The homework gap10/13/2023 The purpose of the E-Rate program is to provide telecommunications services (today defined as broadband in the context of E-Rate) to “elementary schools, secondary schools, and libraries for educational purposes at rates less than the amounts charged for similar services to other parties,” according to the 1996 Telecommunications Act. The FCC’s E-Rate program, administered through the Universal Service Fund (USF), provides funding to help schools and libraries obtain affordable broadband and Wi-Fi networks. That number is even worse for low-income students, as 24 percent of teenagers living in a household with less than $30,000 of annual income reported the same. teenagers surveyed said they are either often or sometimes unable to complete homework due to a lack of a reliable internet connection or computer. The Pew Research Center reported that 17 percent of U.S. That divide disproportionately harms historically marginalized communities and rural and tribal areas. The divide between students who have broadband and those who do not, known as the homework gap, has long been a problem- an estimated 12 million children do not have internet access at home. The closure of schools, libraries and-in an increasing number of localities-even retail outlets such as Starbucks and McDonald’s where students might have otherwise sought free Wi-Fi has brought the harsh nature of the homework gap front and center for millions of American students.Īs Congress considers relief funding packages and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) considers regulatory actions, both entities must act immediately to address this inequity before it leaves millions of lower-income and rural students further behind. students without broadband access at home and at a consistent disadvantage in testing and learning. As these schools move to online or other remote learning strategies, it has exposed the gravity of the “homework gap” that leaves millions of U.S. Schools in a majority of states across the country have closed in an effort to quell the spread of the novel coronavirus.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |