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. No later than the annual federal funding deadline, and for every subsequent universal service funding cycle, the commission, or its designee, shall submit a state-wide
application for universal service funds. Each local and regional board of education and
public library that is designated by the commission for connection to the Connecticut
Education Network shall be deemed to have authorized the commission or its designee
to submit an application for such funds on its behalf.
(P.A. 00-187, S. 35, 75; P.A. 01-173, S. 5, 67; P.A. 03-76, S. 37; P.A. 06-192, S. 8.)
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; P.A. 06-192 amended Subsec.
(b) by deleting language re feasibility report, by changing deadline from March 31, 2001, to the annual federal funding
deadline, by inserting "or its designee" re commission and by adding language allowing commission to submit application
for funds on behalf of boards of education and libraries, effective July 1, 2006.