The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced a new $40 million funding round for the Emergency Connectivity Program (ECP).
The ECP provides funding for digital services for students in communities across the country. The FCC said the latest funding commitments will benefit approximately 100,000 students across the country, including students in Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Washington, and Wisconsin. The funding will support more than 275 schools, 15 libraries, and five consortia.
The FCC said in a press release 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.”
“This program has equipped millions of students with the digital tools they need for afterschool homework and connecting with teachers,” said FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel. “Today’s funding round is another step in our ongoing work to close the Homework Gap.”
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.
Thus far, the ECP program has provided support to approximately 10,000 schools, 1,000 libraries, and 100 consortia, providing over 12 million connected devices and over eight million broadband connections.
