Featured

A new survey from the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) found that teachers and students remain concerned that technology used in schools is threatening their privacy and civil rights.
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Pennsylvania to Deploy Text Messaging to State Residents
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said his office is rolling out a new texting program to improve government communication with state residents. -
NY Gov. Hochul Names Dru Rai as new CIO
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has appointed Dru Rai as the state’s new chief information officer (CIO) and director of the New York State Office of Information Technology Services. -
New Hampshire Schools Receive Robotics Grants
The New Hampshire Department of Education announced that 77 schools will receive a total of $713,601 to fund robotics programs for their students.
Recent News
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Cybersecurity Tops List of State Education Technology Priorities
State education leaders remain highly concerned about cybersecurity risks, according to a new survey from the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA). -
FCC OIG: ACP Provider Returns $49M it Improperly Claimed
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced that a major Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) provider has voluntarily repaid $49.4 million that it improperly claimed between June 2021 and July 2022. -
Sen. Klobuchar Aims for AI Election Guardrails by Year’s End
With the 2024 elections right around the corner, senators warned about issues arising from the use of unregulated AI technology, and said they will aim to approve legislation creating AI “guardrails” on election security by the end of this year.

Join state CIOs and industry experts for discussions on the pressing issues facing state and local government IT teams during the next installment of MeriTalk’s State Tech Vision series.
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Education, Health Officials Want More Help Mitigating Ransomware Attacks
Officials from the health care and education sectors called on Congress Wednesday to provide better Federal aid to state and local governments to not only respond to ransomware attacks, but also to help prevent them. -
MeriTalk Q&A: From CISO to CIO, New Mexico IT Leader has Seen it All
From laying cable throughout his college campus to heading up the state government’s information technology organization in New Mexico, state CIO Raja Sambandam has come a long way. However, he’s used to it. -
Ohio Invests $5M in Law Enforcement Body Cameras
The Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS) opened the third application window for its Ohio Body-Worn Camera Grant Program. -
Public Library Association Awards $1.27M for Digital Literacy, ACP Awareness
The Public Library Association has awarded $1.27 million to more than 200 public libraries to support digital literacy efforts and Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) enrollment.
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Boston University Forms AI Task Force for Campus Use
Boston University (BU) announced that it has formed an AI Task Force that will asses both the benefits and drawbacks of generative artificial intelligence, as well as define pathways for the use of the technology on campus.
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EdTech Key to Reducing Workloads, Improving Effectiveness
Both teachers and administrators agree that education technology is key to improving the classroom, according to a new survey from edtech platform Clever.
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Alabama Community College System Taps New LMS to Expand Learning Access
The Alabama Community College System (ACCS) has selected a new learning management system (LMS) as part of a statewide initiative to transform and modernize its learning experience and increase student success.
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CISA Rolls Out K-12 Cybersecurity Career Awareness Challenges
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is adding new cybersecurity micro-challenges to its Cyber Careers Pathway Tool, which will give people interested in a career in cybersecurity the ability to interactively explore career pathways.
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Virginia, Pennsylvania Governors Issue Gen-AI Executive Orders
As artificial intelligence (AI) technology is seeing an explosion in interest and use cases in government, the governors of Pennsylvania and Virginia last week issued executive orders that aim to create baselines of policy for development of generative AI applications.
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Washington State Using AI to Fight Wildfires
With wildfire season underway, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is turning to advanced AI technology to gain actionable intelligence to attack wildfires.
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Texas Modernizing State Criminal Justice Information Systems
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has tapped Mission Critical Partners (MCP) to help the agency overhaul the state’s criminal justice information systems and operations.
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Hill Gets Input on ‘Biggest Bang’ for Broadband Funding
Although the Federal government has numerous programs in place to provide financial support to aid the deployment of high-speed broadband to unserved areas, industry experts told members of Congress on Thursday that they’re not getting the “biggest bang for the buck.”
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MeriTalk Interview: Oregon Assistant CIO Crucial to Modernization Effort
State organizations are often confusing labyrinths – and difficult for laymen and even policy wonks to clearly understand – but in the case of Oregon state government IT functions the line of responsibility is clear with state Chief Information Officer (CIO) Terrence Woods reporting directly into Gov. Tina Koteck as a member of her cabinet.
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GSA, DoL Expand Login.gov Partnership to Modernize State UI Systems
Following up on efforts that began in May of this year, the General Services Administration (GSA) and Department of Labor (DoL) have expanded their partnership to now offer all states the opportunity to use Login.gov to help improve access, decrease fraud, and increase security in the delivery of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits.