Working Towards Universal Connectivity for K-12 Students
Friday, January 17, 2025
Weekly Digest
Working Towards Universal Connectivity for K-12 Students
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Round-Up for the Week of January 13-17, 2025

Digital skills and access to educational materials at home are critical for preparing students for the future. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic put into sharp focus the divide between students with and without consistent, reliable broadband and device access. In new research released this week, the State Education Technology Directors Association (SETDA) examines the current state of K-12 connectivity in the US and sets forth state and finds that only 27 percent of states have plans to sustain K-12 digital access as key federal programs expire.
SETDA examines the current state of K-12 connectivity through four, interrelated dimensions of digital inclusion:
- Equitable access to affordable, reliable broadband and internet-enabled devices,
- Reinforcing digital skills for students, families, and caregivers,
- Technical support and building awareness of online privacy and cybersecurity practices, and
- Ensuring inclusive digital tools and platforms.
Access to consistent and reliable broadband and internet-enabled devices (beyond a cell phone) is critical to student success in today's digital world. While Congress’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated progress towards internet and device access through federal programs like the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF), and the Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER), these programs have expired, and left schools and districts struggling to keep students connected and devices updated.
The high cost of broadband and internet-enabled devices is among the most prohibitive factors to equitable access. Leaders across the country are developing funding opportunities to remedy gaps and collecting data to drive impactful investments. A permanent mechanism to address the affordability challenge is crucial to ensuring long-term equity in K–12 education.
What is Universal Connectivity and Why is it an Imperative?
Universal connectivity—access to the internet at school, home, and anywhere learning may take place—is critical to K-12 student success. Students who have consistent and reliable access to the internet can stay caught up in the event of absences, explore topics that interest them through self-directed learning, and connect to educational resources out of school. Research suggests that K-12 students are more likely to achieve greater success and well-being when they are connected at school as well as off-campus.
Students without consistent access to the internet and a reliable internet-enabled device can suffer negative academic, economic, and mental and physical health impacts:
- Students impacted by the digital access divide exhibit GPAs approximately 0.4 points lower than peers.
- Lower academic achievement due to the digital access divide is associated with 4 percent to 6 percent lower annual income.
- Universal connectivity increases the availability of public health information, and this contributed to lower rates of COVID-19-related mortality in communities with better broadband access.
- Young people, particularly Black, Latino, and LGBTQ+ groups—who face greater cultural, social, and economic barriers to in-person care—are more likely to access virtual mental health resources via telehealth.
These negative impacts don’t just apply to students—lower incomes associated with being on the wrong side of the digital divide could lead to an annual gross domestic product (GDP) loss of $22 billion to $33 billion, with additional public costs stemming from higher health care usage and lower taxable incomes.1
“Failing to prioritize this issue carries a high societal cost because it harms opportunities for economic success, educational achievement, positive health outcomes, social inclusion, and civic engagement.”—SETDA
Reinforcing Digital Skills for Students, Families, and Caregivers
Teaching and reinforcing digital skills are critical for ensuring that students and their families can safely and responsibly navigate online resources and digital tools. While many programs designed to enhance digital skills currently face significant challenges in engaging parents and caregivers, schools have the potential to serve as trusted resources and partners in teaching digital skills.
Building K–12 digital skills must be a multisector, whole-ecosystem commitment so that the work is sustainable and not the sole responsibility of school systems. System-level leaders must also pair K–12 digital skill-building efforts with deliberate work to engage and support families and caregivers so that they are able to reinforce student skills from home. Finally, leaders should make reliable resources available to support ongoing professional development and coaching for educators.
Technical Support & Building Awareness of Online Privacy and Cybersecurity Practices
As K–12 schools increasingly integrate technology into educational environments, online privacy and cybersecurity issues have received the national spotlight. Cybersecurity is the top priority among state education leaders, particularly because of the increase in cyber attacks between 2021 and 2023. Budget and capacity constraints pose challenges to maintaining safe and secure data systems for schools and districts, so it is critical that K-12 cybersecurity be a state and federal level priority.
Making K–12 a priority as statewide cybersecurity plans are built and maintained is essential for ensuring schools have the tools to safeguard staff and students from potential threats as well as supporting the development of appropriate data privacy agreements with solutions providers.
Ensuring Inclusive Digital Tools and Platforms
While digital tools can provide exciting opportunities for students and educators, they can also widen the digital divide. Digital tools and platforms must be inclusive and meet the needs of all students. When digital tools and platforms are not designed from the outset with learner variability in mind, students with disabilities and their families face additional learning barriers that can significantly impede their educational experience. Adequate support to develop and implement accessible and assistive technologies is necessary for creating a learning environment where everyone can thrive.
School systems need sustainable funding and technical assistance to integrate inclusive digital tools and platforms into instruction and everyday classroom activities. Additional collaboration between education and industry leaders is needed to build equitable pipelines that offer historically underrepresented populations the opportunity to succeed in growing industry sectors.
Final Considerations
As state and federal policymakers approach these challenges to improve the state of K-12 connectivity, there are a few overarching implementation considerations SETDA urges them to consider.
First, state and federal policymakers must commit to continuous monitoring and evaluation of policy initiatives to ensure that investments are increasing equitable access across all K–12 demographics.
Second, policymakers should consider options for sustainable funding, including through the Federal Communications Commission’s Universal Service Fund, or reintroducing the Digital Equity Foundation Act, which would establish an independent foundation with a goal to “expand access to broadband internet and promote digital literacy, inclusion, and equity.”
Lastly, policymakers should be aware that educational programs and users will eventually demand more bandwidth. Leaders should keep local variables in mind when determining which technologies to use, as well as their definitions of “adequate” broadband.
For more see Universal Connectivity Imperative: Sustaining Progress to Close the Digital Access Divide in K–12 Education.
Notes
- Clark, K., Fazlullah, A., Garner, D., Golnabi, S., Hill, H., Kalmus, M., McQuiggan, M., and Salmirs, E. (2022). Closing the digital divide benefits everyone, not just the disconnected: An analysis of how universal connectivity benefits education, health care, government services, and employment. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense.
The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society's Zoë Walker and Drew Garner were part of the SETDA UCI Working Group and contributed to this report.
Quick Bits
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Weekend Reads
- 2024 Universal Service Monitoring Report
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- Black Tech Agenda: Advancing Equity and Reimagining Technology
ICYMI from Benton
- President Biden Touts His Broadband Record
- The Broadband Priorities of the New Senate Commerce Committee
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Upcoming Events
Jan 21––The Worst Tech Policies of 2024: How the New Administration and Congress Can Turn the Page (Information Technology & Innovation Foundation)
Jan 22––Introducing the Digital Equity Researcher Inventory (NDIA)
Jan 30––The Universal Connectivity Imperative (State Educational Technology Directors Association)
Feb 6––Broadband Beneath the Waves: Understanding the World of Submarine Cables (Information Technology & Innovation Foundation)
Feb 11––State of the Net Conference 2025 (Internet Education Foundation)
Feb 13-14––NTIA Grantee Workshop: Atlanta (NTIA)
Feb 20––Honoring Broadband Pioneers: From the Digital Divide to Digital Opportunity (NTIA)
Feb 25––The Attention Economy: Monopolizing Kids’ Time Online (FTC)
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