You are reading

Many Students Yet to Receive Devices Needed For Remote Learning: Council Members

Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza (DOE)

April 17, 2020 By Christian Murray

Several Queens council members have penned a letter to Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza to let him know that many low-income parents have not received the equipment their children need for remote learning.

New York City public schools started remote learning on March 23 and many schools were able to provide students from low-income families with the computer devices needed in order to participate. However, according to the council members, many students have yet to receive the computer equipment—almost a month after remote learning began.

The letter–which was co-written by Council Members Francisco Moya, Donovan Richards among others—is calling on the Department of Education to provide data as to how many laptops, computers or tablets have been distributed to students in each school district.

The council members also want to know whether the devices were part of existing school supplies; were purchased by the DOE specifically for remote learning; or were donated.

The council members say that many of their constituents are doubting the DOE’s commitment to serving students from low income areas and they want the data to prove otherwise.

“These complaints are worrisome and have caused constituents to assume the DOE is not servings low-income neighborhoods as swiftly as higher-income neighborhoods,” the April 14 letter reads.

A DOE spokesperson said that the agency has distributed 175,000 school-based devices and is in the process of delivering additional devices to students whose family have asked for one by the end of the month—prioritizing the most vulnerable students.

The DOE is currently distributing more than 135,000 LTE-enabled iPads to students in need and aims to have them all out by the end of the month. It has shipped 105,000 iPads already.

The students who received the iPads first were public school students in shelters as well as those in temporary housing or foster care., according to the DOT. The agency, according to a spokesperson, has also prioritized high school students, students with disabilities, multilingual learners, students in public housing, and students who qualify for free- and reduced-price lunch.

“We’re delivering internet enabled devices to every student who’s requested one by the end of the month in an effort to eliminate the digital divide for students” a DOE spokesperson said in a statement.

“We prioritized our most vulnerable students for distribution and we’ve consistently transparently shared updates on these shipments, including sending communications to all families who requested a device informing them that we’ve received the request and their device is on its way.”

The DOE is asking parents who need a device to go to schools.nyc.gov or call 718-935-5100 and choose option 5 and request one. All devices, the agency says, will be shipped by the end of the month.

email the author: news@queenspost.com

One Comment

Click for Comments 

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Queens Together launches ‘Unofficial US Open Dining Guide’ encouraging fans to sample restaurants along the 7 line

Aug. 20, 2025 By Shane O’Brien

The US Open returns to Flushing Meadows Corona Park this Sunday, with more than 1 million attendees anticipated to take mass transit to the iconic annual tennis event. With hundreds of thousands of fans set to take the 7 out to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, there is a world of delicious local eateries lying beneath the elevated train tracks should any fan wish to stop en-route to the US Open.

Can Queens’ food scene thrive with both trucks and restaurants?

Aug. 19, 2025 By Jessica Militello

In Jackson Heights at 4 p.m. on a Thursday afternoon, Roosevelt Avenue is buzzing with energy as commuters file in and out of subway cars and onto the street and cars and trucks grapple to get down the busy road. The street is filled with rows of shops and restaurants, along with food carts, street vendors and food trucks along the avenue. The almost-but-not-quite the weekend lag leaves hungry commuters faced with another choice to make throughout their day and the array of food truck options in busy areas like Jackson Heights offers customers convenience and delicious food without breaking the bank, two features that can feel vital, particularly with rising costs of living and pressure from inflation.