WASHINGTON — Gov. Gavin Newsom and first partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom on Monday announced the donation and distribution of tens of thousands of laptops and other technology to help bridge the digital divide as California’s students learn online during the coronavirus stay-at-home orders.

Companies — including Apple, Amazon, T-Mobile, Verizon, HP and Microsoft — have donated 70,000 additional laptops and tablet-type devices, or money toward them, for the state to distribute to students who may not have access to computers at home, building on earlier efforts to support distance learning among the disadvantaged. The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, and venture capitalist John Doerr and his wife Ann have each donated $1 million to the effort.

Newsom also announced a $30 million investment from the state into acquiring more devices and further extending internet access, and said the city of Sacramento will deploy a “proof of concept” effort to convert seven city school buses into mobile hotspots. If the buses show promise, the state will deploy similar plans statewide. He said his team is working on plans to allow learning to continue into the summer, when many annual programs are likely to be unavailable due to social distancing efforts.

The announcement follows a pledge earlier this month from Google to give out 100,000 internet hotspots and 4,000 Chromebooks to families in need. Newsom said Monday the Chromebooks have been distributed through regional education centers and the hotspots will roll out the first week in May.

The governor noted that unequal access to technology and the internet is always a challenge to students having an equal shot at education, and the pandemic that has forced the closure of schools for the rest of the year is only exacerbating that phenomenon.

“The issues of equity, the issues of access and availability of laptops, computers and screens, issues of connectivity as it relates to internet, broadband — all of those issues vexing even under natural (conditions) but particularly under the circumstances are made more acute and more fundamental,” Newsom said.

California has 6.2 million K-12 students, roughly one-fifth of whom lacked connectivity at home when the crisis began, officials said. That number has since been cut at least in half, officials have said.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and Gov. Newsom also said the effort will only continue. Thurmond called for the pandemic response to “once and for all close the digital divide” for California’s students.

Siebel Newsom said Monday’s announcement should help hundreds of thousands of students access their education.

“To all of these families, I want you to know that you’ve been on the governor’s and my mind every day since this crisis started,” Siebel Newsom said. “And I want you to know that we have your back and will continue to fight for you.”

Siebel Newsom spoke of her own experience juggling the learning needs of four kids, ages 10 and under, with her work — noting that she’s well aware her family has more resources than plenty of California homes.

“We all know education is fundamental to opportunity, and so our mission will not end until every child in California has what they need to continue learning while physically distanced,” she said. “This pandemic should not stand in the way of California students reaching their potential and realizing their dreams.”

Tal Kopan is The San Francisco Chronicle’s Washington correspondent. Email: tal.kopan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @talkopan