CAPE CORAL, Fla -- As distance learning continues due to COVID-19, we're learning that a significant number of students and teachers in Lee County don't have at-home internet access to do so.
Today the school board will meet and is expected to approve an emergency purchase.
The plan is to buy 3,000 mobile hotspots with cellular data service to provide internet access to staff and student families in need.
This would be a $720,000 purchase.
The district says thousands of students are currently without home internet access. Those students have been unable to participate in distance learning and are having to use the paper-based alternative assignments.
There are also hundreds of district employees without high-speed internet, so they too are unable work remote. That includes teachers who have been unable to teach their students.
Right now, the hot spots would be funded through the general fund. The school board says it's looking for grant opportunities available during the pandemic.
The virtual school board meeting is set for 1:00 p.m.
