On November 24th, Senator Shelley Mayer, Senator John Liu, Senator Pete Harckham, and education advocates announced the introduction of the E-LEARN Act, a bill which would 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, begins 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 legislative proposal is founded on the premise that remote learning has exacerbated the ‘digital divide’ and threatens the state’s ability to meet its Constitutional requirement to provide a “free common school” education for all the children of the state. Whether schools are fully remote or in a hybrid model, families and students need broadband to make remote learning work.
Given the state’s dire fiscal situation, ensuring all students receive a constitutionally-required education during the pandemic requires shared sacrifice by broadband providers. The E-LEARN program is funded through an assessment on the annual intrastate revenue of Telecommunications Service Providers (TSPs). By focusing on intrastate revenue (gross revenue within the State of New York), the bill addresses federal preemption concerns and does not include an interstate component.
All students ages 5-21 in public, private, charter, independent, approved private special education schools and those 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.
Senator Mayer, Chair of the Senate Education Committee, said, “In the face of the COVID Pandemic, every child—whether in full remote learning, or hybrid learning, or even in school learning—must have quality broadband in order to be educated. You simply can’t learn or do your homework without it. Today, broadband access is essential to ensuring a sound, basic education for every student. I am pleased to sponsor the E-LEARN bill which secures free, quality, internet for every student age 5 to 21 at their residence, whether they live in a house, apartment, homeless shelter, or elsewhere. I encourage Telecommunications Service Providers to work with us. Broadband providers should share the burden of the pandemic with New Yorkers and give back to ensure every child has an equal start.”
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. She has met with school teachers, parents, superintendents and advocates throughout the state who have demanded the state respond to this fundamental inequity in our current education system.
Senator Harckham said, “The best way to eliminate educational inequity is by ensuring excellent resources and technologies are available for all students throughout the state. Thanks to the E-LEARN Act, guaranteed broadband access in students’ homes will help level the playing field to a large extent for those in low-income and underserved communities, as well as in rural areas.”
Samantha Rosado-Ciriello, President of the Yonkers Federation of Teachers, said “As this pandemic has underscored inequities across our society, the digital divide among our students and families has widened to a canyon. Far too many Yonkers students are relying on costly cell phone data plans or simply going without access to the technology they need for remote learning because they lack affordable, reliable broadband access. Providing every student equal access to 21st Century learning opportunities is essential, and this legislation represents a welcome step toward addressing the inequality in our school system.”
