New funding for digital equity may benefit adult foundational skills programs

Submitted by David Rosen on Sat, 11/06/2021 - 15:34
  • 124 Views
  • 2 Comments

Hello Colleagues,

Today, Saturday November 6th, the Infrastructure Expansion Act of 2021 passed in the U.S. House of Representatives.  According to the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) it has the following features, many of which I believe may be helpful to adult learners, and possibly to adult foundational (basic) skills programs and adult schools that serve them.  From today’s NDIA announcement:

The following digital inclusion elements are included in the new Infrastructure Act: 

  • Digital Equity Act: $2.75 billion over 5 years
  • Broadband Grants for States, DC, Puerto Rico & Territories: $42.5 billion
  • Broadband Benefit: $14.2 billion
  • Tribal Connectivity Program: $2 billion
  • Middle Mile Connectivity: $1 billion
  • “Digital Discrimination” by internet service providers is prohibited 
  • Clear labeling of consumer broadband service offerings and prices

For those who may be interested, the NDIA announcement about the Senate Infrastructure bill that passed in August, 2021 includes more detail:

Digital Equity Act: $2.75 billion (over 5 years)

  • $60 million for state planning grants
  • $1.44 billion for state implementation grants
  • $1.25 billion ($250 million a year for 5 years) for competitive grant program

Broadband Grants for States, DC, Puerto Rico & Territories: $42.5 billion

  • This is a new grant program the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will manage. The deployment funds will be issued as block grants to states with rules defined by the NTIA.
  • In addition to deployment, states can use funds from these grants for digital equity uses, including:
    • To deploy affordable networks in low-income, multi-family buildings
    • To promote broadband adoption
    • Deployment grant recipients (ISPs) must offer a ‘low-cost’ or affordable plan for consumers.

Broadband Benefit: $14.2 billion

  • Extends and amends the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, including changing the name to the “Affordable Connectivity Program,” paving the way for a permanent program
  • All internet service plans are required to be eligible for the Affordable Connectivity Program
  • The program benefit is reduced to $30/month
  • Eligibility for the program is increased from 135% of poverty line to 200% of the poverty line

Tribal Connectivity Program: $2 billion

  • Extends the Tribal Connectivity Program created by Congress in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA)

Middle Mile Connectivity: $1 billion

  • Creates a grant program at NTIA for expanding middle mile access, which will help connect unserved anchor institutions and make last-mile buildout to unserved households easier and cheaper

Digital Discrimination

  • The bill text outlines “digital discrimination” (a softened definition of digital redlining) and charges the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with creating rules to enforce.

Most of these Infrastructure Expansion Act of 2021 funds will come to the states, so for adult education programs and adult schools to access them they will have to work with the agencies in their states that receive the funds. As a general rule, once the state agency announces the availability of the funds the proposal process or other funding mechanism moves quickly to grant awards and contracts. Programs, schools and agencies that have a proposal ready, and that can offer immediate “shovel-ready” services and/or quickly make purchases may have an advantage. From my understanding, adult foundational skills programs that are addressing digital inclusion and offer digital skills to their students may be eligible for these funds; adult foundational skills programs and schools that offer these services to others in the community who may need only digital literacy skills (often in combination with help on accessing broadband benefits such as affordable Internet access and home computers) may be even more attractive to state agencies whose purpose is to broadly address digital equity in their state. Of course, some of those digital literacy skills participants may discover that they need and want other foundational skills such as English language learning, reading, writing, numeracy, adult secondary education and HSE or Citizenship preparation, work readiness skills, or preparation for post-secondary education.

In a few states, adult foundational skills programs have been able to successfully access and use federal ARPA and CARES funding that comes to their state. For those who may be interested, the Open Door Collective hosted a webinar on this in May 2021, with Eric Nesheim, the Executive Director of Literacy Minnesota. He talked about how adult foundational skills programs and adult schools can partner with state agencies for mutual benefit, how we can ensure that the digital skills piece of digital equity and inclusion is addressed, and that our role in providing digital literacy is not left out of the funding matrix. You'll find a recording of that webinar here,  slides here, and a handout, "Literacy Minnesota - Access to Federal Funds" here.

I would be interested in hearing from adult foundational skills programs or schools that have used ARPA or CARES funding in their state, particularly if you have advice for programs or schools that have not, but would like to access these funds and also the new digital equity provisions of the Infrastructure Expansion Act of 2021.

David J. Rosen

Djrosen123@gmail.com

Comments

Hello Integrating Technology Colleagues,

As you may know, the federally-funded Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) has been available to low-income adults and families for several months, and will continue through February of 2022. Adult learners in your programs or adult schools may already be enrolled, or may be eligible and might wish to apply. It will be replaced in March 2022 by the new Affordable Connectivity Program, and participants in the EBB should not have to re-apply for the ACP.  Here are some of the differences according to this December 1st article in the POTS and PANS Broadband for All newsletter:

  • Amount of the benefit.The biggest change for most participants is that the $50 discount under the EBB plan will be reduced to $30 per month in the ACP.
  • Income eligibility. The EBB plan was eligible for households with incomes of 135% or less of the federal poverty level. The new ACP plan allows homes with incomes up to 200% of the federal poverty level. Some households that are eligible for the EBB because of being unemployed due to Covid-19 might not qualify for the new plan.
  • Automatic Conversion from EBB  to ACP. There will be an automatic conversion to the new Affordable Connectivity Plan for those that are eligible for both plans.
  • Consumer protections. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) must allow households to apply the $30 discount to any broadband product at the same price and terms available to other customers. ISPs cannot upsell, i.e.force customers to buy a more expensive plan to get the discount. The ACP rules also prohibit requiring customers to sign long-term contracts to get the discount. An ISP may not require a household to submit to a credit check to get the discount. It also appears that the new rules intend to stop ISPs from disconnecting customers for non-payment until after 90 days.
  • ACP longevity. There is no set ending for the plan, and if not renewed, would expire when the $14.2 billion of funding has been spent. There is also nothing in the new law that defines what happens to the $2.2 billion that remains in the EBB program.

There is more that may be of interest to those who are helping adult learners to take advantage of these broadband benefits in the article at https://potsandpansbyccg.com/2021/12/01/the-affordable-connectivity-program/

David J. Rosen

 

 

Hello Integrating Technology Colleagues,

Do you have students who have dropped out because your classes are all remote or hybrid and they cannot afford access to the Internet or to a digital device such as a computer at home? The new federal Affordable Connectivity Program may be the solution. In this Bloomberg Law article you can read the details, or you could also see my previous post about this. The biggest concern now is that your students may not know about this new, more permanent benefit and new eligibility for low-income families whose income is up to 200% of the federal poverty level.  Depending on what Internet Service Provider they choose, they can get up to $30 off their monthly Internet bill, and a discount on the purchase of a computer. If your community has digital navigation services -- e.g. a digital navigator at your public library, or perhaps at the agency or institution that sponsors your adult education program or school -- a digital navigator can help with getting access and also with digital literacy skills. Digital navigators are increasingly available across the country and I believe we will see many more in 2022. For more information about this, check out the National Digital Inclusion Alliance's Digital Navigator model page, World Education digital navigation services resources at https://edtech.worlded.org/digital-navigators/, or World Education's Digital Navigator Playbook to learn more about starting and running a digital navigation services program.

David J. Rosen

djrosen123@gmail.com