The Legislature states findings supporting the Alabama Science in Motion Program and its role in improving science education, technology use, and resource allocation in public schools.
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.