The Chillicothe R-II School District has received $138,863.50 in federal funds through the $7.17 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund Program. This is the second funding wave of the program and District officials say these funds will be used to pay for 350 new chrome books for student use at a cost of $118,863.50; and continued internet access (hot spots) for those students in need, at a cost of $18,000.
The Federal Communications Commission announced that it is committing $1,159,681,350.34 for 2,471 schools, 205 libraries, and 26 consortia that applied for support from the Emergency Connectivity Fund Program. Combined with the first funding wave, students, school staff and library patrons in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands will receive access to the devices and broadband connectivity they need to support their off-premises educational needs.
The Commission to date has committed $2,362,788,847.22 in program funding to school and library applicants, and exceeded its goal of responding to 50 percent of all applications within 60 days of the closing of the first filing window by making funding decisions for nearly 60 percent of applications.
“This new round of funding will connect even more students and library patrons with new tools for online learning and communicating with teachers in our ongoing work to close the Homework Gap,” said Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “We are providing resources for schools and libraries across the country, from tiny communities in Delta Junction, Alaska supporting Delta Community Library, to large school districts like New York City. Together with the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, the Commission is investing more than $10 billion to support America’s critical broadband needs.”
Last month, the FCC announced that it was committing $1,203,107,496.88 in Emergency Connectivity Fund support that can be used for the purchase of laptops and tablets, Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, routers, and broadband connections for use by students, school staff, and library patrons in need. The funding can be used to support off-campus leaning, such as homework and virtual learning as schools continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Combined with the second funding wave, the FCC is providing support for 5,420,473 devices and 2,700,834 broadband connections to support 5,474 schools, 461 libraries, and 49 consortia of schools and libraries, providing nearly 8 million students the devices and internet connections they need.
A second application filing window opened on September 28 and will close on October 13 at 11:59 p.m. E.T.
A state-by-state breakdown of total committed funding is available below:
State | Cumulative Total Committed Funding | State | Cumulative Total Committed Funding |
Alaska | $4,387,208.02 | Montana | $2,335,820.17 |
Alabama | $25,528,492.81 | North Carolina | $93,642,989.80 |
Arkansas | $15,423,623.44 | North Dakota | $2,221,328.69 |
Arizona | $74,148,166.16 | Nebraska | $14,114,876.66 |
California | $149,099,926.36 | New Hampshire | $4,580,316.95 |
Colorado | $14,828,240.12 | New Jersey | $54,317,015.67 |
Connecticut | $19,006,062.31 | New Mexico | $14,381,075.13 |
District of Columbia | $13,734,712.11 | Nevada | $2,553,179.66 |
Delaware | $6,824,032.88 | New York | $401,251,255.99 |
Florida | $104,575,507.30 | Ohio | $60,070,233.19 |
Georgia | $96,309,187.67 | Oklahoma | $40,879,434.77 |
Guam | $6,327,126.00 | Oregon | $51,926,458.06 |
Hawaii | $34,621,071.30 | Pennsylvania | $38,551,737.84 |
Iowa | $17,277,844.35 | Puerto Rico | $4,710,432.19 |
Idaho | $12,878,415.56 | Rhode Island | $7,779,267.22 |
Illinois | $158,697,061.50 | South Carolina | $9,524,454.48 |
Indiana | $30,220,546.81 | South Dakota | $5,266,957.72 |
Kansas | $13,090,904.46 | Tennessee | $31,848,366.17 |
Kentucky | $43,151,246.21 | Texas | $215,025,982.07 |
Louisiana | $43,561,473.81 | Utah | $29,169,342.88 |
Massachusetts | $29,089,680.79 | Virginia | $48,333,240.52 |
Maryland | $22,841,063.25 | Virgin Islands | $33,077.60 |
Maine | $3,096,026.30 | Vermont | $1,396,414.27 |
Michigan | $85,427,333.95 | Washington | $55,029,881.70 |
Minnesota | $30,177,906.29 | Wisconsin | $49,272,359.45 |
Missouri | $45,176,404.09 | West Virginia | $16,948,399.11 |
Mississippi | $8,077,673.41 | Wyoming | $48,012.00 |
TOTAL | $ 2,362,788,847.22 |
The FCC continues to review applications and will announce future funding commitments in coming weeks. More details about which schools and libraries will receive funding can be found at https://www.fcc.gov/ecf-current-funding-commitments.
Detailed information on the status of applications submitted during the initial application filing window that closed on August 13, 2021 is available in the Open Data Portal. The Open Data Portal provides detailed information about these applications including applicant details, requested funds, individual product or service details, and funding commitment information. The Commission is also making available a spreadsheet that provides searchable, high-level information regarding amounts committed in the first commitment wave, including applicant name, location, and their requested support. These resources are available at https://www.emergencyconnectivityfund.org/open-data/.
Additional information on the Emergency Connectivity Fund program is available at: www.emergencyconnectivityfund.org. The program is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company, with oversight from and under rules unanimously adopted by the Federal Communications Commission.