Fayette schools provide internet devices to students

Students who must take classes from home but lack adequate internet service will get assistance from the Fayette County school system. At its April 13 work session, the Board of Education voted 5-0 to buy 300 T-Mobile hotspot devices for a total of $22,500, plus 12 months of unlimited, filtered internet access for educational use, which will cost another $72,000.

Spokesperson Melinda Berry-Dreisbach said the devices are already being distributed free to families identified by each school as having a need. The hotspots will allow students to connect to the county’s Schoology learning management system. Even after regular classes eventually resume, the county will still own the devices and can make them available in the future as needed.