Democrats Seek Help From FCC To Expand Internet Access Of Students

Democrats Seek Help From FCC To Expand Internet Access Of Students: “Studies indicate that as many as 12 million children in the United States still lack internet access at home,” the letter reads. “We specifically call on the FCC to take long-overdue action and utilize the E-Rate program to start bridging the ‘homework gap’ without delay.”

The Senators noted that the gap disproportionately impacts “communities of color, low-income households, tribal lands, and rural areas.”

The E-Rate program was created to help schools and libraries obtain affordable broadband. Though, the previous FCC administration under chair Ajit Pai refused to expand it to include student and home access.

“We urge you to now use your new leadership of the FCC to depart from the prior Commission’s erroneous position,” the letter states.

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“Although the funds currently available through the E-Rate will not be enough to connect every student across the country, your prompt action would provide an essential down payment.”

The ‘Homework Gap’ Is an ‘Especially Cruel’ Reality During the Pandemic

President Joe Biden put student home connectivity front and center when he tapped Jessica Rosenworcel as acting commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission.

The agency is best known to educators for its work overseeing the E-Rate program, which helps provide broadband access to schools and libraries across the country.

Rosenworcel, who worked for Democrats on Capitol Hill before joining the FCC in 2012, coined the term “homework gap” to describe the difficulty millions of students—particularly poor, minority, and rural kids—have in getting online at home to complete school assignments.

She drew attention to the problem long before COVID-19 catapulted it to one of the highest priorities in K-12 education.

At the start of the pandemic, which forced nearly every district to do some virtual learning, as many as 15 million of the country’s 50.7 million public school students lacked adequate connectivity to learn online at home, a Common Sense Media survey found last spring.

What’s more, 10 percent of public school teachers nationwide also did not have sufficient internet capacity for online learning, the survey found.

In an open letter on Thursday, dozens of Democrats called on Federal Communications Commission Acting Chair Jessica Rosenworcel to expand the use of broadband funds for students struggling to stay connected and participate in remote learning.

In a letter to Rosenworcel, signed by over 30 Senate Democrats, including Sens. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), they requested that the FCC use E-Rate program funds to connect students with devices and home internet access who are currently unable to participate in online learning as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The E-Rate program provides universal service funding to connect schools and libraries to the internet.

“YOUR PROMPT ACTION WOULD PROVIDE AN ESSENTIAL DOWN PAYMENT”

“We urge you to now use your new leadership of the FCC to depart from the prior Commission’s erroneous position,” the senators wrote.

“Although the funds currently available through the E-Rate will not be enough to connect every student across the country, your prompt action would provide an essential down payment.”

Previous FCC Chair Ajit Pai denied these calls for E-Rate expansion throughout his tenure at the agency during the pandemic.

A minority commissioner at the time called on the FCC to use the E-Rate program to ensure students have the devices and connectivity needed to participate in remote learning in an op-ed for The Verge last March.

There are already indications that the FCC will take action on the issue. Earlier this week, Rosenworcel announced that the FCC would seek comment on petitions to open up E-Rate program funds for use in supporting remote learning during the pandemic, a first step in more substantial changes to the program.

“We need to get to work to update E-Rate funding so all our students can be connected to virtual classrooms, no matter who they are or where they live,” Rosenworcel said in a statement Monday.

“Kids shouldn’t have to do homework in parking lots because that’s the only place they can get online. We can do better.”