The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced a new round of funding through the Emergency Connectivity Fund Program, which provides digital tools and services to support students nationwide. The $13.9 million in new funding will benefit roughly 35,000 students nationwide, including students in California, New York, Illinois, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia.
Through the ECP, the FCC has provided schools and libraries with three different “application windows” to apply for support. This latest round of funding supports applications from the third application window.
“In or out of session, connecting students to digital resources remains vital to their academic success. Libraries and schools ensure students have access to the internet year-round. That’s why we are pleased to announce another round of funding that will empower libraries and schools to provide students the digital tools needed to close the Homework Gap,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.
According to the FCC, this latest round of funding will support approximately 52 schools and school districts, five libraries and library systems. Through the program, schools and libraries can use the funding to support off-campus learning, including nightly homework, and summertime online learning programs.
Since the ECP was launched in 2021, the FCC has committed approximately $6.7 billion in funding. The FCC also noted that to date, the funding has provided support to approximately 18 million students, 11,000 schools, 1,050 libraries, and 120 consortia, and provided nearly 13 million connected devices and over eight million broadband connections.
