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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Legislators have given a preliminary nod to a plan for investing in statewide classroom technology.
The bill would create a $100 million grant fund for districts to enhance digital infrastructure at schools, train teachers to use technology, and provide learning devices for students.
An analysis of school technology needs conducted last year is included in the bill. Herriman Republican Rep. John Knotwell sponsored the measure and called it a wide-ranging program, the Deseret News reported.
"(Schools) can apply for grant funds for professional development, they can apply for software, they can apply for upgrades to their existing technology, perhaps they're in need of tech support," Knotwell said. "These are things that every (school) in our state can take advantage of."
However, Knotwell acknowledges that the $100 million in requested funding is unlikely to be approved.
The Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee recommended Thursday that $25 million goes toward the program.
"I've often asked for a long-range plan in education, and we've finally got one," said Rep. Bruce Cutler, R-Murray. "Can we fund the full amount this year? I don't know. We'll see. But we're sending a signal that this is a good plan."
Rep. Marie Poulson, D-Salt Lake City, said her vote will be contingent on whether the weighted pupil unit is funded sufficiently. Utah ranks last in the nation on per-student funding.
"I am going to withhold my vote until I get an assurance that this is going to go along with a substantial rise in the WPU," Poulson said.
According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Rep. Justin Fawson, R-North Ogden, opposed the bill in a protest vote, weighing an increased WPU as the higher priority.
Weighted pupil unit funds are not earmarked for specific uses. Rep. Francis Gibson, R-Mapleton, said districts have struggled to fund technology without a specific funding program, even as per-pupil funding increases.
"Transformation is not cheap," Gibson told the Salt Lake Tribune. "But our kids have technology everywhere around them — until they walk into the school."
The vice chairman of the State Board of Education, David Thomas, said the bill is a product of a cooperative effort that brought education stakeholders together.
The bill will now go before the full House.
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