Press Releases

(Honolulu, HI) – Congressman Ed Case (HI-01) announced today that, one year after he and the majority of his Congressional colleagues passed the American Rescue Plan, the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education, the Hawaiʻi State Public Library System and eight schools in his First Congressional District have received a total of more than $72 million from the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Emergency Connectivity Fund Program (ECF).  

“The ECF program helps schools and libraries ensure that students can connect to the internet at home, allowing them to take advantage of online learning and do their homework,” said Case.

Known as the “homework gap” or the “digital divide”, students who lack access to the internet at home often fall behind their peers as curriculums and educational opportunities rely more and more on the ability to conduct online research and connect to the web.

“The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare what was already true - that with educational tools, homework, and opportunities increasingly online, keiki without home internet access are often left without the basics needed to succeed,” said Case.  “This critical funding, made possible by our American Rescue Plan, has helped ensure digital equity especially for those Hawai’i children who don’t have the equipment or internet access necessary to stay connected and get their work done.”

The ECF Program helps cover 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.

The schools and departments in Hawaii’s First Congressional District that have received the ECF Program funding in the past year include:

·         Hawaiʻi State Department of Education                      $71,520,353

·         Dreamhouse Ewa Beach Charter School                     $29,400

·         Hālau Kū Māna Public Charter School                       $57,855

·         Hawaiʻi State Public Library System                          $119,331

·         Hawaiʻi Technology Academy                                    $182,475

·         Holy Nativity School                                                  $47,400

·         Mary, Star of the Sea                                                  $41,526

·         Mid-Pacific Institute                                                   $398,829

·         School for Examining Essential Questions

 of Sustainability Public Charter School                              $1,960

·         St. Andrews Schools                                                  $19,812

Another major Congressional initiative that Case supported, the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package enacted last November, includes a $65 billion generational reinvestment in broadband, with at least $100 million to Hawai’i and substantially more possible in competitive grants.

Case will discuss the status of Hawai’i broadband and digital equity and how best to maximize federal resources to advance connectivity and utilization at an upcoming Facebook Live session on Wednesday, March 16th, Noon Hawai’i time, with guests Burt Lum, the state Strategy Officer in the Hawaiʻi Broadband and Digital Equity Office and David Miyashiro, the Founding Executive Director of HawaiiKidsCAN, at (https://Facebook.com/RepEdCase).

###