Section 388.1699b - Computer science professional development and learning programs(1) From the state school aid fund money appropriated in section 11, there is allocated an amount not to exceed $500,000.00 for 2024-2025 only to districts to develop and implement teacher professional development programs for computer science and computational thinking courses and content.(2) Funding received under subsection (1) may be used only for the following purposes:(a) High-quality professional learning for K to 12 computer science content. The costs associated with professional learning as described in this subdivision include, but are not limited to, travel to workshops. As used in this subdivision, "high-quality professional learning" means learning that is sustained, intensive, collaborative, job embedded, data driven, and classroom focused.(b) Supports for K to 12 computer science professional learning, including, but not limited to, mentoring and coaching.(c) Creation of resources to support implementation.(d) Professional learning offerings that do both of the following: (i) Help teachers identify strategies to encourage course enrollment by underrepresented groups.(ii) Connect to a curriculum that is free for educators and is aligned with the Michigan computer science standards.(e) Participation in the Strategic CSforALL Resource and Implementation Planning Tool (SCRIPT) process with a trained facilitator of this state.(3) To be eligible to receive funding under this section, a district must apply for funding in a form and manner prescribed by the department. The application must, at a minimum, address how the district will do all of the following: (a) Reach new and existing teachers with little to no computer science background.(b) Use research- or evidence-based practices for high-quality professional development.(c) Focus the professional learning on the mastery of all areas of computer science standards as approved by the state board of education in 2019.(d) Reach and support marginalized groups underrepresented in computer science, including racial and ethnic minorities, girls, and youth from families living at or below the poverty line, as that term is defined in 20 USC 7801.(e) Provide teachers with concrete experience with hands-on, inquiry-based practices.(f) Accommodate the particular teacher and student needs in each district and school.(g) Ensure that participating districts shall begin offering the courses or content within the same or next school year after the teacher receives the professional learning.(h) Commit to completing the SCRIPT process.(4) Districts may contract with high-quality professional learning providers to offer the professional learning described in subsection (2). As used in this subsection, "high-quality professional learning providers" means institutions of higher education, nonprofits, or private entities that have successfully designed, implemented, and scaled high-quality computer science professional learning for teachers, as described in subsection (2)(a).(5) The department shall prioritize districts as follows when granting funding under subsection (1):(a) Districts in rural or urban areas with a higher proportion of students from groups historically underrepresented in computer science, including racial and ethnic minorities, girls, and youth from families living at or below the poverty line, as that term is defined in 20 USC 7801.(b) Districts with limited or no computer science offerings that state in their application that the district plans to use the funding to expand in-person computer science offerings.(6) The funds allocated under this section for 2024-2025 are a work project appropriation, and any unexpended funds for 2024-2025 are carried forward into 2025-2026. The purpose of the work project is to continue to support computer science education implementation. The estimated completion date of the work project is September 30, 2026.(7) A district that receives funding under this section shall submit a report to the department by June 30, 2025. The report must include all of the following: (a) The number of teachers prepared.(b) Students reached, including the number and percentage of students reached disaggregated by gender, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.(c) The number and percentage of students with passing AP exam scores for high school AP courses, by gender, race, and ethnicity, once that data is available.(d) The number of teachers that started implementing computer science compared to the number of prepared teachers that attended professional learning.(e) The number of elementary students who are provided integrated computer science opportunities.(f) Progress in building a systematic K to 12 computer science plan using the SCRIPT rubric.(g) Any agreements to provide preassessments and postassessments of teacher readiness for teaching computational thinking and computer science and any data related to those assessments.(h) The number of in-person computer science offerings that were provided, expanded, or added using funding received under this section.(8) The department shall make the report submitted under subsection (7) available on a publicly accessible website.Amended by 2024, Act 120,s 104, eff. 10/1/2024.Added by 2023, Act 103,s 143, eff. 10/1/2023.Repealed. 2015, Act 85, Eff. 10/1/2015.Former section 388.1699b, as added by 2005, Act 155, s 52, eff. 10/1/2005, was repealed by 2006, Act 342, s 79, eff. 10/1/2006.