The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that it has committed more than $65 million in funding through the Emergency Connectivity Program (ECP) as part of its continued push to close the homework gap.
The latest round of funding will benefit approximately 170,000 students across the country, including students in Alaska, Indiana, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, and Texas.
“With this new round of funding, more kids will have the digital tools they need to connect with teachers and online assignments after school,” said FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel. “This program is bringing us closer to the goal of closing the Homework Gap so all students have the resources they need to do well in school and beyond.”
The latest round of funding will support more than 200 schools, 20 libraries, and 2 consortia. The FCC noted that funding can be used to support off-campus learning, such as nightly homework, to ensure students across the country have the necessary support to keep up with their education.
As part of the ECP, the FCC has committed more than $6.4 billion in funding to schools and libraries nationwide. The program has provided eligible institutions with three different application windows to apply for support. The ECP has provided support to approximately 10,000 schools, 1,000 libraries, and 100 consortia, and over 12 million connected devices and over 8 million broadband connections.
