Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney proposes giving laptops to most students – Plan would affect 500,000 in state

Governor Mitt Romney yesterday proposed taking advantage of newly developed $100 laptops and giving one to every student in public middle and high schools.

As part of an overall package of education initiatives, Romney called for spending $54 million for laptops to make the Internet accessible to all students. In all, 500,000 students would receive laptops if the Legislature approves the governor’s plan.

Romney, during a news conference, highlighted the low-price laptops, which were developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab. Giving laptops to students would be phased-in over three years, beginning with students in sixth grade, he said.

Some states, including Maine, as well as large school systems, have given free laptops to students only to later scale back because of the costs of maintaining the program.

Full Story: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/09/23/romney_proposes_giving_laptops_to_most_students/

Further Stories: Maine closing technology gap for students thanks to former Gov. Angus King http://www.matr.net/article-16082.html

Maine Laptop Program Shows Strong Results http://www.matr.net/article-7224.html