“It’s important to fill out the survey so we have federal funding to support at-home [internet] access for hotspots and such,” said Chamblee’s librarian Christine Holland. “The more people who fill it out the better.”

The DeKalb County School District (DCSD) is encouraging all parents of students in DeKalb schools to complete a survey about student access to internet-connected devices.

The survey is available through Microsoft Forms here, with versions of the survey in other languages available on the DCSD website.

The purpose of the survey is to determine student device needs for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years.

“The Federal Communication Commission [FCC] Emergency Connectivity Fund [ECF] provides funding for schools to cover expenditures for internet services and connected devices for students who lack sufficient access for remote learning, including homework,” stated the district. “The district will use information [from the survey] to request devices and connectivity that will continue to support our students.”

The survey asks whether or not a student has access to a device for learning online at home and at school. Additional questions include what type of internet access a student has at home.

The FCC’s Emergency Connectivity Fund is a program of the FCC established during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide internet access and devices to students and schools during times of online learning.

“[The ECF] is a $7.17 billion program that will help schools and libraries provide the tools and services their communities need for remote learning during the COVID-19 emergency period,” states the FCC website. “ECF will help provide relief to millions of students, school staff, and library patrons and will help close the Homework Gap for students who currently lack necessary Internet access or the devices they need to connect to classrooms.”

Authorized by Congress as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the program now provides funds for a variety of equipment and services.

“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,” states the FCC website.

All families of Chamblee students are encouraged to fill out the survey.