HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3056 FILED ON: 2/18/2021
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 637
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The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Bradley H. Jones, Jr.
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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act relative to providing students with technology.
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PETITION OF:
Name: | District/Address: | Date Added: |
Bradley H. Jones, Jr. | 20th Middlesex | 2/18/2021 |
Susan Williams Gifford | 2nd Plymouth | 2/25/2021 |
Paul K. Frost | 7th Worcester | 3/11/2021 |
Mathew J. Muratore | 1st Plymouth | 3/22/2021 |
Kimberly N. Ferguson | 1st Worcester | 3/22/2021 |
Steven S. Howitt | 4th Bristol | 3/31/2021 |
Hannah Kane | 11th Worcester | 4/1/2021 |
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3056 FILED ON: 2/18/2021
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 637
By Mr. Jones of North Reading, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 637) of Bradley H. Jones, Jr., and others for an investigation by a special commission (including members of the General Court) relative to the best methods of acquiring technology for students. Education. |
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)
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An Act relative to providing students with technology.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, there shall be established a commission to research the best methods of acquiring technology for students. The commission shall (1) identify and review the current policies in place to provide students with a personal computer or tablet; (2) evaluate the effect on benefits or drawbacks to providing students with a personal computer or tablet and its effects on the digital divide; (3) evaluate the interest of companies to work with the Commonwealth to provide students with a personal computer or tablet in lieu of selling devices back to the manufacturer; (4) evaluate how to best incentivize companies to take part in a program to provide personal computers or tablets to students and (5) recommend evidence based strategies that can be established to improve the digital divide at a reasonable cost.
The commission shall consist of the secretary of education, who shall serve as the chair; a representative from the executive office of technology and services; the speaker of the house of representatives or a designee; the president of the senate or a designee; the house minority leader or a designee; the senate minority leader or a designee; a representative from Associated Industries of Massachusetts; a representative from Tech Goes Home; 6 persons who shall be appointed by the governor, 1 of whom shall be a representative of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, 1 of whom shall be a representative of the Boston Teachers Union, 1 of whom shall be a representative from Massachusetts charter schools, 1 of whom shall be a representative from MassInc, 1 of whom shall have extensive experience with the digital divide, and 1 of whom shall be a parent of a student in a low income district.
The commission shall submit a final report with its findings for providing technology to students, along with any recommendations regarding how to improve the digital divide, to the house and senate clerks, and the chairs of the joint committee of education, by December 31, 2021.