$71,500 to research schools' tech gap

The Policy Making Committee of the Arkansas Legislative Council met briefly Monday, approving a roughly $71,500 contract between the Bureau of Legislative Research and educational finance consultants Picus Odden & Associates.

The consultants will determine the cost to provide every student in Arkansas with adequate broadband Internet access.

Without the service, schools won't be able to meet new state digital learning requirements or to switch to online standardized testing.

The Legislature has been debating how to address issues of broadband access in some school districts around the state. Private Internet providers and education officials haven't been able to agree on the availability and cost of the services.

Bureau staff said last week that it hope the report will provide clear answers and enable the House and Senate Education Committees to move forward with the biennial Educational Adequacy study.

The study will make recommendations on how to address a growing gap in Internet access between school districts.

Metro on 07/08/2014

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