Free internet connectivity for eligible students from the 1Million Project Foundation
Lincoln County Schools has received an award from the 1Million Project Foundation to provide free internet connectivity for high school students who do not have reliable internet access at home, starting with the 2019-20 school year. This will include a wireless device and 10GB per month of free internet connectivity during the time they are in high school. There is no cost to students to participate in the 1Million Project and no personally identifiable information about students or their families will be captured as part of their program participation. www.1millionproject.org
Internet access is critical for homework and for college and career research and applications, financial aid, social services, health care and much more. Participation in this program will give students a tool that has the potential to help them grow, achieve and excel in today’s digital learning environment. This preparation is essential as we face a dynamic and challenging future work environment.
To determine eligibility for the program, ninth grade students are being surveyed about their use of home internet for homework, and parent permission is then required to participate. The program may be expanded to students in other grade levels if there are devices available. The award provides 700 devices for the school year.
Eligible students will receive:
- A mobile hotspot device
- 10GB per month of free high-speed LTE data (If usage exceeds 10GB in a month, unlimited data is available at 2G speeds for the remainder of the month.)
- Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) compliant content filter with every device
- Wireless service for up to four years while still in a participating high school
FAQs
High school students who are 13 and older who do not have high-speed internet access at home, which includes:
- No home internet access at all
- Multiple students in the same household, working from a single computer
- Internet is available at home, but at very low bandwidth (i.e., dial-up speeds) and is not adequate for completing homework assignments
A mobile hotspot provides secure access to the Sprint LTE network for a smartphone, Chromebook, tablet, or other mobile device, up to a maximum of eight (8) devices. It has its own data plan so you do not need to use your own cell phone provider data plan and will not use your cell phone battery.
Students and their parent/guardian can complete the required consent form and bring to the designated person at your school.
Yes, each student can receive their own hotspot.
Yes. Sprint provides a free Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) compliant content filter with every hotspot to block inappropriate content and malware for any computing device while on the Sprint network. The filter uses the Symantec Rulespace engine which is industry best-in-class and has been employed worldwide to over 700 million customers.
Yes, the hotspot will continue to work at slower speeds (2G) for the rest of the month after the student uses the 10GB of high-speed LTE data.
Yes. The hotspot remains in the student’s possession continuously until the student graduates or completes four years of school.
If a student transfers schools and remains in Lincoln County School District, the hotspot will stay with them. If a student leaves the school district, the hotspot is returned to the school. If the device is not returned, the student’s account may be charged a replacement fee for the cost of a hotspot.
Students report a lost device to their school’s 1Million Project administrator. They will either provide you with a replacement device or direct you to your online account to purchase a replacement device. If you need to purchase a replacement device, the school MUST place your account in suspended status or you will be unable to see the devices available for purchase.
Contact Sprint at 844-309-1680 to identify the next steps. Sprint will determine if the damage to your device is covered under warranty.
If a supply exists, a stolen hotspot will be replaced only once, after a police report is made and presented to the school. If there is no supply, students will be directed to their online account to purchase a replacement device. If you need to purchase a replacement device, the school MUST place your account in suspended status or you will be unable to see the available devices for purchase.
Yes, students with hotspots who graduate from Lincoln County School District will get to take the hotspot with them. Sprint intends to offer students their own discounted service plan upon graduation.
If you have any questions about your device or service, please log into your Sprint portal or call Sprint at (844) 309-1680 from 7AM to 10PM Central Time.