2005 Connecticut Code - Sec. 4d-82. Connecticut Education Network State-Wide Universal Service Fund application.

      Sec. 4d-82. Connecticut Education Network State-Wide Universal Service Fund application. (a) The Commission for Educational Technology shall develop, with the advice and assistance of the State Board of Education, the Board of Governors of Higher Education and the Department of Information Technology, a five-year plan for the implementation of the Connecticut Education Network to provide state-of-the-art, high-speed, reliable Internet access and video, voice and data transmissions that electronically link all educational institutions in the state, including public and independent institutions of higher education, the state's libraries and all elementary, middle and secondary schools and other institutions including businesses, job centers and community organizations. The plan shall include the establishment of a Connecticut Digital Library as a component of the Connecticut Education Network to ensure on-line access by all students and citizens to essential library and information resources. The State Library, in conjunction with the Department of Higher Education, shall administer the Connecticut Digital Library. The Connecticut Digital Library shall provide access to available on-line electronic full-text databases, a state-wide electronic catalog and interlibrary loan system and the electronic and physical delivery of library resources. The Connecticut Digital Library shall include elements specifically designed to meet the educational and research needs of the general public, higher education students and faculty and elementary and secondary school students and teachers.

      (b) The commission shall oversee the preparation and submission of a state-wide application to the federal Universal Service Fund to enhance connectivity to the Connecticut Education Network, maximize participation and grant attainment rates, and reduce overly burdensome administrative requirements which discourage local involvement. The commission shall prepare a feasibility report which sets forth (1) a review of how and under what circumstances other states have successfully submitted state-wide applications to the Universal Service Fund, (2) an analysis of what should specifically be incorporated into this state's application, and (3) an outline of necessary actions to be taken by the commission for completion of a state-wide Universal Service Fund application. The commission shall work, in consultation with the Departments of Education and Higher Education and the regional educational service centers, on the feasibility report. No later than March 31, 2001, and for every subsequent universal service funding cycle, the commission shall submit a state-wide application for universal service funds.

      (P.A. 00-187, S. 35, 75; P.A. 01-173, S. 5, 67; P.A. 03-76, S. 37.)

      History: P.A. 00-187 effective July 1, 2000; P.A. 01-173 amended Subsec. (b) to make a technical change, effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 03-76 made a technical change in Subsec. (b), effective June 3, 2003.