Education technology

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau announced that there is sufficient funding available to fully meet the Universal Service Administrative Company’s (USAC) estimated demand for category one and two requests for E-Rate supported services for funding year 2022. USAC estimates the total demand for funding year 2022 will be $3.15 billion, which includes $1.64 billion for category one services and $1.51 billion for category two services.

The Federal Communications Commission committed nearly $42 million in two new funding rounds through the Emergency Connectivity Program (ECP), which provides digital services for students in communities across the country.

Over the past two years, school districts have sent kids home with laptops and tablets in unprecedented numbers. Thousands of these devices and the internet connections that power them have been purchased through two federal subsidy programs overseen by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) known as E-Rate and the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF).  Giving students these devices has led to a dramatic increase in screen time and made it more difficult for parents to protect their children from exposure to objectively harmful online content.

On July 22, 2022, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) first Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program (CMC) grants were announced totaling over $10 million in funds for five minority-serving colleges and universities.

The Federal Communications Commission announced it is committing nearly $68 million in two new funding rounds through the Emergency Connectivity Program, which provides digital services for students in communities across the US. These funding commitments support applications from all three

More than two and half years into a global pandemic, school districts continue to struggle with high-speed Wi-Fi and the inequities that result when students and families can’t get consistent and reliable access to essential learning.

The Federal Communications Commission committed over $77 million in two new funding rounds through the Emergency Connectivity Program, helping to close the Homework Gap. These latest funding rounds are part of an ongoing support from the program, which launched in 2021 and has provided schools and libraries three different “application windows,” for schools and libraries to apply for support.

Georgia State University announced it has signed the EPPs for Digital Equity and Transformation Pledge, committing to prepare educators with the skills to successfully use technology for learning in face-to-face, hybrid and online classrooms. The EPPs for Digital Equity and Transformation Pledge is a partnership between the US Department of Education and the International Society for Technology in Education.

The Federal Communications Commission announced it 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.

The Majority Leader of the House of Representatives announced bills that will be considered under suspension of the rules in that chamber. Under suspension, floor debate is limited, all floor amendments are prohibited, points of order against the bill are waived, and final passage requires a two-thirds majority vote. The bills include: