Education technology.

Existing law requires a school district to have a current 3- to 5-year education technology plan as a precondition to receiving a technology grant administered by the State Department of Education. The Superintendent of Public Instruction is required to develop guidelines and criteria to be included in the education technology plan. The guidelines and criteria are required to include a component to educate pupils and teachers on the appropriate and ethical use of information technology in the classroom, Internet safety, the manner in which to avoid committing plagiarism, the concept, purpose, and significance of a copyright so that pupils are equipped with the skills necessary to distinguish lawful from unlawful online downloading, and the implications of illegal peer-to-peer network file sharing. The Superintendent is required to ensure that each school district has access to technical assistance and an approved online technology plan builder that the department determines is in compliance with state and federal requirements. The Superintendent is required to maintain a record of school districts that have a 3- to 5-year education technology plan and to make that information available to interested public agencies. This bill would require the component of the guidelines and criteria that educates pupils and teachers on the topics listed above to include the negative impacts to pupils from cyberbullying, the active use of content control software, and the responsible use by pupils of mobile communication technology. The bill would encourage school districts to partner with information technology companies and nonprofit organizations to develop tools to supplement the existing Internet safety curriculum that addresses the educational component of the guidelines and criteria and would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.