votes of all of the county superintendents of schools. Members appointed pursuant to this paragraph shall serve renewable two-year terms.
(6) Three schoolsite representatives, who shall include not less than two classroom teachers or instructional specialists. Members appointed pursuant to this paragraph shall serve renewable two-year terms.
(7) The president of the state board or his or her designee.
(e) The advisory board shall meet quarterly and shall recommend policy direction and broad operational guidance to the Superintendent and the lead education agency. The advisory board, in consultation with the lead education agency, shall develop recommendations for measuring the success of the network, improving network oversight and monitoring, strengthening accountability, and optimizing the use of the K–12 HSN and its ability to improve education. The advisory board shall report its recommendations to the Legislature, the Governor, the Department of Finance, the president of the state board or his or her designee, and the Legislative Analyst’s Office by March 1, 2007. It is the intent of the Legislature that the report identify and recommend specific annual performance measures that should be established to assess the effectiveness of the network.
(f) The duties of the lead education agency, shall include all of the following:
(1) (A) Before expending any funds for planned network upgrade projects that exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) in cost, development of a methodology to determine and prioritize planned network upgrade projects, including the size and scope of any planned network upgrade project, which takes into consideration at least all of the following:
(i) Peak network usage to circuit capacity ratios.
(ii) Multiyear trends in network traffic, as follows:
(I) For projects that begin during the 2017–18 fiscal year, at least two years of trends in network traffic.
(II) For projects that begin during the 2018–19 fiscal year, at least three years of trends in network traffic.
(III) For projects that begin during the 2019–20 fiscal year, at least four years of trends in network traffic.
(IV) For projects that begin during the 2020–21 fiscal year or later, at least five years of trends in network traffic.
(iii) Eligibility for subsidies provided through the federal E-Rate program.
(iv) Competitive bidding results within a level of capacity upgrade and across all feasible levels of capacity upgrades.
(v) Actual expected usage projections and other input, as determined through formal communication with network site administrators.
(vi) Specific network performance measures, including the frequency, cause, location, and duration of network outages or interruptions.
(vii) Useful life of proposed equipment upgrades.
(B) The lead education agency shall submit its methodology to the department, the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature, and the Department of Finance by December 15, 2017. Commencing with the 2017–18 fiscal year and in each fiscal year thereafter, the lead education agency shall utilize its methodology for all planned network upgrade projects that exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) in cost.
(2) Entering into appropriate contracts for the provision of high-speed, high-bandwidth Internet connectivity, provided the contracts secure the necessary terms and conditions to adequately protect the interests of the state. Terms and conditions shall include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(A) Development of comprehensive service level agreements.
(B) Protection of any ownership rights of intellectual property of the state that result due to participation of the state in the K–12 HSN.
(C) Appropriate protection of assets of the state acquired due to its participation in the K–12 HSN.
(D) Assurance that appropriate fee structures are in place.
(E) Assurance that any interest earned on funds of the state for this purpose are used solely to the benefit of the project.
(3) Development of an annual budget request for the K–12 HSN for submission to the department and the Department of Finance to be considered for the annual Budget Act.
(4) Development, in consultation with the advisory board established pursuant to subdivision (d), of specific goals and objectives for the program with appropriate reporting of success measures developed by the Superintendent pursuant to subdivision (b).
(5) Ongoing fiscal oversight of the program, including mechanisms to control statewide costs and exposure. To accomplish this objective, the lead education agency shall contract for an annual independent audit of the program. The independent auditor shall report the audit findings to the Superintendent, the Legislature, and the Department of Finance by December 15 of each year.
(6) Ongoing technical oversight of the program, including external evaluation and independent validation, where appropriate. To accomplish this objective, the lead education agency shall contract for an independent evaluation to be completed and provided to the Superintendent by March 1, 2009. The Superintendent shall report the results of the evaluation, including a response and recommendations to correct any adverse findings from the evaluation, to the Governor and the Legislature by April 30, 2009.
(7) (A) Administering grant programs to promote the most cost-effective manner for the completion of connectivity for all public schools of the state and cost-effective applications that meet instructional needs to the extent that funds are provided for these purposes in the annual Budget Act.
(B) Before the appropriation of any state funds for the purposes of this paragraph, the lead education agency shall submit information justifying the need for additional grant funds, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(i) The number of schools and school districts that are already connected.
(ii) The means by which the costs associated with connectivity were covered for schools and school districts that are already connected.
(iii) Obstacles to connection for those schools and school districts that are not yet connected.
(iv) Other local options and funding sources for purposes of connectivity and applications.
(g) The Superintendent shall apportion funds appropriated for the program in a given fiscal year in compliance with both of the following:
(1) Three-fourths of the total amount appropriated shall be apportioned by August 31.
(2) Up to one-fourth of the total amount appropriated shall be apportioned by January 31.
(h) The Superintendent may request data and other programmatic information from the lead education agency as needed to oversee the program.
(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 15, Sec. 14. (AB 99) Effective June 27, 2017.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018