(a) The Department of Education shall administer, within available appropriations, a program to assist local and regional school districts to improve the use of information technology in their schools. Under the program, the department shall provide grants to local and regional boards of education and may provide other forms of assistance such as the provision of purchasing under state-wide contracts with the Department of Information Technology. Grant funds may be used for: (1) Wiring and wireless connectivity, (2) the purchase or leasing of computers, and (3) interactive software and the purchase and installation of software filters.

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(b) Local and regional boards of education shall apply to the department for grants at such time and in such manner as the Commissioner of Education prescribes. In order to be eligible for a grant, a local or regional board of education shall: (1) Have a technology plan that was developed or updated during the three-year period preceding the date of application for grant funds and, once the Commission for Educational Technology develops the long-range plan required pursuant to subdivision (5) of subsection (c) of section 4d-80, the local technology plan shall be consistent with such long-range plan, (2) provide that each school and superintendent’s office be able to communicate with the Department of Education using the Internet, (3) present evidence that it has applied or will apply for a grant from the federal Universal Service Fund, and (4) submit a plan for the expenditure of grant funds in accordance with subsection (c) of this section.

(c) The plan for the expenditure of grant funds shall: (1) Establish clear goals and a strategy for using telecommunications and information technology to improve education, (2) include a professional development strategy to ensure that teachers know how to use the new technologies to improve education, (3) include an assessment of the telecommunication services, hardware, software and other services that will be needed to improve education, (4) provide for a sufficient budget to acquire and maintain the hardware, software, professional development and other services that will be needed to implement the strategy for improved education, (5) include an evaluation process that enables the school to monitor progress towards the specified goals and make adjustments in response to new developments and opportunities as they arise. The plan developed pursuant to this subsection shall be submitted to the department with the grant application.

(d) (1) Each school district shall be eligible to receive a minimum grant under the program as follows: (A) Each school district in towns ranked from one to one hundred thirteen, inclusive, when all towns are ranked in ascending order from one to one hundred sixty-nine based on town wealth, as defined in subdivision (26) of section 10-262f, shall be eligible to receive a minimum grant in the amount of thirty thousand dollars, and (B) each school district in towns ranked from one hundred fourteen to one hundred sixty-nine, inclusive, when all towns are ranked in ascending order from one to one hundred sixty-nine based on town wealth, as defined in subdivision (26) of section 10-262f, shall be eligible to receive a minimum grant under the program in the amount of fifteen thousand dollars. Such minimum grant may be increased for certain school districts pursuant to subdivision (4) of this subsection. (2) The department shall use (A) one hundred thousand dollars of the amount appropriated for purposes of this section for the Technical Education and Career System for wiring and other technology initiatives at such schools, and (B) fifty thousand dollars of the amount appropriated for purposes of this section for technology grants to state charter schools. The amount of the grant each state charter school receives shall be based on the number of students enrolled in the school. (3) The department may retain up to one per cent of the amount appropriated for purposes of this section for coordination, program evaluation and administration. (4) Any remaining appropriated funds shall be used to increase the grants to (A) priority school districts pursuant to section 10-266p, (B) transitional school districts pursuant to section 10-263c, and (C) school districts in towns ranked from one to eighty-five, inclusive, when all towns are ranked in ascending order from one to one hundred sixty-nine based on town wealth, as defined in section 10-262f. Each such school district shall receive an amount based on the ratio of the number of resident students, as defined in said section 10-262f, in such school district to the total number of resident students in all such school districts.

(e) Each school district that participates in an interdistrict magnet school or in an endowed academy shall provide funds from the grant it receives pursuant to this section to such interdistrict magnet school or endowed academy in an amount equal to the per student amount of such grant multiplied by the number of students from such district enrolled in the interdistrict magnet school or endowed academy.

(f) Any unexpended funds appropriated for purposes of this section shall not lapse at the end of the fiscal year but shall be available for expenditure during the next fiscal year.

(g) No funds received pursuant to this section shall be used to supplant federal, state or local funding to the local or regional board of education for technology.

(h) Expenditure reports shall be filed with the Department of Education as requested by the commissioner. School districts shall refund (1) any unexpended amounts at the close of the program for which the grant was awarded, and (2) any amounts not expended in accordance with the approved grant application.