Gov. Hogan, State Superintendent Karen Salmon Announce $210M In COVID-19 Relief For Remote Learning, Tutoring
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) — Maryland will allocate $210 million to help schools and students most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic deal with remote learning.
Gov. Larry Hogan and State Superintendent Karen Salmon announced the funding is being allocated through federal coronavirus relief funding.
To deal with the digital divide, they said they will allocate $100 million to be made available to local school systems to ensure that students have access to the "most up-to-date devices and connectivity,"
Another $100 million will go to local school systems that implement tutoring and learning programs designed to help students in need.
The Governor's Office of Rural Broadband will construct a wireless education network for students' use in Western Maryland, Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore.
The network will be initially constructed in the areas that don't have broadband service but could be expanded to cover other areas of the state where access may be limited for other reasons.
In total, the governor said he has now committed $20 million in CARES Act funding to expand rural broadband and an additional $5 million for urban broadband.
For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.