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E-rate Update - Technology Plan Approvals
Message Posted January 14, 1998

SLC Grandfathers All PA Public School Technology Plans and Outlines
Approval Criteria and Process for Nonpublic Schools

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

On Dec. 12, 1997, the PA Dept. of Education submitted a letter to the Schools and Libraries Corporation (SLC) outlining the numerous technology planning activities undertaken at the local, regional, and state levels through the Link-to-Learn initiative and the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund. The letter requested that because of these plans and activities, each of Pennsylvania' public school districts, and area vocational technical schools should be considered as having approved technology plans for the purpose of the Universal Service Fund.

Last week, the SLC notified us that our request has been approved and that we are able to notify each school district with a Link-to-Learn plan or a Technology Literacy Challenge plan that your technology plans have been approved. Therefore, these schools, although they may have not submitted a formal plan to PDE for approval, may indicate on FCC Forms 470 and 471 that they have approved technology plans.

We soon will be mailing a letter to each public school district, describing the documentation that will need to be kept in the event that a service provider or the SLC requests to see a copy of your approved technology plan. Such documentation probably will include any information submitted through the Link-to-Learn initiative, any local technology plans and any plan submitted for the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund.

NONPUBLIC SCHOOLS
The SLC has released its policies and procedures for approval of technology plans in which they state that there may be a variety of approvers for nonpublic school technology plans. We are working with state associations to designate several third parties to review nonpublic school technology plans. When those reviewers have been identified and when we have sent the list to the SLC for certification, we will notify you immediately.

In the meantime, please continue to submit your technology plans for approval to Walter Leech at the PA Dept. of Education, as you are required to state on your Form 470 that your plan has been submitted for approval. When alternative technology plan reviewers have been identified, we will forward to them any plans that have been submitted to PDE.

The SLC has released the following criteria for schools to use when writing their technology plans.

"In order to qualify as an approved technology plan for a Universal Service disocunt, the plan must meet the following five criteria that are core elements of successful school and library technology initiatives:

The plan must establish clear goals and a realistic strategy for using telecommunications and information technology to improve education or library services;
The plan must have a professional development strategy to ensure that staff know how to use these new technologies to improve education or library services;
The plan must include an assessment of the telecommunication services, hardware, software, and other services that will be needed to improve education or library services;
The plan must 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; and
The plan must include an evaluation process that enables the school or library to monitor progress toward the specified goals and make mid-course corrections in response to new developments and opportunities as they arise.
Successful plans align these five criteria with the overall education or library service improvement objectives of states, districts, and local schools or libraries. It is critical that technology planning not be viewed or treated as a separate exercise dealing primarily with hardware and telecommunications infrastructure. There must be strong connections between the proposed physical infrastructure of the information technology and the plan for professional development, curriculum reform, and library service improvements. Approved technology plans should cover a period of three years. Whenever an approved plan is longer than three years, there should be a significant review of progress during the third year."

"There is no need to write or develop a specific E-rate technology plan. It is only necessary that the approved plan include a sufficient level of information to justify and validate the purpose of the Universal Servoce Program request. It does not have to include the specific details and information called for on FCC Forms 470, 471, and 486."

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