Sequoia Carrillo
No internet, no screen time? FCC weighs cutting subsidy that lowers school internet bills
The E-Rate program, which helps connect schools and libraries to the internet at discounted rates, is under review by the Federal Communications Commission. Educators and advocates are bracing for the funding to shrink or be eliminated. The agency's recent focus on the program has left educators including David Thurston on edge. Thurston oversees technology for the 33 school districts nested inside California's San Bernardino County.
Several states—and the LA public schools—are setting limits on screen time
When Lila Byock's oldest son was 11, she began to worry about how much time he spent on his school-issued iPad. It seemed as if he wasn't allowed to go anywhere without it. "To the point that he was one day penalized for not having his iPad with him during PE class," she recalls. She asked his school in central Los Angeles to explain why there was so much digital learning, even years after the COVID-19 pandemic: "There was no justification for why it was better," she said.
Education Department says it's releasing more than $5 billion in frozen grants
The U.S. Education Department is releasing more than $5 billion in education grant funding to states. In late June, the Trump administration told states it was withholding these previously approved federal grants for further review. That announcement came a day before the July 1 deadline when those funds have traditionally been disbursed. The decision left many school districts scrambling in the lead up to the school year.