Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a new initiative on Tuesday to provide free internet access to up to 25,000 low-income students and families in the District. The move comes one week after online classes began for students in D.C. Public Schools.

The new program, Internet for All, will use $3.3 million in allocated funds from The Office of the State Superintendent of Education to provide DCPS and charter school families with free, broadband internet connection. According to press release from the mayor’s office, the initiative is in collaboration with the Office of the Chief Technology Officer, who will be working with the internet providers Comcast and RCN.

Starting Tuesday, D.C.’s technology office will be reaching out to SNAP and TANF-eligible families to connect them with the service.

“During this virtual school term, we know how critical it is for all of our students to have internet access to successfully learn at home and stay connected to their teachers outside of the classroom,” Bowser says in the press release.

The investment in internet accessibility follows months of pressure on D.C. education leaders by parents and legal advocates, who called on the city to equip each of the system’s 51,000 students with a laptop and internet access.

When classes moved online last spring, the city distributed 10,000 devices and 4,000 WiFi hotspots to students, according to D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee.  But a survey of D.C. families over the summer found that 60% of respondents needed a digital device and 27% needed internet access in order to participate in online learning come fall.

By the first day of virtual school on Aug. 31, the system had distributed nearly 19,000 devices, leaving many students without the technology they needed to navigate the first week of classes.

“As schools begin classes online, students without regular access to the internet are at a severe disadvantage,” Chief Technology Officer Lindsey Parker says in Tuesday’s press release. “The Bowser Administration is committed to work with our partners and our community to break this cycle and create a fair shot for everyone in DC.”

According to a report from the Alliance of Excellent Education this summer, 45% of D.C. households with a yearly income below $25,000, and 27% of households with an income between $25,000 and $50,000 are without high-speed internet. More than 20,200 children in D.C. lack high-speed home internet.

The $3.3 million investment also marks the first step in the D.C. technology department’s Tech Together initiative, which includes goals like equipping every D.C. resident with Internet, making free devices and software available to small businesses, and increasing the accessibility of IT support for Washingtonians.