Section 37-68-9 - Responsibilities and authority of the Department of Education(1) The department shall: (a) Inform each school of its portion of the funds appropriated to this grant program as provided for in Section 37-68-7(2).(b) Develop regulations and procedures to govern the administration of this grant program, to include: (i) A reimbursement process for schools to submit expenditures and receive reimbursement for eligible expenses from the department up to the total amount allocated to each school in Section 37-68-7;(ii) Provide guidance to schools in the development of a technology sustainability plan, addressing how devices and other technology purchased and used by the school district, and students, teachers and other administrators and staff, will be maintained throughout their usage and replaced before the expiration of the term of their expected useful life;(iii) Provide guidance to schools in the development of a responsible use policy for students, teachers and administrators or other staff to govern the use of devices and other technology purchased under this grant program;(c) Provide guidance to schools on the development and implementation of a distance learning plan;(d) Solicit bid proposals from vendors to establish an EPL; and(e) Seek an emergency exemption from the procurement laws and bidding procedures established in Section 31-7-13 to expedite the compilation of an EPL and to minimize the cost of relevant devices or other technology for school districts through bulk purchasing.(2) The department may: (a) Revise the adopted EPL based upon purchasing demands as needed to provide schools with choice in the selection of the electronic devices; and(b) Use the federal ESSER funds set aside for administration of the program to administer this grant program, to the extent permissible under federal law.Added by Laws, 2020, ch. 488, SB 3044,§ 6, (became law without the Governor's signature on July 9, 2020).