Homeschooling students amid the coronavirus pandemic significantly amplifies economic inequities between households. Household income and a family's employment status can determine whether a student has the resources to learn remotely. Income significantly affects access to broadband and data plans, the foundations of keeping up with schoolwork when classes are cancelled.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey stunned Oakland schools and city leaders with a $10 million donation to a campaign aimed at providing computers and internet access to all students in the Oakland Unified School District. Dorsey's donation came after a group of city officials including Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and district Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammel held an online news conference announcing the effort.

We served together on the Federal Communications Commission for nearly four years as commissioners: a Democrat from South Carolina and a Republican from Virginia. While we sometimes disagreed, we worked hard with our colleagues to expand broadband deployment and adoption to all Americans — especially the unserved and underserved. And the need to do so is made more acute by the current pandemic. In the midst of this scourge, the importance of broadband to help save lives, jobs and the economy has never been clearer.

Life has moved online during the coronavirus pandemic, and access to the internet has shone a new light on America's inequality crisis. Nearly 15% of American households do not have a home internet subscription, including dial-up, broadband or a cellular data plan, according to US Census estimates from 2018.

Nothing in US history has exposed the rural digital divide as has the COVID-19 pandemic. Too many students in rural communities are being asked to participate in “distance learning” but are being left behind because their community’s infrastructure is insufficient. Adults, too, in rural communities are struggling with access to job listings and unemployment benefit applications as these services are frequently only available online.

The House on narrowly passed a $3 trillion coronavirus relief package crafted by Democrats. The bill passed by a vote of 208-199 and now heads to the Senate. One Republican backed the bill, while 14 Democrats voted against it. The House also passed a resolution to temporarily change House rules to allow for proxy voting and remote committee work during the pandemic, an unprecedented shift to how the chamber operates. It passed mostly along party lines.

House Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline (D-RI) and Ranking Member F. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) introduced the Local News and Emergency Information Act. The legislation would ensure that all local news organizations are eligible for federal stimulus through the Paycheck Protection Program. The bill ensures that small, local broadcasters and publishers are able to access vitally needed loans under the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program.

Schools transitioned online as COVID-19 cases across the nation rose, but for some students in the Tri-State (Ohio-Kentucky-West Virginia), the transition didn’t come without trouble. As students grapple with how they will be able to attend class and meet deadlines in this new normal, educators like Spanish professor Tim Mollet, of Ohio University Southern, are trying to get creative. “I’ve even considered snail mail,” Mollet said. Schools like Ohio University Southern and Boyd County High School are offering up their parking lots as a temporary solution.

Just as COVID-19 has made the Internet a necessity for the vast majority of Americans, it has impacted the short- and long-term plans of state broadband initiatives: 

On May 12, House Democrats unveiled the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act. "We are presenting a plan to do what is necessary to address the corona crisis," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as she announced the legislation.