The Emergency Connectivity Fund (“ECF”) is a $7.17 billion program established under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to support the purchase of connected devices (i.e., laptop and tablet computers), Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, routers, and broadband internet connectivity for off-campus use to serve the unmet needs of students, school staff, and library patrons during the COVID-19 emergency period. The third ECF application filing window runs from April 28 to May 13, 2022. During this application window, eligible schools, libraries, and consortia of schools and libraries, will be able to submit funding requests to purchase eligible equipment and services received or delivered between July 1, 2022 and December 31, 2023.
Downloadable Resources:
- The ECF Household 2021-2022 Survey can be used to survey student households to determine “Unmet Needs” of students who will require new internet services or connected devices for the 2021-2022 school year. This survey may be used as the basis for estimating new student needs during the first funding window.
- The ECF Household Retroactive Survey can be used to survey and document the “Unmet Needs” for internet services and connected devices actually provided to students during the period March 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021. This will be useful if a second ECF application window is open to cover retroactive expenditures. To the extent that internet services for these students will continue into the 2021-2022 school year, this survey will also support those ongoing needs.
- The ECF Internet Availability Survey can be used to determine and document instances in which internet services are not commercially-available from local ISPs. This can serve as documentation for special construction projects by ECF applicants.
- The ECF Inventory Tracker can be used to provide the detailed tracking of applicant-provided internet services and connected devices needed by individual students, staff, or patrons as required by ECF program rules.