Patty Berg Measure To Bring Equity To Rural Schools Passes Key Committee
Bill Clears First Hurdle with Strong Bipartisan Support
Sacramento - Assemblymember Patty Berg’s AB 2706 passed out of the Assembly Education Committee late last night on a 10 – 0 vote with strong bipartisan support. Berg says she’s authoring this bill because she wants to bring rural schools their “fair share of federal education technology money.”
AB 2706 ensures that all California school districts are able to compete for federal education technology funding. There is currently $43 million in federal competitive grant money.
Currently, rural school districts are not receiving their fair share of federal education technology money because the existing grant allocation process puts them at a competitive disadvantage.
AB 2706 corrects this inequity by restructuring the competition for districts and allowing them to compete against districts of similar size. It also allows districts to pool their resources by forming consortia to compete for grants. These changes will help ensure that all school districts have an equal opportunity to participate in the competitive grant program.
Berg said, “I’m so pleased this bill received bipartisan support in its first test. This isn’t about partisanship. It’s about rural children having opportunities.”
In addition, current law limits the competitive grants to projects for students in grades 4-8. AB 2706 would delete that limitation and instead allow school districts the flexibility to use grants for any of grades 4-12.
Berg continued, “This bill is also about jobs. I believe by ensuring that all students have access to education technology, we will be helping to produce a more competitive California workforce for the 21st century. We have to make this kind of investment to succeed in the global economy.”
Berg’s bill now moves on to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.