Many students across the nation lack or have inadequate internet access in their homes that is necessary for digital learning. Amid school closures due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, schools are frequently turning to online and virtual learning experiences to continue instruction and maintain student and staff engagement.

NSBA has joined an effort with the Alliance for Excellent Education (All4ed), the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA), and All4ed’s Future Ready Schools initiative to help address this home internet gap impacting students across the nation.

We are urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to support student learning during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic by expanding funding for home internet access. By extending the current E-rate program, which helps schools and libraries obtain affordable broadband, the FCC can help fund home internet access necessary for students’ online learning during the school closures.

As part of this effort, a letter has been created for individual education leaders to sign urging the FCC to take this important step that is vital for states, districts, schools, and students across the nation.

We encourage school board members and education leaders to visit www.futureready.org/homeinternet and review and sign the letter by Tuesday, March 24, 2020.

We also encourage you to share this information across your networks and with other education leaders including superintendents, principals, and teachers. Working together, we can urge the FCC to help students across the nation during this difficult time.