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To close the task gap, Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel proposed allowing the use of federal E-Rate investment for Wi-Fi on school buses at a May 11 assembly of the National Coalition for Technology in Education and Training.
For more than 20 years, the E-Rate program has allowed eligible schools and libraries to apply for universal telecommunications service and Internet facilities to and within schools and libraries. But when COVID-19 forced schools to transfer to virtual learning, academics without the reliable high-speed web at home were left behind.
To address this disconnect, Congress created the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF), a transitional relief program that covered moderate prices for laptops and tablets, Wi-Fi access points, modems, routers, and broadband for off-campus use through students, faculty, and the library. Patron.
ECF has already committed more than $35 million to the acquisition of Wi-Fi and broadband access issues on school buses, which has been particularly useful for students in rural spaces without broadband at home. In And Springs, Oklahoma, for example, students were able to complete their homework on the round trip to school. In addition, buses were parked at night in neighborhoods where connectivity is lacking, so local youth had more opportunities to do their homework, Rosenworcel said.
Now that the ECF is coming to an end, Rosenworcel will make Wi-Fi for school buses eligible for E-Rate funding.
If passed, Rosenworcel’s declaratory decision would allow the use of E-Rate’s investment for Wi-Fi or similar point technologies on school buses. Because wireless technology has educational purposes, it is eligible for investment, he said.
“While we have made progress in connecting many more families through our broadband investment programs, the lack of homework remains a harsh truth for millions of school-age youth in urban and rural America,” Rosenworcel said in a statement. “Wiring our school buses is a practical step we can take is consistent with the history of the E-rate program. This update, in a common sense, could help young people who do not have broadband at home. »
According to the draft declaratory ruling, the potential effect of investing in Wi-Fi on school buses would be limited compared to the benefits students would derive from it. In addition, the E-Rate program has been particularly under investment limits in recent years, the FCC said.
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