11/24/2020
MEDIA ALERT: Senator Shelley Mayer to Announce Legislation to Provide Free Broadband to Every Student and School in NYS At Noon Today November 24th
On Tuesday, November 24th, Senator Shelley B. Mayer (D-Westchester), Senator John Liu (D-Queens), Senator Pete Harckham (Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess), and education advocates will announce the E-LEARN Act to provide free, high-quality broadband to every student and school in New York State during the COVID-19 emergency.
The E-LEARN Act, or E-Let's Expand Access to Remote Learning Now Act, seeks to address the “digital divide” that was already a significant problem for low-income and minority students and districts in cities, suburbs and rural areas throughout the state.
The pandemic has exacerbated the “digital divide” and requires shared sacrifice by broadband providers in order for the state to meet its constitutional education requirement. The E-LEARN program is funded through an assessment on the annual intrastate revenue of Telecommunications Service Providers (TSPs).
All students ages 5-21 in public, private, charter, independent, approved private special education schools and who are homeschooled are eligible for the E-LEARN program. Upon State Education Department (SED) approval, schools/districts arrange for broadband for students at their place of residence, including homeless shelters and foster care institutions, and school buildings without prior service. For students that already have broadband at their residences, the Public Service Commission (PSC) will direct TSPs to reduce the broadband cost for that household by the per student eligibility.
In September, Senator Mayer co-authored an OpEd in the Albany Times Union about ensuring that families have the necessary broadband and child care resources to make schooling work during the Coronavirus Pandemic.
