1100+ Superintendents and Educators Sign Homework Gap Letter
AASA drafted a letter signed by more than 1,100
superintendents and educators from across the country calling on Congress to
address the homework gap. The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a bright light on one
of the worst kept secret inequities for today’s students: the homework gap. The
pandemic forced more than 55 million students into a remote learning reality,
resulting in an almost immediate struggle to ensure students can access online
learning. It is anticipated that 12 million students across the nation lack
internet access adequate to support online learning. AASA penned a letter
that was signed by more than 1,100 superintendents and educators from 49 states
and sent to Congress. In the letter, signees call on Congress to take immediate
action to support all students displaced from their classrooms. The letter
reiterates that Congress must ensure the next COVID-19 funding package
include at least $4 billion in direct funds to the Federal Communications
Commission’s (FCC) Schools and Libraries Program, commonly called the E-Rate
program, to help connect millions of students to the internet so they can
continue their education and planning for the possibility of interruptions to
classroom teaching and learning during the 2020-2021 school year. The letter remains open for additional
signatures and the copy linked in this blog will be updated as needed to
reflect the growing levels of support. Read the full letter here.
As of May 18, the letter had 1,133 signatures.