This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Alabama Science in Motion Act of 1995."

The Legislature of the State of Alabama hereby finds:

(1) That the Alabama Science in Motion Program (the ASIM Program) of six pilot networks, created by Act No. 94-673, to augment the science curriculum of the public schools, have demonstrated efficacy as a model in advancing the state's efforts towards the following goals and directives of the "Alabama Education Improvement Act of 1991."

(2) That by the year 2000, Alabama students should be among the country's leaders in mathematics and science achievement and that special attention be given to science in the Alabama Course of Study.

(3) That the State Board of Education provide "a plan for the cooperative development and execution of research, demonstration, evaluation and dissemination of activities related to the effective use of technologies in teaching and learning"; and that these activities be carried out in cooperation with the existing Alabama Regional Inservice Centers and local school systems.

(4) That the model is consistent and compatible with a coordinated educational technology plan; that it uses technology to improve teaching and learning; and that it uses technology to "improve efficiency in productivity in education administration."

The Legislature further finds that the Alabama Science in Motion Program is an effective and efficient model that furthers the state's efforts to: (1) promote equity in the allocation of the state's financial and educational resources among the several school systems of the state; (2) provide students of the public schools with adequate science laboratories, as provided for in Section 16-1-29(a) (2); and (3) provide students of the public schools with instructional supplies and science equipment in adequate form and quantity, as provided by law.

It is the intent of the Legislature that the Alabama Science in Motion Program shall augment the science curriculum of the public schools and be administered such that:

(1) The ASIM Program complement, enhance and facilitate the implementation of the Alabama Course of Study: Science.

(2) The State Superintendent of Education annually makes every effort practical to expose the ASIM Program to the maximum number of students enrolled in science coursework, regardless of the students' prior achievement levels in science or other academic coursework.

(3) Each of the core sciences covered under the ASIM Program be standardized among the several networks, in terms of the scientific equipment that is utilized, the content of instruction presented in the classroom and in the content and the extent of the staff development training offered to science teachers. In the development of both the classroom instructional content and the content of the professional development training, the standards used shall meet or exceed those of Juniata College's (Pennsylvania) Science in Motion Program. Provided, however, no provision of this chapter shall be construed to require each network to conform to a specific organizational structure.

(4) Representatives from the schools of education involved in science education and from the schools of natural sciences of the several host universities for each Alabama Regional Inservice Center jointly cooperate and participate in the planning and in the oversight of the operations of the network. This action advances the efforts of the State Board of Education to encourage university schools of education to review their programs to ensure that prospective teachers are properly prepared to teach, as contemplated in Section 16-3-15(g).

(5) The host universities of each of the eleven sites shall share in this effort to implement the provisions of this chapter through cost sharing. The cost sharing may be financial support, in-kind services or other forms of support, which demonstrate the host universities' commitment to the ASIM Program. The State Superintendent of Education shall, however, annually determine the adequacy of the cost sharing that is provided by each host university.

(a) The State Board of Education may promulgate necessary rules and regulations for the effective administration of the Alabama Science in Motion Program, in accordance with applicable state laws. Upon the recommendation of the State Superintendent of Education the State Board of Education shall adopt a flexible schedule, of not more than five years, that will provide for the complete statewide expansion of the Alabama Science in Motion Program to eleven networks, one network to operate within the service region of each of the eleven existing Alabama Regional Inservice Centers. ASIM Program expansion shall be completed when each network shall operate one van for each of the three core sciences, namely biology, chemistry and physics. The schedule shall consist of three or more phases; provided, that all effort shall be made to ensure that no geographic region of the state shall be unduly neglected by the schedule as the expansion of the ASIM Program unfolds.

It is hereby expressly provided that each phase of the schedule shall be implemented only to the extent that funding is appropriated or otherwise made available for implementation.

(b) There is hereby created an Alabama Science in Motion Advisory Committee consisting of not more than twelve members who shall advise the State Superintendent of Education on the operational activities of the ASIM Program. The membership of the ASIM Advisory Committee shall be comprised of six project directors, three van operators and three classroom science teachers; provided, however, that each of the eleven sites shall be represented by at least one member of the ASIM Advisory Committee.

The State Superintendent of Education may appoint a full-time director for the Science in Motion Program who shall be responsible for the day-to-day administration, monitoring and coordination of the ASIM Program.

The State Superintendent of Education shall be responsible for the following:

(1) Initiate the preparation of proposals for funding grants from governmental, corporate or private sources. If, as a requirement for receiving grant funds, the grant-awarding entity requires the participation of private schools in the Alabama Science in Motion Program, the superintendent is hereby authorized to include private schools to the extent that the requirement is satisfied.

(2) Establish the ASIM Program standards upon approval of the State Board of Education and certify that each network annually meets the overall standards of the ASIM Program as a prior condition for the allocation of the respective shares of ASIM Program funds to each network.

(3) Document and maintain records of the ASIM Program and make an annual report to the Legislature, by the tenth legislative day of each regular session, which summarizes the finances and activities of the ASIM Program during the previous school year.

(4) The State Superintendent of Education is authorized to contract with one or more of the host universities to make purchases of scientific equipment and supplies on behalf of the ASIM Program in the event that more favorable prices can be obtained by the host university.

In the event that in any fiscal year prior to the complete expansion of the ASIM Program, grant funds are received as funding support for the ASIM Program, the State Superintendent of Education shall allocate the grant funds in an equitable manner among the several ASIM Program networks to replace a like amount of state funds. The state superintendent shall also recoup the replaced state funds previously allocated among the networks and deposit the state funds to the credit of the Education Technology Fund, to be expended at the recommendation of the superintendent upon the approval of the State Board of Education for further expansion of the ASIM Program, according to the approved schedule.

In the event that grant funds are received after the expansion of the ASIM Program is completed, the recouped state funds shall be deposited to the credit of the Education Technology Fund to be expended at the recommendation of the state superintendent upon approval of the State Board of Education for any purpose stated within an approved statewide plan for the acquisition and use of advanced technology in the public schools.