Deerfield District 109 Receives $610K Internet Funding

DEERFIELD, IL — Local students with limited access to reliable internet services at home may be in luck. Congressman Brad Schneider (D-Deerfield) announced Monday the 10th District has received $8.2 million from the American Rescue Plan to provide students with access to reliable internet.

Deerfield School District 109 is among the school districts to receive funding from the Emergency Connectivity Fund. D109 will receive $610,905, according to Schneider's office. In addition, Township High School District 113, including Deerfield High School, will receive $564,727.57. Bannockburn School District 106 is slated to get $18,000, while Riverwoods Montessori School will receive $9,975.

“Kids without internet access at home are often left behind, without the basic tools they need to thrive," Schneider said. "This critical funding from the American Rescue Plan will bridge the digital divide in the Tenth District by ensuring that students from Round Lake to Wheeling have reliable internet access."

According to his office, Schneider helped pass the American Rescue Plan last March, which included $7 billion for the Emergency Connectivity Fund to bridge the digital divide and help students succeed during remote schooling and beyond.

Studies indicate that as many as 16 million students nationwide don’t have internet service at home, making it difficult to complete homework or to do research once the school day ends, Schneider's office said. The Emergency Connectivity Fund is a $7.17 billion program, created as part of the American Rescue Plan, to help provide relief to millions of students, school staff, and library patrons and to help close the Homework Gap for students who currently lack necessary internet access or the devices they need to connect to classrooms.

For eligible schools and libraries, the ECF Program will cover reasonable costs of laptop and tablet computers; Wi-Fi hotspots; modems; routers; and broadband connectivity purchases for off-campus use by students, school staff, and library patrons.