BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SR 29|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SR 29
Author: Murray (D), et al
Amended: 7/5/00
Vote: 21
SENATE ENERGY, U.&C. COMMITTEE : 7-1, 6/27/00
AYES: Bowen, Alarcon, Hughes, Kelley, Murray, Solis,
Vasconcellos
NOES: Mountjoy
NOT VOTING: Brulte, Peace, Speier
SUBJECT : Digital Divide
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : 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.
ANALYSIS : 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
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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 Senate Energy,
Utilities and Communications 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.
This resolution states that California should provide
support, encouragement, and incentives to close the Digital
Divide through, for example, widespread Internet access,
education, and training at homes, schools, public places
and locally accessible sites.
Comments
What Exactly Is the "Digital Divide?" What constitutes the
digital divide is, in many respects, in the eye of the
beholder. This resolution states that the digital divide
is the term commonly used to describe the "gap between
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those who can afford the computer hardware and software
they need to access the Internet at home and those who
cannot."
Earlier this year, during the three informational hearings
held by Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications, it was
found that 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.
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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
NC:cm 7/5/00 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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