DES MOINES, Iowa — Ahead of the new school year, schools now have a new source of help to improve online learning.
Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Department of Education announced Friday that $26.2 million is available to help improve internet connectivity for students for the 2020-21 school year.
The money, according to a release from the governor's office, is available to districts, private schools and college and universities. Funds come from the Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund, which was authorized under the CARES Act.
Of the money available, $19.3 million is going to all 327 school districts and nonpublic schools. The rest is going to public and private two-and-four-year colleges and universities.
Districts are able to use the money to lease hotspots, provide a discount on broadband internet or loan devices to eligible households, the release says.
In a recorded message released Friday, Reynolds said "even though we may not always agree on which path to take to get [to the goal], we are unitd in our desire to get back to the way of life we value as Iowans."
The education department will send the awards directly to districts, which may use them to lease hotspots, provide a discount on broadband internet service or loan devices to qualifying households.
The money given to colleges and universities can be spent to improve connectivity for students or provide professional development to faculty in teaching online, officials said. They said it will require an application to the Department of Education.
The funding announcement came the same day the governor released an open letter to Iowa, reflecting on the five months since the state learned of positive cases of COVID-19. That video is available here.