§ 6763. State applications

(a) In general

To be eligible to receive a grant under this subpart, a State educational agency shall submit to the Secretary, at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may specify, an application containing a new or updated statewide long-range strategic educational technology plan (which shall address the educational technology needs of local educational agencies) and such other information as the Secretary may reasonably require.

(b) Contents

Each State application submitted under subsection (a) of this section shall include each of the following:

(1) An outline of the State educational agency’s long-term strategies for improving student academic achievement, including technology literacy, through the effective use of technology in classrooms throughout the State, including through improving the capacity of teachers to integrate technology effectively into curricula and instruction.

(2) A description of the State educational agency’s goals for using advanced technology to improve student academic achievement, and how those goals are aligned with challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards.

(3) A description of how the State educational agency will take steps to ensure that all students and teachers in the State, particularly students and teachers in districts served by high-need local educational agencies, have increased access to technology.

(4) A description of the process and accountability measures that the State educational agency will use to evaluate the extent to which activities funded under this subpart are effective in integrating technology into curricula and instruction.

(5) A description of how the State educational agency will encourage the development and utilization of innovative strategies for the delivery of specialized or rigorous academic courses and curricula through the use of technology, including distance learning technologies, particularly for those areas of the State that would not otherwise have access to such courses and curricula due to geographical isolation or insufficient resources.

(6) An assurance that financial assistance provided under this subpart will supplement, and not supplant, State and local funds.

(7) A description of how the plan incorporates teacher education, professional development, and curriculum development, and how the State educational agency will work to ensure that teachers and principals in a State receiving funds under this part are technologically literate.

(8) A description of—

(A) how the State educational agency will provide technical assistance to applicants under section 6764 of this title, especially to those applicants serving the highest numbers or percentages of children in poverty or with the greatest need for technical assistance; and

(B) the capacity of the State educational agency to provide such assistance.

(9) A description of technology resources and systems that the State will provide for the purpose of establishing best practices that can be widely replicated by State educational agencies and local educational agencies in the State and in other States.

(10) A description of the State’s long-term strategies for financing technology to ensure that all students, teachers, and classrooms have access to technology.

(11) A description of the State’s strategies for using technology to increase parental involvement.

(12) A description of how the State educational agency will ensure that each subgrant awarded under section 6762 (a)(2)(B) of this title is of sufficient size and duration, and that the program funded by the subgrant is of sufficient scope and quality, to carry out the purposes of this part effectively.

(13) A description of how the State educational agency will ensure ongoing integration of technology into school curricula and instructional strategies in all schools in the State, so that technology will be fully integrated into the curricula and instruction of the schools by December 31, 2006.

(14) A description of how the local educational agencies in the State will provide incentives to teachers who are technologically literate and teaching in rural or urban areas, to encourage such teachers to remain in those areas.

(15) A description of how public and private entities will participate in the implementation and support of the plan.

An application submitted by a State educational agency pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall be deemed to be approved by the Secretary unless the Secretary makes a written determination, prior to the expiration of the 120-day period beginning on the date on which the Secretary received the application, that the application is not in compliance with this part.

(d) Disapproval

The Secretary shall not finally disapprove the application, except after giving the State educational agency notice and an opportunity for a hearing.

(e) Notification

If the Secretary finds that the application is not in compliance, in whole or in part, with this part, the Secretary shall—

(1) give the State educational agency notice and an opportunity for a hearing; and

(2) notify the State educational agency of the finding of noncompliance and, in such notification, shall—

(A) cite the specific provisions in the application that are not in compliance; and

(B) request additional information, only as to the noncompliant provisions, needed to make the application compliant.

(f) Response

If the State educational agency responds to the Secretary’s notification described in subsection (e)(2) of this section during the 45-day period beginning on the date on which the agency received the notification, and resubmits the application with the requested information described in subsection (e)(2)(B) of this section, the Secretary shall approve or disapprove such application prior to the later of—

(1) the expiration of the 45-day period beginning on the date on which the application is resubmitted; or

(2) the expiration of the 120-day period described in subsection (c) of this section.

(g) Failure to respond

If the State educational agency does not respond to the Secretary’s notification described in subsection (e)(2) of this section during the 45-day period beginning on the date on which the agency received the notification, such application shall be deemed to be disapproved.

U.S. Code

§ 6763. State applications