As schools experiment to close the homework gap, will new E-rate funding help?

The COVID crisis has highlighted both the severity of the so-called "homework gap" and the shortcomings of early remedies like mobile hotspots and even low-cost home broadband plans. Now, more than a year into the pandemic, schools and cities across the country are increasingly testing novel ways to get students connected, not just for the duration of the pandemic, but for the long term. As schools search for new ways to get kids online from home, Congress recently allocated nearly $7.2 billion in stimulus funding for the Federal Communication Commission's E-Rate program to help with remote learning. While E-rate has traditionally covered on-campus internet and devices, the new Emergency Connectivity Fund is specifically designed to help reach students at home and close the homework gap. According to the Consortium for School Networking, school districts in New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, and Utah are all setting up their own private wireless networks to offer students a higher quality connection than hotspots can provide. In Oakland, the city is working to bring its fiber network to four low-income apartment buildings where a substantial number of students on free and reduced lunch plans live. Will the new E-rate funding will cover projects like these?