Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed a bill Wednesday that promises to increase internet speeds at dozens of public schools, mostly in rural Alaska.
House Bill 193 Increase state funding for federal grant programs that pay for Internet access. Before the change, the state would only match the cost of service at 25 megabits per second. HB 193 says the state will pay for the race required for 100 megabits per second.
This change is expected to cost Up to $40 million Per year.
At legislative hearings, school administrators testified that the old restrictions were insufficient and sometimes required them to shut down the internet in parts of their schools so that other students could take online tests.
HB 193 improve rapidly The bill passed the House and Senate this month after a multipart education funding bill known as Senate Bill 140 failed. The bill included things like adding more internet, but Dunleavy vetoed the previous bill and lawmakers failed to override the veto.
This allows legislators Rush to pass a stand-alone bill To meet the March 27 federal deadline for schools to select Internet services for the 2024-2025 school year.
They met the deadline, and Dunleavy signed HB 193 into law the morning of the deadline.
“We got this done in a pinch and thank everyone in the Legislature and the governor for signing this bill,” said Rep. Bryce Edmond (I-Dillingham), who sponsored the bill in the House.
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