On May 24, 2018, Senator Udall (D-NM) and Senator Gardner (R-CO) introduced legislation that would allow school districts to receive E-rate reimbursement for wireless Internet on school buses. Senator Udall and Gardner believe this bill will help address the homework gap that negatively impacts many rural and low income communities.
What do you think? Should E-rate funds support Wi-Fi on buses? Schools and libraries are encouraged to complete this survey – the results will be shared with the FCC (and Senators Udall and Gardner) in June.
***
Senator Gardner in a press release stated that “…many students in rural school districts across Colorado and the country spend hours on the bus each day commuting to and from school and traveling to sporting events….these students should have an opportunity to use their time more effectively and installing Wi-Fi on school buses will allow them to finish homework assignments and bring the classroom to the road….this will help rural students and especially low-income students who may not otherwise have access to mobile Internet…”
The joint Udall and Gardner press statement can be viewed here.
The text of the bill can be viewed here.
