16.993(1)(1) In cooperation with school districts, cooperative educational service agencies, the technical college system board, and the board of regents of the University of Wisconsin System, promote the efficient, cost-effective procurement, installation, and maintenance of educational technology by school districts, cooperative educational service agencies, technical college districts, and the University of Wisconsin System.

16.993(2)(2) Identify the best methods of providing preservice and in-service training for teachers related to educational technology.

16.993(3)(3) Enter into cooperative purchasing agreements under s. 16.73 (1) under which participating school districts and cooperative educational service agencies may contract for their professional employees to receive training concerning the effective use of educational technology.

16.993(4)(4) In cooperation with the board of regents of the University of Wisconsin System, the technical college system board, the department of public instruction and other entities, support the development of courses for the instruction of professional employees who are licensed by the state superintendent of public instruction concerning the effective use of educational technology.

16.993(5)(5) Provide telecommunications access to educational agencies under the program established under s. 16.997.

16.993(6)(6) No later than October 1 of each even-numbered year, submit a biennial report concerning the department’s activities under this subchapter to the governor, and to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature under s. 13.172 (3).

16.993(7)(7) Purchase educational technology materials, supplies, equipment, and contractual services for school districts, cooperative educational service agencies, technical college districts, the board of regents of the University of Wisconsin System, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison under s. 16.72 (8), and establish standards and specifications for purchases of educational technology hardware and software by school districts, cooperative educational service agencies, technical college districts, and the board of regents of the University of Wisconsin System.

16.993(8)(8) Purchase educational technology equipment for use by school districts, cooperative educational service agencies, and public educational institutions in this state and permit the districts, agencies, and institutions to purchase or lease the equipment, with an option to purchase the equipment at a later date. This subsection does not require the purchase or lease of any educational technology equipment from the department.

16.995(1)(1) Financial assistance authorized. The department may provide financial assistance under this section to school districts from the proceeds of public debt contracted under s. 20.866 (2) (zc) and to public library boards from the proceeds of public debt contracted under s. 20.866 (2) (zcm). Financial assistance under this section may be used only for the purpose of upgrading the electrical wiring of school and library buildings in existence on October 14, 1997, and installing and upgrading computer network wiring. The department may not provide any financial assistance under this section after July 26, 2003.

16.995(2)(2) Financial assistance applications, terms, and conditions. The department shall establish application procedures for, and the terms and conditions of, financial assistance under this section. The department shall make a loan to a school district or public library board, or to a municipality on behalf of a public library board, in an amount equal to 50 percent of the total amount of financial assistance for which the department determines the school district or public library board is eligible and provide a grant to the school district or public library board for the remainder of the total. The terms and conditions of any financial assistance under this section may include the provision of professional building construction services under s. 16.85 (15). The department shall determine the interest rate on loans under this section. The interest rate shall be as low as possible but shall be sufficient to fully pay all interest expenses incurred by the state in making the loans and to provide reserves that are reasonably expected to be required in the judgment of the department to ensure against losses arising from delinquency and default in the repayment of the loans. The term of a loan under this section may not exceed 10 years.

16.995(3)(3) Repayment of loans. The department shall credit all moneys received from school districts for repayment of loans under this section to the appropriation account under s. 20.505 (4) (ha). The department shall credit all moneys received from public library boards or from municipalities on behalf of public library boards for repayment of loans under this section to the appropriation account under s. 20.505 (4) (hb).

16.995(3m)(3m) Public debt repayment. To the extent that sufficient moneys for the provision of educational telecommunications access under s. 16.997 are available in the appropriation account under s. 20.505 (4) (mp) after payment of the administrative expenses specified in s. 20.505 (4) (mp), the department shall use those available moneys to reimburse s. 20.505 (4) (es) and (et) for the payment of principal and interest costs incurred in financing educational technology infrastructure financial assistance under this section and to make full payment of the amounts determined by the building commission under s. 13.488 (1) (m).

16.995(4)(4) Funding for financial assistance. The department, subject to the limits of s. 20.866 (2) (zc) and (zcm), may request that the building commission contract public debt in accordance with ch. 18 to fund financial assistance under this section.

16.997(1)(1) Except as provided in s. 196.218 (4t), the department shall promulgate rules establishing an educational telecommunications access program to provide educational agencies with access to data lines.

16.997(2)(2) The rules promulgated under sub. (1) shall do all of the following:

16.997(2)(b)(b) Establish eligibility requirements for an educational agency to participate in the program established under sub. (1) and to receive additional telecommunications access under s. 16.998, including a requirement that a charter school sponsor use data lines to benefit pupils attending the charter school and a requirement that Internet access to material that is harmful to children, as defined in s. 948.11 (1) (b), is blocked on the computers of juvenile correctional facilities that are served by data lines subsidized under this section.

16.997(2)(d)(d) Require an educational agency to pay the department not more than $250 per month for each data line that is provided to the educational agency under the program established under sub. (1), except that the charge may not exceed $100 per month for each data line that relies on a transport medium that operates at a speed of 1.544 megabits per second.

16.997(2)(f)(f) Ensure that juvenile correctional facilities that receive access under this section to data lines or that receive additional access under s. 16.998 to data lines and bandwidth use those data lines and that bandwidth only for educational purposes.

16.997(2c)(2c) The department shall develop criteria to use to evaluate whether to provide more than one data line to an educational agency. The department shall include in the criteria an educational agency’s current bandwidth, equipment, and readiness, and the available providers and any other economic development in the geographic area that the educational agency serves.