§ 213. Extension of educational facilities. 1. The regents may extend to the people at large increased educational opportunities and facilities, stimulate interest therein, recommend methods, designate suitable teachers and lecturers, conduct examinations and grant credentials, and otherwise organize, aid and conduct such work. And the regents, and with their approval the commissioner of education, may buy, sell, exchange and receive by will, or other gift, or on deposit, books, pictures, statuary or other sculptured work, lantern slides, apparatus, maps, globes, films, sound films, kinescopes, photographic recordings and any article or collections pertaining to or useful in and to any of the departments, divisions, schools, institutions, associations or other agencies, or work, under their supervision, or control, or encouragement, and may lend or deposit any such articles in their custody or control, when or where in their judgement compensating educational usefulness will result therefrom; and may also, from time to time, enter into contracts desirable for carrying into effect the foregoing provisions.

2. In carrying out the provisions of subdivision one of this section, the regents may: a. Contract with institutions in the university, school districts, boards of cooperative educational services or other non-profit educational agencies for the acquisition from such institutions, school districts, boards or agencies of sound films, kinescopes, audio recordings and video recordings, scripts, research reports or related educational television materials, for the use of the department, or for the production of educational television programs:

b. Lease, to school districts, boards of cooperative educational services or television corporations created pursuant to section two hundred thirty-six of this chapter, educational television facilities, including transmitters, micro-wave relay facilities, production centers, closed-circuit systems and any equipment necessary therefor, constructed or acquired, and owned by the state, leased by the state, or contract with such districts, boards of cooperative educational services or corporations for the operation of such facilities:

c. Lease and operate a television station in the city of New York.

3. For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of subdivision two of this section, the regents may make rules or authorize the commissioner to make regulations providing standards for research and experimentation, operation and programming of educational television by the state and the school districts, boards of cooperative educational services, institutions, corporations and agencies, respectively.

4. In carrying out the provisions of subdivisions one and two of this section and in order to encourage and stimulate the further development and use of educational television in the state of New York and for the purposes of providing educational services and facilities for pupils in the public schools of the state of New York, the board of regents is hereby authorized to make additional apportionments to school districts or boards of cooperative educational services in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision to encourage and assist such districts or boards to install and operate a broadcast or closed-circuit television system, or television receiving equipment for the improvement of classroom instruction.

a. Any school district or board of cooperative educational services planning to establish such a program shall submit to the commissioner of education on or before the first day of May of the school year preceding the school year during which the program is to be conducted an application, together with such information as the commissioner of education shall require, including at least a complete statement of purposes of the program, the detailed procedures of operation, a detailed estimate of the cost of such program and a complete description of the installation and equipment to be installed and the detailed procedures of evaluations to be used in determining the improvement of classroom instruction.

b. The commissioner of education shall establish procedures for evaluations of such programs. One such program for each school district or board of cooperative educational services may be approved by the commissioner of education, and any program so approved by the commissioner of education shall be placed on a list in accordance with the educational merit and value of the program, and the date of receipt of the application, where several programs are evaluated as having equal merit and value.

c. Apportionment shall then be made in accordance with the formula contained in paragraph d of this subdivision, in the order of such programs on the list established in accordance with paragraph b of this subdivision within the amount of the appropriation therefor.

d. Any district or board which proposes to install and operate a broadcast or closed-circuit television system or television receiving equipment for the improvement of classroom instruction, in accordance with a program approved as provided in this subdivision and to the extent that funds are available pursuant to this subdivision, shall be entitled to an apportionment during the five-year period following the approval of the program as follows:

Fifty per cent of the approved cost relative to the acquisition and installation of the equipment, and during the first year fifty per cent of the approved operational expenses in connection with the approved operation of the program; during the second year forty per cent of the approved operational expenses in connection with the approved operation of the program; during the third year thirty per cent of the approved operational expenses in connection with the approved operation of the program; during the fourth year twenty per cent of the approved operational expenses in connection with the approved operation of the program; and during the fifth year ten per cent of the approved operational expenses in connection with the approved operation of the program.

5. A school district or a board of cooperative educational services is hereby authorized and empowered to do and perform any and all acts necessary or convenient to enable it to carry out the provisions of this section.

6. The regents are authorized to make grants of money, materials and equipment for the purpose of promoting the erection and use of educational television facilities by educational television corporations established pursuant to the provisions of section two hundred thirty-six of this chapter. Such grants may be made upon such terms and conditions as the regents may prescribe.