Opening the door in yet another state to its Web applications, Google on Tuesday said that public schools in New York state now have the option to deploy Google Apps Education Edition if they choose to do so.

Covering 697 public school districts as well as private and charter schools, the deal has been approved by the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), in conjunction with the New York State Teacher Centers and associated Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), as well as teacher unions and state professional organizations. NYIT will be providing deployment assistance, training, and support for schools that decide to adopt Google Apps.

"We’re excited that NYIT is committed to providing schools the deployment and professional development resources they need to make Google Apps for Education -- including Gmail, Docs, Sites and Calendar -- a powerful tool for teachers and students across the state," said Google Apps education manager Jaime Casap in a blog post.

The state's decision could bring as many as 3.1 million K-12 students and hundreds of thousands of teachers to Google Apps, though it's unlikely that all of the state's school districts will "go Google."

In April, Oregon became the first state to make Google Apps Education Edition available statewide. At the time, Steve Nelson, technology director of Oregon Virtual Schools, said that he expected about 50% of Oregon's almost 200 school districts would choose to deploy Google Apps within 12 months.

A Google spokesperson said that in Iowa, where Google Apps has only been an option for about two months, 30% of districts and 40% of students are using Google Apps.

Iowa and Colorado decided to support Google Apps Education Edition in June, followed by Maryland in August.

Google says that over eight million students and teachers are currently using Google Apps.

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