Summary

Illinois HB 208 (Open States or Illinois Legislature) is an education appropriations bill for fiscal year (FY) 2014. Funding remained at similar levels to the previous year. This bill includes State and District Technology Support (formerly known as Technology for Success) and the School Technology Revolving Loan Program.

Legislative Analysis

HB208 appropriates $2.5 million for State and District Technology Support (formerly known as Technology for Success) in FY 2014, a decrease of $500,000 from the previous year and down from $4,169,700 million in FY 2010. The purpose of this program is to provide school districts with technology-based learning resources to improve educational opportunities and student achievement, as well as to provide the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) with the necessary technology infrastructure to support these initiatives. The two main programs under Technology for Success were the Illinois Virtual School and fifteen Learning Technology Centers that implement digital learning and provide technical support to districts and schools.

At $5 million, funding for the School Technology Revolving Loan Program has remained the same since FY 2010. The state will make low-cost loans to districts, repayable over a maximum of three years, to purchase hardware or software. The purposes of the program are helping school districts build technological capacity, helping students become technologically literate, and improving teacher competencies around technology.  All school districts are eligible to participate on a two-year rotating basis: grades K-8 in FY 2014, then grades 9-12 in FY 2015. In FY 2013, 6 loans were made for a total amount of $2,000,000 and 2% of eligible districts participated.

The decreases in funding for state and district technology support appear to indicate a reduced emphasis on investing in digital learning and technology-based resources.

Legislative History

Detailed Vote History: Legiscan |  Open States

Approved by Governor Pat Quinn on 6/27/2013