Legislator denies Apple computer bias; his bill goes to full House

08:50 PM CDT on Friday, April 8, 2005

By ROBERT T. GARRETT / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN – Some education vendors say that Rep. Kent Grusendorf, R-Arlington, is tilting school technology legislation to benefit certain computer makers and that his visit Friday to a South Texas school district where 1,000 high-schoolers use Apple laptops confirms it.

Mr. Grusendorf, the House's chief proponent of bringing new technology to the classroom, said he has been careful to ensure that all manufacturers of classroom materials could compete for potentially lucrative contracts that his bill would create.

He said he has made field trips to high-tech classrooms in Irving and Arlington and to other manufacturers' plants. His viewing of wireless Apple laptops in the Pleasanton schools, 40 miles south of San Antonio, doesn't signify any bias in favor of Apple Computer, Mr. Grusendorf said.

"This bill in no form or fashion will benefit any particular vendor," he said of his measure to spend $450 million on school technology in the next two years. The plan would encourage the use of electronically delivered materials instead of textbooks.

On Tuesday, the bill cleared the House Public Education Committee, which Mr. Grusendorf heads, on a 7-0 vote. The bill now heads to the full House.

"Apple has absolutely no advantage anywhere in this bill, that's nonsense," Mr. Grusendorf said.

In a slap at textbook companies, he added: "The only people concerned are the people who benefit from the current system. ... We have to change with the times, and sometimes change creates problems with specific vendors."

Cliff Avery, who runs a professional association for school districts' textbook buyers, said the proposed shift to electronically delivered classroom materials is risky.

"It appears that in their rush to embrace new technology, legislators like Chairman Grusendorf are forgetting some of the fundamentals of education," Mr. Avery said. "There is still no substitute for good teachers and quality instructional materials. ... We do have some students that cannot even maintain, or hang onto, a textbook. It's hard to imagine giving them a laptop."

Textbook publishers and manufacturers of electronic learning devices for elementary school students have worried that the bill would exclude them, but Mr. Grusendorf amended it after news reports last weekend questioned an Apple executive's role on a task force that studied the issue.

Mr. Grusendorf created the task force in late 2003. He says more than 70 vendors took part, and he said that if anyone can point to language in his bill that favors a vendor or product, he'll change it.

Under the bill, he said, a local district would have to demonstrate to state education officials that it is has a well-conceived plan before getting a grant.

The bill would eliminate the state's current cycle for adopting textbooks. Vendors could submit any instructional material for placement on the state's approved list at any time, which would allow faster updates. While materials would have to match state curriculum standards, local districts would have more discretion, Mr. Grusendorf said.

"You don't have to wait six years before you put a product in the hands of the school children," he said. "The world has changed, and we've got to re-evaluate how we do instructional materials for kids."

E-mail rtgarrett@dallasnews.com