SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell announced today that 29 local education agencies throughout California will share $24 million* in Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) Competitive Program Grants. For a list of awardees, please visit Funding Results: Title II, Part D, Enhancing Education Through Technology (Competitive) (Link No Longer Active).

"Children already know the important role technology plays in their lives at home," O'Connell said. "These education technology grants will help students learn about the importance of technology in the classroom and how it fits into their education and future jobs. The money will be used to integrate technology into their curriculum that in turn will prepare them for high school, college, or jobs in the future that will be much more technologically oriented."

The 29 local education agencies serve 94 schools with 80,000 students. These grants represent the competitive portion of EETT, funded through Title II, Part D of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. EETT provides funding to help eligible school districts use technology to enhance teaching and promote learning for students in grades four through eight in order for them to gain the academic and technology literacy skills needed to help them succeed in high school. EETT has provided more than $255 million to California in education technology funds over the past three years.

A total of 131 local education agencies applied for the grants during this funding round. Grantees were selected through an in-depth review and scoring process. Review teams were composed of education administrators, teachers, and education technology professionals. Each of the 29 grantees will receive awards ranging from $11,000 to $5,850,000, based on $300 per student in grades four through eight. The grantees must submit signed grant award documents to the California Department of Education prior to the release of the initial 70 percent of the funds. The documents outline that grantees must meet specific, required performance goals and benchmarks, as well as the required data collection methods before receiving the next 20 percent and the final 10 percent of the grant award. The funds will be used by schools to acquire, develop, and maintain an effective educational technology infrastructure that expands teacher and student access to technology.

For more information about EETT and other federally funded education technology programs, please visit Federal Technology Programs - Education Technology.

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* Update as of December 20, 2005: Since this news release was sent out, 29 local education agencies (LEAs) received $31 million in Enhancing Education Through Technology Competitive Program Grants and nearly 900 LEAs received an equivalent $31 million to integrate technology into the curriculum.  These funds will help students to prepare for high school, college, or jobs in an increasingly technology-rich and academically competitive future.