20-32-102. Agency cooperation -- responsibilities. (1) To meet the objectives of the network, the following entities shall cooperate with one another:

(a) the department of administration, with its responsibilities for telecommunications for agencies of state government;

(b) the superintendent of public instruction, with a supervisory role over the public system of elementary and high schools; and

(c) the commissioner of higher education, with responsibilities to the Montana university system and the community colleges.

(2) The responsibilities of the superintendent of public instruction to the network include but are not limited to:

(a) general supervision of delivery of educational materials through telecommunications to elementary and high school districts in the state;

(b) compilation, maintenance, and dissemination to participating school districts of information that identifies the educational programming available from within and from outside the state;

(c) training of teachers and other school personnel in the use of telecommunications technologies for instructional purposes;

(d) assistance to school districts in identifying and procuring the telecommunications technologies needed to interface with the network;

(e) identification of production capability for telecommunication of educational materials;

(f) assistance to participating school districts with group purchases of instructional and educational materials;

(g) coordination with the commissioner of higher education and the units of the Montana university system to offer advanced placement courses, teacher inservice training, and other instruction through the network;

(h) payment of the superintendent's share of the network costs to the department of administration, as provided in 20-32-104;

(i) coordination with the department of administration to ensure compatibility of network components, to minimize duplication of efforts on behalf of the network, and to maximize use of the network by school districts; and

(j) determination of kinds of equipment, inservice, and district accounting necessary to implement the provisions of this part for school districts.

(3) The responsibilities of the department of administration to the network include but are not limited to:

(a) provision of technical support to the coordinating agencies referred to in subsection (1);

(b) development of standards of compatibility for the network;

(c) procurement and management of network equipment and facilities that have shared use by multiple users or agencies;

(d) assistance with procurement, installation, maintenance, and operation of end-terminal equipment and facilities of the network;

(e) minimizing any duplication of equipment and facilities within the network and in conjunction with the department of administration's other networking capabilities;

(f) coordination of use of the network by state agencies, subdivisions of the state, and public libraries in a manner that does not interfere with the delivery of the primary network function of providing educational services to school districts and state units of higher education;

(g) studying the use of the network by Native American tribal colleges and other nonpublic education institutions in the state, with the long-range goal of coordinating the use of the network with those entities; and

(h) maintenance of cost and usage records and a billing system for user agencies for services rendered that incur marginal costs for the network.

(4) The responsibilities of the commissioner of higher education to the network include but are not limited to:

(a) coordination of the use of the network among the units of higher education and with the superintendent of public instruction and the department of administration;

(b) assistance to the units of the Montana university system to provide college credit courses through the network to students throughout the state;

(c) coordination with the superintendent of public instruction to develop advance placement courses for high school students in Montana, teacher inservice training, and other services and instruction through the network;

(d) assistance to the units of the Montana university system and the community colleges in defining their specific needs for interfacing with the network;

(e) assistance to participating units, centers, and colleges with group purchases of instructional and educational materials; and

(f) determination of the kinds of equipment, inservice, and accounting necessary to implement the provisions of this part for the university system and community colleges.

History: En. Sec. 2, Ch. 622, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 22, Ch. 308, L. 1995.