INDIANAPOLIS — If Indiana school children will be attending virtual schools for the foreseeable future because of COVID-19, they need to have access to at-home learning tools. Not all families can afford that technology.
Help is coming. Wednesday, Governor Eric Holcomb announced $61 million in grants designed to improve connectivity and increase the number of devices available to students and teachers.
The grant money comes from the governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) fund.
“Indiana’s students, parents and teachers have worked hard to adapt to the challenges COVID-19 has brought to education,” said Governor Holcomb. “These emergency funds will enable Hoosier students to be more successful with remote learning. Some families will now worry less about internet connectivity, more students will have access to the technology needed at home, and more educators will have the necessary devices to teach remotely.”
These grants will fund at least 68,000 student devices, nearly 2,900 teacher devices, and more than 85,800 connectivity solutions.
Grant money went to 184 traditional school corporations representing 1,366 schools, 64 public charter schools, and 124 non-public schools. There are almost 674,500 students enrolled in schools receiving these grants.
More than $11 million is going to Marion County schools. "I applaud the Holcomb administration, the Indianapolis eLearning Fund, and its partners for working to ensure students, especially the city's most vulnerable, have the devices and internet connectivity they need to safely and effectively engage in remote learning this year," said Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett.
Applicants submitted plans that included:
- The purchase of student devices including Chromebooks and iPads
- New or upgraded laptops, MacBooks, Chromebooks, and iPads for teachers
- mi-fi devices with corresponding subscription plans for families who lack reliable internet connectivity.
GEER was established by the federal CARES Act. Traditional public school corporations, public charter schools, accredited non-public schools, higher education institutions, and other education-related entities were eligible to apply.
The 257 applications received were evaluated by a team from the Indiana Department of Education, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, and the Indiana State Board of Education.
