High-speed internet for about 200,000 Alabama students in low-income households is being extended through the spring semester of 2021, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announced Monday.

Ivey said she has extended the Alabama Broadband Connectivity (ABC) for Students program into 2021, thanks to a provision in the latest COVID-19 relief package passed by Congress last week and signed by President Donald Trump on Sunday.

The governor said her goal is to ensure that the families benefiting from ABC for Students will have continued service through the program, which has provided access to high-speed internet for Alabama students throughout the fall and was slated to end on the original COVID-19 relief spending deadline of Dec. 30. The new relief package includes an extension into 2021 of the federal deadline for states to spend funds allocated earlier in 2020.

Alabama Broadband Connectivity for Students has increased access to internet for K-12 students learning by distance education during the pandemic. (Getty Images)

The current funding is anticipated to cover the costs for participants through the spring semester of 2021. The state has used the funds to buy internet service for low-income households with K-12 students to allow them access to online learning.

“Alabama has led nationally with this innovative program via CARES Act funding to ensure that students can participate in distance-learning during the pandemic,” Ivey said.

“I am extremely grateful to President Trump and Congress for including the funding extension, and most of all, I am pleased that we will continue to offer this assistance to the families who are signed up for the program,” Ivey said. “My hope is that this extension is welcome news for both parents and students during an unusual and difficult school year.”

The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) is managing ABC for Students and is working with its partner CTC Technology & Energy to notify participating internet service providers of the extension with the goal of minimal disruption in service. Updated information for current participants will be posted to the program website at www.abcstudents.org or parents may call the hotline at 888-212-4998.

ADECA partnered with CTC to develop the ABC for Students program to implement the first-of-its-kind program statewide in a short, accelerated time frame in July and August. In the fall, families who qualified for the National School Lunch Program received vouchers to cover the cost of equipment, installation and internet service through 42 providers that partnered with the state. ADECA also administers the Alabama Broadband Accessibility Fund, which provides grant funding to expand broadband service in the state.