For Immediate Release
SACRAMENTO –State Senator Josh Becker introduced legislation today to create the statewide Digital Education Equity Program, called DEEP, to provide California public school districts with equitable access to the professional development for teachers and technical assistance that enable schools to effectively use technology in education.
“The pandemic exposed the stark inequities among school districts that had strong grounding in existing technology for everyday use in-class learning and the ability to pivot those resources in emergencies – and those that struggled because they did not have the same opportunities to develop that knowledge and skills base,” said Senator Becker, D-Peninsula. “Senate Bill 876 is a step toward closing that digital divide in our schools.”
SB 876 reintroduces the measures proposed by the senator last year in a bill that was passed by the Senate but did not advance in the Assembly.
SB 876, the senator’s first bill of the year, addresses the need for schools to equitably access the information, technical assistance and teacher professional development that would enable them to cost-effectively plan for and implement current and emerging educational technology. Specific state funding for such support ended when California adopted the Local Control Funding Formula about eight years ago.
Senator Becker’s bill would re-establish and fund a centralized support program, calling it DEEP, which would be planned and implemented by the state Department of Education in concert with the County Offices of Education. The legislation would formalize, provide more structure for, and expand relationships that were fostered in the absence of a statewide support program.
###
The text of SB 876 will be available at https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/
Media Contact: Leslie Guevarra, leslie.guevarra@sen.ca.gov, 415-298-3404