Sec. 4d-82. Connecticut Education Network. State-wide Universal Service Fund application.
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(a)The Commission for Educational Technology shall develop, with the advice and assistance of the State Board of Education, the Board of Regents for Higher Education and the Department of Administrative Services, 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 Board of Regents for 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.