The Honorable Nancy Pelosi Speaker U.S. House of Representatives
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The Honorable Nancy Pelosi The Honorable Mitch McConnell Speaker Majority Leader U.S. House of Representatives U.S. Senate Washington, DC 20515 Washington D.C. 20510 The Honorable Kevin McCarthy The Honorable Charles Schumer Minority Leader Minority Leader U.S. House of Representatives U.S. Senate Washington, DC 20515 Washington D.C. 20510 Dear Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader McConnell, Minority Leader McCarthy, and Minority Leader Schumer, The 1,900 plus individuals below write in strong support of legislation drafted by the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition, the State E-rate Coordinators’ Alliance (SECA), and Funds for Learning to provide funding to connect students, teachers and adult learners to high-speed Internet access services. We are very concerned that schools and libraries will not be able to return to full operation in the fall, and many students, teachers and adult learners will need immediate financial assistance to access broadband connectivity at home to engage in on-line learning. Our proposed “Remote Learning During COVID-19 Act” appropriates $5.25 billion to a separate emergency fund to be administered by the Federal Communications Commission to connect students, teachers and library patrons to broadband at home. This bill reflects the new reality that the traditional classroom model has had to shift to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to keep students and teachers safe and healthy. This initiative is backed up by NCES and GAO data and other research conducted by Funds for Learning, which calculates that $5.25 billion is needed to ensure that the 7 million families that cannot afford broadband internet access are able to do so. Our proposed bill builds on the good legislation introduced by Rep. Grace Meng (H.R. 6563) and Senator Ed Markey (S. 3690) and would strengthen those bills in the following ways: 1) It provides one-time emergency funding of $5.25 billion to the FCC for the creation of a separate remote learning initiative; 2) It provides funding for home broadband service, broadband network equipment, end-user devices (such as laptops or tablets); 3) It provides funding for cybersecurity so that schools and libraries can protect their networks against ransomware and cyberattacks, which have been on the increase; 4) It ensures that all broadband providers are eligible to participate (provider-neutral); 5) It explicitly allows schools and libraries to extend their existing networks to serve the surrounding community (including for backhaul) without jeopardizing their existing universal service funding; 6) It directs the FCC to set funding caps for each school district (or independent school) and library to ensure fiscal integrity and so that schools and libraries know how much funding is available for their planning purposes; 7) It allows expenditures back to the beginning of the COVID-19 emergency declaration; 8) It streamlines and expedites the review and approval process so that schools and libraries can receive their funding soon after the bill’s passage and can implement online instruction and learning in the fall. We urge you to incorporate the provisions from the “Remote Learning During COVID-19 Act” in the next Coronavirus relief legislation and to enact this legislation this summer. Sincerely, John Windhausen, Jr., John Harrington, CEO Debra M. Kriete, Chair Executive Director Funds for Learning State E-rate Coordinators’ Schools, Health & Libraries Edmond, OK Alliance (SECA) Broadband (SHLB) Coalition Mechanicsburg, PA Washington, DC Public Interest Groups & Associations Joann Womack Technology South Central Service Camden AR Coordinator/Integrationist Cooperative Allen Dunn Technology Coordinator Southeast Arkansas Monticello AR Education Service Cooperative Andrea Bennett Executive Director California IT in Sacramento CA Education Don Means Director Gigabit Libraries Sausalito CA Network Mark Miller Executive Director Learningtech.org San Carlos CA Mariel Triggs CEO MuralNet Oakland CA Marijke Visser Associate Director and Senior American Library Washington DC Policy Advocate Association Michael Calabrese Director, Wireless Future Open Technology Washington DC Program Institute at New America Jenna Leventoff Senior Policy Counsel Public Knowledge Washington DC John Windhausen Executive Director SHLB Coalition Washington DC Timothy Cherubini Executive Director Chief Officers of State Lexington KY Library Agencies Renae' Montegut CFO Algiers Charter School New Orleans LA Association Inc Shane Colman Operations Director Educators For Quality New Orleans LA Alternatives Kyle Finke Executive Director Louisiana Resource Baton Rouge LA Center for Educators (LRCE) Tracy Sockalosky Chairman Of Influence And Massachusetts Bedford MA Advocacy Committee, Masscue Computer Using Educators - MassCUE Annamaria Schrimpf President METAA Massachusetts Framingham MA Educational Technology Administrators Association (METAA) Leslie Morissette Executive Director Grahamtastic Springvale ME Connection Patrick Woodie President North Carolina Rural Raleigh NC Center Jill Smith Superintendent/Director Children's Home Cincinnati OH Angela Siefer Executive Director National Digital Columbus OH Inclusion Alliance Donna Davis Executive Director Southwest Ohio Hamilton OH Computer Association Jamie Baxter Education Policy Director Allies for Children Pittsburgh PA Pansy Lambert- Director Of Data & Reporting ASPIRA, Inc of Philadelphia PA Knowles Pennsylvania Geoff Craven Executive Director National Association of West Milton PA Media and Technology Centers (NAMTC) Sara Frey Educational Consultation PaTTAN (PA Training & Harrisburg PA Technical Assistance Network) John George Executive Director Pennsylvania Enola PA Association of Intermediate Units Christi Buker Executive Director Pennsylvania Library Mechanicsburg PA Association Anneliese Martinez Field Director Remake Learning Pittsburgh PA Pamela Weston Vice President Progressive Rural Sweetwater TN Overhill Women for Democracy Casey Ritchie Chief Technology Officer Region 18 Education Midland TX Service Center Chuck Kirby Vice President Of Broadband Center for Innovative Herndon VA Programs Technology Jennifer Leasure President and CEO Quilt Seattle WA Spencer Bonnie Executive Director Achieve Brown County Green Bay WI Tatjana Bicanin Executive Director Building Our Future Kenosha WI Kenosha County Danae Davis Executive Director Milwaukee Succeeds Milwaukee WI Sara Gold Community Liaison WiLS Madison WI Educators Lori Zirlott Chief School Financial Officer Board of School Mobile AL Commissioners of Mobile County Juan Cepero District Technology Coordinator Dale County Board of Ozark AL Education Stacey Gray Technology Director Etowah County Board of Gadsden AL Education David Akridge Chief Information Officer Mobile County Public Mobile AL Schools Michele Collier Technology Coordinator Mobile County Public Mobile AL Schools Stacy Royster Director Of Technology Opelika City Schools Opelika AL Denton Thompson E-rate Coordinator Alma School District Alma AR Andy Martin Technology Director Cabot Public School Cabot AR District Joel Dean Technology Coordinator Conway Public Schools Conway AR Taylor Gattis Superintendent County Line School Branch AR District Bailey Cotton Director Of Technology Huntsville School Huntsville AR District Rick MacAfee Superintendent Nevada School District Rosston AR David Pilgrim Technology Coordinator Ozark Mountain School Saint Joe AR District Nathan Cline Technology Coordinator Ozarks Unlimited Harrison AR Resources Educational Service Cooperative Shawn Witt CIO Prairie Grove School Prairie Grove AR District David Griffis Director Of Information Casa Grande Union High Casa Grande AZ Technology School District Angelica Lucero Business Manager Patagonia Union High Patagonia AZ School Stephen Saint-Coeur IT Director Santa Cruz Valley Rio Rico AZ Unified School District No. 35 Amy West Director Of Network Systems Thatcher Unified School Thatcher AZ District #4 David Griffis Director Of Information Toltec School District Eloy AZ Technology Ian Byerrum Technology Coordinator Ackerman Charter Auburn CA School District Susan Yu Executive Secretary Alhambra Unified Alhambra CA School District Kimberly Morinaka Teacher Alhambra Unified Alhambra CA School District Jose Castro Computer Technician Alhambra Unified Alhambra CA School District Maynor Garcia VP of Technology Alliance College-Ready Los Angeles CA Public Schools Lutfi Escheik Director Of Technology Alview-Dairyland Union Chowchilla CA School District Erik Greenwood Chief Technology Officer Anaheim Union High Anaheim CA School District Brad Minami Director, Purchasing And Anaheim Union High Anaheim CA Central Services School District Brian Anderson Project Manager Arcadia Unified School Arcadia CA District Lisa Taylor Site Director/Principal Aspen Meadow Public Fresno CA School Raul Trejo Assistant Site Director Aspen Public Schools Fresno CA Sarah Crantz Director Of Special Education Aspen Public Schools Fresno CA Shelly Lether Executive Director Aspen Public Schools Fresno CA Michael Lee Operations Director Aspen Public Schools Fresno CA Hilary Witts Director Of Summit Learning Aspen Public Schools Fresno CA Jeanine Hawk CFO Aspire Public Schools Oakland CA Joe Regueiro Director Of Technology Aspire Public Schools Oakland CA Douglas Rauda Network Analyst Azusa Unified School Azusa CA District Rick Hassler Chief Technology Officer Baldwin Park Unified Baldwin Park CA School District Manuel Sanchez IT Infrastructure Systems Baldwin Park Unified