Tech your username 5 hours ago On Friday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced the release of a draft Report and Order establishing the Emergency Connectivity Fund Program (ECFP), pursuant to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. According to FCC’s press release, the ECFP would, among other things, reimburse schools and libraries for the purchase of broadband connections and devices during the COVID-19 pandemic for students, school staff, and library patrons. The FCC explained that prior to the pandemic, millions of students without home internet and computer access were caught in the “Homework Gap.” The pandemic reportedly inflamed the inequity, driving the FCC to act in order to help students, educators, and library patrons “engage in online learning and in so many other vital aspects of our increasingly digital lives.”