Van Hollen, Cardin Host Call with School Superintendents Across Maryland

Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) hosted a call with school superintendents from districts across Maryland to discuss the impact of coronavirus on their students and educators. Senators Van Hollen and Cardin fought to secure resources for schools within the recently passed CARES Act.

“Today’s conversation was a chance to hear directly from our school superintendents on the challenges they’re facing and how we can help. They made one point clear: we need to close the digital divide and give every student the ability to succeed through distance learning – both now and after the pandemic. That means ensuring that every student has access to the internet and computers at home. We were successful at getting over $250 million in additional funds for Maryland schools in the last bill, and I urge the State to use these funds to start closing this gap right away. I will continue fighting tooth and nail to include dedicated funds for this purpose in the next relief package,” said Senator Van Hollen, who has pressed Senate leadership to provide dedicated funding to address the homework gap within coronavirus relief packages and has asked the State to allocate applicable funds from the CARES Act to this effect. 
“Our school superintendents are consistent in telling us their need for significant federal investments to purchase technology and expand internet connectivity for students as we move through and beyond this crisis,” said Senator Cardin. “We’ll keep fighting to ensure that they get the resources they need to keep Maryland’s students engaged and progressing in their development.”