Starting Jan. 28, Verizon Wireless customers will no longer receive text notifications from Remind, an app that more than 7 million educators, students and parents use to communicate for educational purposes free of charge, according to the Remind website. Luckily for Katy ISD families and teachers, the district will not be affected by this disruption, said Maria Corrales DiPetta, KISD's manager of media relations and multimedia. "Katy ISD does utilize the Remind application, and we are aware that some customers will not receive text messages from this application starting Jan. 28," she wrote in an email. "After multiple conversations with both Remind and Verizon, the district has been assured that Katy ISD staff will not be affected." According to Remind's website, while the company pays for each text a Remind user sends or receives, Verizon Wireless will soon begin charging Remind an additional fee intended for companies that send spam over its network. According to Remind, the new fee will increase Remind's cost per text message by at least 11 times its current cost. In order for Verizon Wireless customers to continue receiving notifications from Remind, users will need to turn on smartphone or email notifications instead, according to the Remind website. Remind is also urging concerned users to reach out to Verizon Wireless by calling 1-800-922-0204 and ask the company to #ReverseTheFee. For more information on how to continue receiving Remind notifications, click here.