The federal government’s latest plan to close a “homework gap” for kids who lack Wi-Fi at home is to bring such services to one place they may spend hours per week: on the bus to and from school.
The move is one facet of the president’s overall goal to bring high-speed internet access to every American. But the school bus plan is drawing objections from Republicans that the cost isn’t worth the effort and will only enable unsupervised kids to spend more time on social media.
In a divided vote, the five-member Federal Communications Commission issued a declaratory ruling on Oct. 19 that it will allow E-Rate program funding to be used for Wi-Fi on school buses starting July 1, 2024. The program was created in 1996 to assist schools and libraries with obtaining affordable broadband at a time when only 14 percent of the nation’s K-12 classrooms had access to the internet.
