FCC Homework Gap Fund Gets $266M

July 20, 2022

The Federal Communications Commission is committing over $266 million in two new funding rounds through the Emergency Connectivity Program, helping to close the Homework Gap. The funding supports applications from all three of the program’s application windows, supporting over 1 million students across the country, including in Delaware, Maryland, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, and Oregon. Over $12 million from the first and second application windows will provide support in the upcoming school year for approximately 15 schools, 2 libraries, and 1 consortium. For the third application window, the Commission is committing over $254 million that will support over 400 schools, 45 libraries, and 15 consortia. Total funding committed to date is nearly $5.6 billion.

“Thanks to the Emergency Connectivity Fund, now more students across the country have the digital tools they need to support their education,” said Chairwoman Rosenworcel. “In too many communities, kids are still struggling to get the internet and devices they need to connect with teachers and do their homework. We have to fix this. This program is helping, and I’m proud of the progress we are making to close the Homework Gap.”

The 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. To date, the program has helped over 12.8 million students, supporting approximately 10,000 schools, 900 libraries, and 100 consortia, and providing over 11 million connected devices and nearly 7 million broadband connections. Of the nearly $5.6 billion funding commitments approved to date, approximately $4.1 billion is supporting applications from Window 1; $826 million from Window 2; and $656 million from Window 3.