 
 CHAPTER 70--STRENGTHENING AND IMPROVEMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY 
                                 SCHOOLS
 
                SUBCHAPTER III--TECHNOLOGY FOR EDUCATION
 
            Part A--Technology for Education of All Students
 
                     subpart 4--product development
 
Sec. 6871. Educational technology product development


(a) Purpose

    It is the purpose of this subpart to--
        (1) support development of curriculum-based learning resources 
    using state-of-the-art technologies and techniques designed to 
    improve student learning; and
        (2) support development of long-term comprehensive instructional 
    programming and associated support resources that ensure maximum 
    access by all educational institutions.

(b) Federal assistance authorized

                           (1) In general

        The Secretary shall provide assistance, on a competitive basis, 
    to eligible consortia to enable such entities to develop, produce, 
    and distribute state-of-the-art technology-enhanced instructional 
    resources and programming for use in the classroom or to support 
    professional development for teachers.

                   (2) Grants and loans authorized

        In carrying out the purposes of this section, the Secretary is 
    authorized to pay the Federal share of the cost of the development, 
    production, and distribution of state-of-the-art technology enhanced 
    instructional resources and programming--
            (A) by awarding grants to, or entering into contracts or 
        cooperative agreements with, eligible consortia; or
            (B) by awarding loans to eligible consortia which--
                (i) shall be secured in such manner and be repaid within 
            such period, not exceeding 20 years, as may be determined by 
            the Secretary;
                (ii) shall bear interest at a rate determined by the 
            Secretary which shall be not more than the total of one-
            quarter of 1 percent per annum added to the rate of interest 
            paid by the Secretary on funds obtained from the Secretary 
            of the Treasury; and
                (iii) may be forgiven by the Secretary, in an amount not 
            to exceed 25 percent of the total loan, under such terms and 
            conditions as the Secretary may consider appropriate.

                      (3) Matching requirement

        The Secretary may require any recipient of a grant or contract 
    under this subpart to share in the cost of the activities assisted 
    under such grant or contract, which non-Federal share shall be 
    announced through a notice in the Federal Register and may be in the 
    form of cash or in-kind contributions, fairly valued.

                       (4) Eligible consortium

        For the purpose of this subsection, the term ``eligible 
    consortium'' means a consortium--
            (A) that shall include--
                (i) a State or local educational agency; and
                (ii) a business, industry, or telecommunications entity; 
            and

            (B) that may include--
                (i) a public or private nonprofit organization; or
                (ii) a postsecondary institution.

                           (5) Priorities

        In awarding assistance under this section, the Secretary shall 
    give priority to applications describing programs or systems that--
            (A) promote the acquisition of higher-order thinking skills 
        and promise to raise the achievement levels of all students, 
        particularly disadvantaged students who are not realizing their 
        potential;
            (B) are aligned with challenging State content standards and 
        State and local curriculum frameworks;
            (C) may be adapted and applied nationally at a reasonable 
        cost over a broad technology platform;
            (D) convert technology resources developed with support from 
        the Department of Defense and other Federal agencies for 
        effective use in the classroom;
            (E) show promise of reducing the costs of providing high-
        quality instruction;
            (F) show promise of expanding access to high-quality 
        instruction in content areas which would otherwise not be 
        available to students in rural and urban communities or who are 
        served by other educational agencies with limited financial 
        resources;
            (G) are developed in consultation with classroom teachers;
            (H) are developed through consultation and collaboration 
        with appropriate education entities in designing the product to 
        ensure relevance to the voluntary national content standards, 
        the voluntary national student performance standards and State 
        curriculum frameworks; and
            (I) are developed so that the product can be adapted for use 
        by adults in need of literacy services, including English as a 
        second language and preparation for a secondary school diploma 
        or its recognized equivalent.

               (6) Requirements for Federal assistance

        Each eligible consortium desiring Federal assistance under this 
    section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time 
    and in such manner as the Secretary may prescribe. Each application 
    shall include--
            (A) a description of how the product will improve the 
        achievement levels of students;
            (B) a description of how the activities assisted under this 
        section will promote professional development of teachers and 
        administrators in the uses and applications of the product, 
        including the development of training materials;
            (C) a description of design, development, field testing, 
        evaluation, and distribution of products, where appropriate;
            (D) an assurance that the product shall effectively serve a 
        significant number or percentage of economically disadvantaged 
        students;
            (E) plans for dissemination of products to a wide audience 
        of learners;
            (F) a description of how the product can be adapted for use 
        by students with disabilities including provisions for closed 
        captioning or descriptive video, where appropriate;
            (G) a description of how ownership and rights to the use and 
        marketing of any product developed by the consortium, including 
        intellectual property rights, will be allocated among consortium 
        participants; and
            (H) a description of the contributions, including services 
        and funds, to be made by each member of the consortium, and how 
        any revenues derived from the sale of any product developed by 
        the consortium shall be distributed.

(c) Consumer report

    The Secretary shall provide for the independent evaluation of 
products developed under this section and shall disseminate information 
about products developed pursuant to provisions of this section to State 
and local educational agencies, and other organizations or individuals 
that the Secretary determines to be appropriate, through print and 
electronic media that are accessible to the education community at 
large.

(d) Proceeds

    The Secretary shall not prohibit an eligible consortium or any of 
the members of such consortium from receiving financial benefits from 
the distribution of any products resulting from the assistance received 
under this section. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any 
profits or royalties received by a State educational agency, local 
educational agency, or other nonprofit member of an eligible consortium 
receiving assistance under this section shall be used to support further 
development of curriculum-based learning resources, services, and 
programming or to provide access to such products for a wider audience.

(Pub. L. 89-10, title III, Sec. 3151, as added Pub. L. 103-382, title I, 
Sec. 101, Oct. 20, 1994, 108 Stat. 3652.)
