Education technology

Sen Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Rep Anna Eshoo (D-CA) led 15 colleagues in a bicameral letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) urging the leaders to include dedicated funding in future legislation to help ensure that college and university students with the greatest financial need can access high-speed internet during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Using data collected from providers across the state, many Minnesotans live in areas that are underserved or unserved — meaning they have inadequate downloading and uploading speeds or no access at all. In addition, there are households that show up as being covered in this map that are actually unserved. Getting a clear count on just how many Minnesota students are lacking adequate broadband access, however, has proven to be a challenge.

Vermont’s Department of Public Service recently released an Emergency Broadband Action Plan that is among the most aggressive of all state responses to the coronavirus pandemic. The state currently has 944 cases of COVID-19, with 54 attributable deaths.

The US Census Bureau estimates that nearly 1-in-10 households with school-aged children lack a consistent internet connection that can be used for educational purposes at a time when millions of kids have been forced out of classrooms by the coronavirus. Among 60 million households with children in public or private schools, about 5.4 million, or just over 9%, have internet available only “sometimes,” “rarely,” or “never” for educational purposes, the estimates suggest.

In Virginia, as in other states, school officials are racing to reach families by publicizing discounted offers from Internet providers, extending school Wi-Fi into parking lots, and distributing hotspot devices. And schools trying to do more face a major hurdle: long-standing laws that effectively bar county governments and public school systems from providing Internet directly to families.

For most students, getting ready for school in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic now simply involves opening up their computer and turning on their video camera. However, for a sizable group of students who do not have access to the internet, the classroom—which once was filled with a teacher, other students, and desks—is now an empty parking lot close to a reachable Wi-Fi network. Some school districts are scrambling to supply students with devices to reach online schooling.

Like many school districts nationwide, COVID-19 forced the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) to brainstorm ways to provide internet access for families in need. It partnered with Wander, a company with high-speed internet options at $25 per month, to provide free access to its fixed wireless networks for the remainder of the school year.

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.

Many districts around the US have pulled the plug on distance learning. It's too stressful, the lack of devices and internet access is too much to overcome, and what students get from it just isn't worth the struggle. Districts around the country are ending the school year early including Omaha and some nearby suburban districts in Nebraska, Washington (DC), and some in New Hampshire.