Dive Brief:

• U.S. Reps. Peter Welch (D-VT) and David McKinley (R-WV) have co-sponsored a bill to study the homework gap nationwide and fund pilot programs to close it.
• The Digital Learning Equity Act of 2015 would quantify the gap between impoverished students and wealthier students in terms of access to technology outside the classroom, funding programs to expand that access.
• Education technology experts have backed the bill, praising it for addressing a lesser-known issue as tech in classrooms expands.

Dive Insight:

The bill also drew praise from FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, who has overseen E-Rate programs to fund technology and broadband access both in poorly-supplied schools and in the household of families who couldn't otherwise afford it. "The Homework Gap is the cruelest part of the new digital divide. Today, too many students are unable to complete their school assignments because they do not have internet access at home. This means they fall behind in the classroom—and we all lose out when we have a generation ill-prepared to enter the digital economy," she said.

In an interview with Education Dive earlier this year, Rosenworcel drew attention to the fact that seven in 10 teachers assign homework that now requires Internet access, but one in three households lacks Internet access. This bill could help close some of those divides, in addition to boosting the FCC's work.