Home » News » Do you have children in public schools? You can get up to $ 50 monthly credit on the Internet – Telemundo New York (47)

Do you have children in public schools? You can get up to $ 50 monthly credit on the Internet – Telemundo New York (47)

Families with children in New York City public schools can benefit from discounted internet and devices thanks to a federal program, yet only a fraction of the households that meet the criteria have so far enrolled in the single program. six months.

The families you can find more information here on how to apply for internet or device credit.

The portal will ask you if your family qualifies for the program through a dependent, to which you must select “Yes, I qualify through my child or dependent.” After that option choose “USDA Community Criteria Provision (CEP) School Enrollment” when the system asks if you participate in any federal programs.

When prompted for the district, select “New York City Chancellor’s Office,” followed by your child’s school.

The Department of Education urges parents to apply for the program as soon as possible. The initiative offers a monthly discount of up to $ 50 on broadband services and equipment. Households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $ 100 on a laptop, tablet, or desktop computer.

The discount is part of the federal government’s temporary $ 3.2 billion Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, which was launched in May as part of the response to the COVID public health crisis. The city government is promoting the program in the absence of parental involvement.

The program will run until funds are exhausted or six months after the federal Department of Health and Human Services declares the pandemic to be over, whichever comes first, according to the program’s website.

About $ 2.5 billion remains, or 78% of the fund, according to federal data.

Nearly a fifth of New York City students lack home and mobile broadband services, and 40% of students have only one or the other, according to Mayor Bill’s administration Internet master plan. De Blasio published last year.

Any family with children in schools that offer free meals through the federal Department of Agriculture’s Community Standards Provision can enroll in this program, which means it is available to all public school students.

Families must apply and find a broadband provider in their area that participates in the program. They can also check to see if their current providers are participating in the program. Broadband service offers families a discounted rate, which is reimbursed by the federal government.

Families also qualify for a number of other reasons, including if they receive certain benefits, like SNAP, or if they lost their job last year and had a total household income in 2020 of $ 99,000 for single filers or $ 198,000 for married filers filing jointly.

Nearly 6.6 million households nationwide have enrolled in the program, including more than 433,000 households throughout New York State, according to data compiled by the Federal Communications Commission as of Oct. 18. While that puts New York in fourth place in terms of participants, behind Florida, Texas and California, the participation rate is still far too low.

While New York City public schools are open for full-time in-person learning, students may still have to rely on virtual learning if they are quarantined because they test positive for COVID or are considered a close contact of an infected person.

The city invested $ 257 million in 511,000 Internet-enabled iPads that were purchased from the 2019-20 school year through last school year, plus $ 4 million a month for data plans, according to an audit by Comptroller Scott Stringer.

In the spring, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that he was seeking proposals from Internet and telecommunications companies to create and manage new open access fiber cable networks, with the ultimate goal of expanding low-cost broadband service. It pledged to allocate $ 157 million in capital dollars for the project targeting more than 30 high-need neighborhoods in the five counties that were hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic and that also lack sufficient broadband infrastructure. Officials expected the first round of contracts to be issued in November.

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