Education leaders know – the Homework Gap remains. Over the last two years, there have been valiant efforts from educators, school leaders, central office staff, and, likely, your representatives in Congress to help close the digital divide. However, despite the hard work – from “the classroom to Congress” there are still far too many kids that don’t have high-quality home internet access and devices.
Pre-pandemic, schools were on the frontlines of closing the digital divide as they worked to provide one-to-one access to devices, but when schools closed in March 2020 the need grew exponentially. Thanks to many efforts, including billions in federal funding, there are now many ways to get your kids connected.
This program, often called ACP, gets individuals and families connected by providing direct access to up to $30 a month toward internet service ($75 if you live on tribal land) and a one-time $100 discount on a device.
This is a great program for families with expansive eligibility parameters. All your students that participate in the Free and Reduced Price meals programs are eligible!
Your district has probably benefited from this pandemic relief program that helped schools and libraries get nearly 15 million children connected across the nation. However, the funds run out in 2023, and most of the connections could go dark at the end of this school year.
Congress must act now to prevent this from happening and you can help!
The federal government has plans to make huge investments through the Digital Equity Act and the Broadband Equity, Access, and Development (BEAD) Program. Both these efforts require stakeholder engagement as states and localities move toward implementation. Families and districts should have strong voices in these efforts.
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