,,ii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #ccfb ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,february #bg1 #bjbj,mr4 ,van ,hollen introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation ,a ,,bill ,to require the ,federal ,communications ,commission to use a portion of the proceeds from the auction of the ,c-band to fund measures to provide students with access to the internet at home1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,homework ,gap ,trust ,fund ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,according to the ,joint ,economic ,committee1 as many as #ab1jjj1jjj students in the ,united ,states do not have access to the internet at home4 7#b7 ,lack of internet access at home for a student can lead to reduced academic preparedness1 decreased academic performance1 and decreased classroom engagement in school4 7#c7 ,nearly #ej percent of students in the ,united ,states have reported being unable to complete a homework assignment because those students did not have access to the internet or a computer4 7#d7 ,seventeen percent of students in the ,united ,states do not have access to computers at home and #ah percent do not have home access to broadband internet access service4 7#e7 ,computer ownership and internet use are strongly correlated with household income4 7#f7 ,approximately #cj percent of households in the ,united ,states with incomes below #ej1jjj do not have a connection to broadband internet access service4 7#g7 ,students without broadband internet access service at home are more likely to be students from low-income families1 students of color1 or students who live in households with lower levels of parental education4 7#h7 ,more than #ej percent of teachers in low-income school districts report that limited access to technology outside of school for students limits the ability of teachers to-- 7,a7 advance and implement digital learning initiatives2 and 7,b7 promote digital literacy4 7#i7 ,according to the ,commission1 approximately #gj percent of teachers in the ,united ,states assign homework that requires access to broadband internet access service4 7#aj7 ,research has shown that teenagers who have access to home computers are #f to #h percent more likely to graduate from high school than teenagers who do not have access to home computers4 7#aa7 ,the homework gap affects students in both rural and urban communities4 7#ab7 ,ensuring that students have access to broadband internet access service will reduce the digital divide and can help reduce economic1 educational1 and social inequalities4 #c4 ,homework ,gap ,trust ,fund 7a7 ,establishment2 purpose ,there is established in the ,treasury of the ,united ,states a fund to be known as the ,homework ,gap ,trust ,fund-- 7#a7 which shall be administered by the ,commission2 and 7#b7 the purpose of which is to provide funding for measures that help to-- 7,a7 close the digital divide2 and 7,b7 promote digital equality with respect to school-aged children4 7b7 ,deposit of proceeds ,notwithstanding any provision of section #cji7;j7 of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #cji7;j771 not less than #b1jjj1jjj1jjj and not more than #d1jjj1jjj1jjj of the proceeds received from systems of competitive bidding conducted with respect to the use of the ,c-band shall be deposited in the ,homework ,gap ,trust ,fund4 7c7 ,use of ,homework ,gap ,trust ,fund amounts ,the ,commission shall use the amounts in the ,homework ,gap ,trust ,fund to fund measures that seek to ensure that all students in the ,united ,states have access to broadband internet access service at home1 including by-- 7#a7 purchasing any necessary equipment for that purpose2 and 7#b7 providing those students with hotspot devices4 7d7 ,report ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 and annually thereafter1 the ,commission shall submit to ,congress a report regarding1 for the year covered by the report-- 7#a7 the number of recipients of funding provided under subsection 7c72 7#b7 the number of students who obtained access to broadband internet access service as a result of funding provided under subsection 7c72 7#c7 the number of students in the ,united ,states who continue to face unequal access to digital devices and broadband internet access service1 which prevents those students from completing homework assignments2 7#d7 the use of hotspot devices provided with funding provided under subsection 7c72 and 7#e7 the amount of data used per hotspot device described in paragraph 7#d74 7e7 ,rulemaking ,not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,commission shall issue final rules to carry out this section4 #d4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,c-band ,the term ,c-band means the band of electromagnetic spectrum between #c4g gigahertz and #d4b gigahertz1 inclusive4 7#b7 ,commission ,the term ,commission means the ,federal ,communications ,commission4 7#c7 ,digital divide ,the term digital divide means the economic1 educational1 and social inequalities that exist between individuals1 households1 businesses1 and geographic areas at different socioeconomic levels due to their differing abilities to access information and communications technology4 7#d7 ,digital equality ,the term digital equality means the activities that are necessary to ensure that1 as a means to enhance and promote education1 employment1 and civic and cultural participation1 all individuals in the ,united ,states have access to1 and the use of1 affordable information and communication technologies1 including-- 7,a7 reliable fixed and wireless broadband internet access service2 7,b7 internet-enabled devices that meet the needs of the user2 and 7,c7 applications and online content designed to enable and encourage self-sufficiency1 participation1 and collaboration1 including-- 7i7 obtaining access to digital literacy training2 7ii7 the provision of quality technical support2 and 7iii7 obtaining basic awareness of measures to ensure online privacy and cybersecurity4 7#e7 ,digital literacy ,the term digital literacy means the ability of an individual to use cognitive and technical skills and technology to effectively find1 analyze1 organize1 share1 create1 and communicate information using digital platforms4 7#f7 ,hotspot device ,the term hotspot device means a portable device-- 7,a7 that connects to broadband internet access service using a cellular data connection2 7,b7 to which other devices wirelessly connect by means of ,wi-,fi2 and 7,c7 that enables the devices described in subparagraph 7,b7 to connect to the broadband internet access service described in subparagraph 7,a74