The state’s Library Board awarded the Prospect Public Library $27,825 in grant funding for a high-speed fiber connection to the Connecticut Education Network. According to a release, the grant covers all costs related to installing the fiber connection to the library. It is anticipated the connections will be completed later this year. In 2015, the General Assembly appropriated $3.6 million for Grants-in-Aid for high-speed connections to the Connecticut Education Network. In 2016, the state’s Bond Commission approved an allocation and bond authorization to the State Library that would fund high-speed internet connections for more than 90 libraries in the state.

At a recent convention of Connecticut school officials, Nick Caruso asked 50 school board members and superintendents what their districts do for students who lack internet access at home. Most didn’t even know whether their district has a policy, said Caruso, a senior staff associate for the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education and member of the Connecticut Commission for Educational Technology.