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.