Federal Funding for K-12 Home Connectivity

There is no shortage of options for immediate and long-term funding for K-12 home connectivity solutions.

FOR LONG TERM K-12 FUNDING:

• The American Rescue Plan was signed into law on Mar 11, 2021. Within the $1.9 trillion package is $7.2 billion to be added to the E-rate program that will reimburse school districts 100% for home connectivity purchases for K-12 households through one year after the formal end to the pandemic.
• There is also the US DOE’s Title IV, Part A, which is funding that can be used for connectivity purchases and is $1.2 billion in annual funding

FOR EMERGENCY K-12 FEDERAL FUNDING THERE ARE MULTIPLE OPTIONS:

• In addition to the unused funds from CARES Act’s ESSER I and GEER I, the CRRSA Act, signed into law in Dec 2020, provides school districts and states $54 billion in ESSER II and $4 billion in GEER II for flexible funding that can be used for K-12 home connectivity purchases.
• The American Rescue Plan will also add an additional $130 billion in flexible K-12 funding.

OUTSIDE OF K-12 SPECIFIC FUNDING:

• There is funding to address the affordability divide: $3.2 billion for the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program.
• To ensure infrastructure is built out to all Americans: $20.4 billion in Rural Digital Opportunity Fund and NTIA grant programs for Tribal Broadband ($1 billion) and Minority communities ($285 million).
• American Rescue Plan includes $350 billion in state and local funding that can be used for broadband
  • $10 billion Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund
  • $340 billion in general state and local funding: one of the uses can be for "water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure"