Santa Clara County is providing $7.1 million to help bridge the digital divide as students continue to learn from home during the coronavirus pandemic.
The money will be used to help buy laptops and tablets as well as provide WiFi and hotspots where needed.
The Santa Clara County Office of Education has identified 15,000 students without the necessary tools needed for at-home learning.
Lack of technology is not a new problem in the Bay Area, but it's an issue one county supervisor said has to end in order to foster a stable future for the county and the state.
"How far are these kids, these children, these families getting pushed back in terms of generations?" Supervisor Dave Cortese said. "And we’ve seen it happen in the past. We can’t exacerbate that problem."
Earlier this week, the City of San Jose and AT&T announced a partnership to install 11,000 high-end hotspots within the city.
