Bridging the digital divide one anchor institution at a time.
SHLB Applauds FCC Proposal to Fund Wi-Fi on School Buses May 11, 2022
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Alicja Johnson
Communications Manager
SHLB Coalition
ajohnson@shlb.org
(571) 308-6171
Washington, D.C. (May 11, 2022) - Today Federal Communications Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced that the FCC will consider a proposal to make Wi-Fi on school buses eligible for E-rate funding.
John Windhausen Jr., executive director of the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition made the following statement:
“School buses take students to the in-person classroom, so why shouldn’t they also bring students to the virtual classroom? Learning happens beyond the four walls of a school building, and the SHLB Coalition applauds Chairwoman Rosenworcel for recognizing that fact. While this one step won’t close the digital divide alone, it makes a world of difference for those students with lengthy bus rides who would prefer to use that time for their schoolwork – especially for the millions who don’t have internet access at home. If today’s proposal is given the green light and E-rate funding is made available, the Homework Gap will become much smaller than it is today.”
The SHLB Coalition has been a long-time champion of E-rate funding for Wi-Fi in school buses, including in comments filed in October 2017. Visit https://www.shlb.org/policy/E-rate to learn more about SHLB’s advocacy to improve the E-rate program.
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About SHLB:
The SHLB Coalition is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) advocacy organization that supports open, affordable, high-quality broadband connections for anchor institutions and their surrounding communities. The SHLB Coalition is based in Washington, D.C. and has a diverse membership of commercial and non-commercial organizations from across the United States. To learn more, visit www.shlb.org.