On Friday, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran announced that more than 32,600 laptops computers will be distributed to 34 school districts–mostly smaller and rural–across the state.
The Panhandle Area Educational Consortium (PAEC), Northeast Florida Educational Consortium (NEFEC) and Heartland Educational Consortium (HEC) and three school districts helped make the laptop distributions possible as the state continues to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
“Today’s announcement speaks volumes about how the Department of Education, our school districts and our teachers are coming together to ensure Florida students have the resources they need to continue their education through the COVID-19 crisis,” said DeSantis. “Florida is truly raising the bar for distance learning.”
“I am grateful our staff at the department were able to quickly identify funds and work with Florida’s educational consortiums, whose membership is made up of smaller rural districts that often need help consolidating resources, and determine the gaps in device accessibility for students, many of whom are low income and in need of this critical support,” said Andy Tuck, the chairman of the Florida Board of Education.
“I am grateful for the work that all 67 county school districts did to implement their distance learning plans by March 30, and I’m equally grateful to support these students in districts that lacked the resources to fully equip their students and teachers for success,” said Corcoran. “Nearly all of these students are low-income students, and Florida making the extra effort to fight for these students is another example of how Florida never relents in the fight to close achievement gaps.”
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.
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