BILL ANALYSIS 1
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SENATE ENERGY, UTILITIES AND COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
DEBRA BOWEN, CHAIRWOMAN
SR 29 - Murray Hearing
Date: June 27, 2000 S
As Amended: June 26, 2000 FISCAL R
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DESCRIPTION
The resolution makes findings and declarations about the
relative lack of computer accessibility by low-income and
minority households, a phenomenon known as the "digital
divide," and resolves that the State of California should
provide support, encouragement, and incentives to close the
digital divide.
BACKGROUND
The digital divide refers to the relative lack of access to
computers and the Internet by the poor, minorities, and
rural Americans. This divide is in part a reflection of
the natural progression of adaptation to any new technology
(i.e. the wealthy are more likely to adopt a new, expensive
technology much faster than any other segment of society).
However, there's growing concern over the digital divide
because the failure to bridge the divide will increasingly
lead to poorer educational opportunities and unequal
employment opportunities.
The recognition of a relationship between technology access
and education quality isn't new. As early as 1991, West
Virginia implemented a program to comprehensively provide
computers in elementary classrooms and earlier this year,
the Governor of Maine proposed giving every seventh grader
a laptop computer with Internet service.
Meanwhile, California has its own initiatives. The Digital
High School Educational Technology Grant program was
created in 1997 to provide all high school students with
basic computer skills. In the San Diego area, the South
Bay Union School District has hooked up the homes of 1,000
fourth through sixth grade students to the Internet through
their televisions. Non-profits are also playing a role.
In a hearing earlier this year, the Committee heard the
Latino Issues Forum describe its program to provide poor
and minority students with computers in their homes and
schools, as well as training/mentoring for their parents.
These programs aren't well coordinated, but they do share a
common thread in that they recognize the value and
importance of bridging the "educational digital divide."
In prior hearings on the digital divide, this Committee
discussed the notion of leveraging existing assets to
extend their usefulness by making them more accessible to
different groups of people.
QUESTIONS
1.Should the bill's description of the "digital divide" be
expanded to cover the need to educate people on how to
use the Internet to their benefit?
COMMENTS
1)What Exactly Is The "Digital Divide?" What constitutes
the digital divide is, in many respects, in the eye of
the beholder. This bill states that the digital divide
is the term commonly used to describe the "gap between
those who can afford the computer hardware and software
they need to access the Internet at home and those who
cannot."
As this Committee heard during three informational
hearings early this year, many people believe that
bridging the digital divide involves more than providing
people with the means to purchase a computer and Internet
access for their use at home. Other keys to helping
people successfully bridge that divide include providing
them with education and instruction on how to use the
computer and the Internet, providing them with a learning
environment in which they feel comfortable asking
questions, and providing them with technical support
should technological problems arise.
As such, the author and Committee may wish to consider
whether the definition of the "digital divide" in this
resolution should be expanded.
2)Related Legislation . SB 1664 (Bowen) requires the State
Department of Education to create Internet access centers
throughout the State. SB 1734 (Bowen) establishes a
grant program to encourage schools and public libraries
to make their computer facilities available to the public
on evenings and weekends. Both bills are pending in the
Assembly Education Committee.
POSITIONS
Sponsor:
Author
Support:
None on file.
Oppose:
None on file.
Randy Chinn
SR 29 Analysis
Hearing Date: June 27, 2000