Senators Markey, Van Hollen, Bennet, Hassan, and Colleagues Plan to Introduce Legislation to Direct $4 Billion in E-Rate Funds to Close Growing Learning Gap in Coronavirus Pandemic

Statement

Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) today announced that they plan to increase their request in upcoming legislation aimed at ensuring all K-12 students have adequate home internet connectivity and devices during the coronavirus pandemic. The Senators previously announced their intention to introduce the Senate companion to legislation, the Emergency Educational Connections Act, recently introduced by Congresswoman Grace Meng (NY-06) in the House of Representatives. The Senators plan to introduce companion legislation, but will make one important change: increasing the appropriation from $2 billion to $4 billion. Education groups had originally identified the $2 billion figure believing the crisis would last only through this academic year. As more educators have come to realize the crisis will last far longer, need has only increased.

"The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated our existing "homework gap' and spurred a growing "learning gap' that will have a lasting impact on America's children," said the Senators in a joint statement. "Given the magnitude of this pandemic and its effects on teaching, we must increase our investment beyond $2 billion to $4 billion. Our students come first, and we cannot allow any of them to fall behind as a result of this crisis. We are proud to enjoy the support of more than 50 organizations that focus every day on educating and protecting our nation's youth."

The coronavirus pandemic has shone a bright light on the "homework gap" experienced by the estimated 12 million students in this country who do not have internet access at home and are unable to complete their homework. Before the outbreak of the coronavirus an estimated 70 percent of educators assign schoolwork that requires internet access. That number has undoubtedly increased in recent weeks. Without Congressional action, this existing inequity will only be exacerbated by the high number of schools that are suspending in-person classes and have transitioned to remote learning over the internet to protect the health of students, faculty, and staff.

Senator Markey is the author of the original E-Rate program, which was created as a part of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. Since the program began, more than $52 billion has been committed nationwide to provide internet access for schools and libraries. As a result, the E-Rate program is, and has been for over two decades, an essential source of funding to connect the nation's schools and libraries to the internet. As the coronavirus pandemic develops, the E-Rate program offers an immediate solution that may help mitigate the impact on our most vulnerable families. Additional funding for E-Rate would greatly narrow the homework gap during the current crisis and help ensure that all students can continue to learn.