House Bill 815

AN ACT TO REQUIRE EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE TO SERVE ALL THE SCHOOLS AND CLASSROOMS IN THE DISTRICT; TO REQUIRE THE DISTRICTS TO DEVELOP A STRATEGIC PLAN TO PROVIDE FOR A TWO-YEAR PHASE-IN PERIOD FOR COMPLETE IMPLEMENTATION; TO REQUIRE DISTRICTS TO CONDUCT THOROUGH NEEDS ASSESSMENTS TO DETERMINE EXISTING ABILITY AND NETWORK CAPACITY AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE NETWORK TRAFFIC; TO REQUIRE SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO ISSUE AND PUBLICIZE REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS WITHIN FORTY-FIVE DAYS OF THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT'S CONCLUSION WHICH SPECIFIES THE CRITERIA TO BE INCLUDED IN PROPOSALS SUBMITTED FOR THE INSTALLATION AND SERVICE OF WIRELESS SYSTEMS; TO REQUIRE SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO SUBMIT THEIR STRATEGIC PLAN OF DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION TO THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, WHICH SHALL DETERMINE WHETHER THE WIRELESS CLASSROOM MODULE PROPOSED IS FUNCTIONAL ACCORDING TO THE GUIDELINES ESTABLISHED BY THE DEPARTMENT FOR THE APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL OF PROPOSED WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE; TO PRESCRIBE THE CRITERIA AND ABILITY OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT'S WIRELESS CAPABILITY REQUIRED TO BE DEMONSTRATED TO THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FOR ELIGIBILITY TO RECEIVE STATE FUNDS FOR WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE SERVING GRADES K—12; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. (1) Each school district in the state shall develop and fully implement, by the 2023-2024 school year, a wireless technology infrastructure to serve all students enrolled and in attendance, as well as the instructional and administrative staff employed in each public school serving students in Grades K-12. Each district shall develop a strategic plan to provide for a two-year phase-in period, beginning with the 2022-2023 school year for complete implementation, which reflects both the newly identified needs of the district in totality and each independent school facility operating therein and the progress made toward plan goals and objectives. A thorough needs assessment shall be conducted examining existing network capacity and the status of all technical equipment, along with research on recommendations for future network traffic.

(2) At the conclusion of the needs assessment of system infrastructure, each school district, in order to solicit, encourage and guide the development of a quality wireless school and classroom environment, shall issue and publicize requests for proposals (RFP) within forty-five (45) days of the needs assessment's conclusion. The content and dissemination of the request for proposals must be consistent with the purposes and requirements of this act. The school district's request for proposals must include the following:

(a) A clear statement of any preferences the school district desires to incorporate as a feature of its technology development to achieve optimal performance of its wired and wireless network;

(b) A description of the infrastructure framework that the district has determined necessary for the continued administration, operation, oversight and evaluation of the established network system;

(c) The criteria that will guide the district's decision to approve or deny a submitted proposal for installation and service; and

(d) A clear statement of appropriately detailed questions, as well as guidelines, concerning the format and content essential for submitted proposals to demonstrate the capacities necessary to establish and operate a successful wireless technology infrastructure and the district's wide area network internal circuits, that supports wireless access points in every classroom and multiple access points throughout common areas on school campuses.

(3) Each school district shall submit its strategic plan of development and implementation to the State Department of Education, which shall determine whether the wireless classroom module proposed is functional according to the guidelines established by the department for the approval or disapproval of proposed wireless technology infrastructures.

SECTION 2. In order to be eligible to receive state funds for wireless technology infrastructure serving Grades K—12, school districts shall first demonstrate to the State Department of Education that the infrastructure meets or exceeds the following:

(a) Functionality. The wireless system shall ensure coverage such that there is sufficient capacity to connect all mobile computing devices to the wireless local area network (LAN) from any instructional and administrative area in the school. Students and educators will experience a transparent roaming connectivity to the wireless LAN while moving through all rooms and common areas in the school building. The wireless system shall include access to all instructional areas as well as all administrative areas including, at a minimum, academic classrooms for all content areas, frequently used study areas, media centers, assembly spaces, libraries and administrative offices. The functionality shall meet requirements established under this section.

(b) Validation testing. System validation testing shall be conducted by school districts in conjunction with the State Department of Education to confirm the wireless installation meets or exceeds the functional requirements and performance and reliability specifications established under this section. The validation test shall provide the school district the opportunity to test its wireless system and assure the State Department

of Education that the solution meets or exceeds established performance and reliability standards established by the department. The testing shall include connectivity, usability and reliability during the first year of full implementation. The department reserves the right to require additional testing as deemed appropriate to ensure the ongoing functionality and integrity of the wireless system. All installations shall include a site work completion and satisfaction verification signed by the responsible individuals designated by both the school district and the department.

(c) Content filtering and wireless security. Internet content filtering shall be included as part of any wireless Internet access made available to children, and shall include an acceptable use policy to be agreed to by every individual who accesses and uses the district's wireless technology infrastructure. The filtering solution shall be configurable to school district policies on acceptable, age appropriate Internet content. The content filtering shall include the ability:

(i) For each school to manage its own filtering policies, including the decision to block specific categories of content and to maintain its own whitelist and blacklist overrides;

(ii) To provide individual district utilization and filtering reports, including the most frequently visited websites, the most frequently visited categories, the most frequently blocked websites, search terms most frequently used and the top authenticated users;

(iii) To audit all changes to content filtering;

(iv) For all reporting and management of content filtering to be available through any Internet—connected browser and efficiently perform all content filtering functions; and

(v) To protect against eavesdropping and unauthorized access, which shall include encryption or other techniques to provide assurances that the school district may turn on or off as school district policy indicates.

For the purposes of this section, the term "school district" also means a public charter school or its governing board. The State Department of Education shall develop wireless functionality, performance and reliability requirements.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2022.