Education technology

Acting Chairwoman Rosenworcel's Response to Senators Wicker and Thune Regarding Keeping Americans Connected During the COVID-19 Pandemic

On February 12, Sens Roger Wicker (R-MS) and John Thune (R-SD) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel raising concerns about the Universal Service Fund’s (USF) long-term sustainability as a mechanism to close the nation’s digital divide.

Democrats Downsize Planned FCC Pandemic Boost

Senate Democrats aren’t setting aside quite as much money as their House counterparts for Federal Communications Commission online learning efforts, according to the latest legislative text for the $1.9 trillion pandemic aid package. Although House Democrats had wanted $7.6 billion in FCC funding, the Senate version includes just $7.17 billion. Senators are gearing up for final votes on the bill soon.

NCTA Warns Against E-Rate Overbuilding

Cable broadband operators want the Federal Communications Commission to confine its emergency E-rate Universal Service Fund broadband subsidies, where possible, to existing providers rather than spending on new infrastructure deployments, and to provide a streamlined application process.

USDA Invests $42 Million in Distance Learning and Telemedicine Infrastructure to Improve Education and Health Outcomes

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $42.3 million to help rural residents gain access to health care and educational opportunities. Rural areas are seeing higher infection and death rates related to COVID-19 due to several factors, including a much higher percentage of underlying conditions, difficulty accessing medical care, and lack of health insurance.

House Approves $7.6 Billion for E-rate to Address Homework Gap

The House of Representatives approved President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion pandemic rescue plan in a 219 to 212 vote, sending the measure to the Senate as Democrats race to pass it into law before boosted unemployment payments expire in March. The legislation includes a $7.6 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund. For the duration of the ongoing pandemic, the fund will enable schools and libraries to connect students and library patrons to broadband services and devices.

AT&T to distribute hotspots nationwide to expand student broadband access

School districts that serve vulnerable and disabled students in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and 24 other states will receive free Wi-Fi hotspots from AT&T and Connected Nation, a nonprofit that provides communities with broadband technology and support. Through a portion of a $10 million award from AT&T, Connected Nation will provide 124 school districts and community organizations with hotspots, data subscriptions and content filtering services, potentially providing internet access to at least 35,000 school-age kids who don’t have reliable internet access. 

New Push Made for FCC to Add Funding for Cybersecurity to E-rate

A group of K-12 organizations has banded together to urge the Federal Communications Commission to incorporate cybersecurity purchases into the E-rate program. The goal of the 35-page petition is to help school districts protect their networks and data by expanding E-rate in three ways:

Broadband funding caught up in debate over reopening schools

The debate over reopening schools amid the ongoing pandemic is spilling into negotiations over billions of dollars in new money to help students who lack home internet access. As Democrats in Congress push forward with a plan to provide $7.6 billion for a program that provides discounted laptops and Wi-Fi hotspots to schools and libraries, Republicans are questioning whether the funding is necessary when President Joe Biden has said he wants to reopen a majority of public schools in the coming months.

Commenters Urge FCC to Expand the E-Rate Program to Connect Students During Pandemic

Public Knowledge joined Access Humboldt, Benton Institute for Broadband and Society, Consumer Reports, and New America’s Open Technology Institute (collectively PIOs) in filing comments in response to the Federal Communications Commission’s Public Notice on the use of E-Rate funds to enable remote learning.

Digital inequality, faculty communication, and remote learning experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic: A survey of U.S. undergraduates

The COVID-19 pandemic forced closure of most US university campuses in March 2020, obliging millions of students to finish their semesters via remote learning. This study examines whether and how students’ prior and current experiences of digital inequality—defined as constrained access to the internet and internet-connecting devices—were associated with their remote learning experiences. Findings revealed that students’ challenges with internet connectivity and digital devices during remote learning were associated with lower remote learning proficiency (RLP).

Closing Education’s Digital Divide Will Cost Billions

As many of the nation’s pupils close in on a year of virtual remote learning, public policy analysts are highlighting the scope of the digital divide and ways in which policymakers can close it. While policymakers have made efforts to expand access to computers and broadband since the COVID-19 pandemic began, analysts say up to 12 million K-12 students remain underserved.

Sens Wicker, Thune Raise Concerns About USF Sustainability

Sens. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and John Thune (R-SD) sent a letter to to Acting Chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission Jessica Rosenworcel raising concerns about the Universal Service Fund’s (USF) long-term sustainability as a mechanism to close the nation’s digital divide.

House Commerce Committee Hopes for E-rate Boost in COVID Bill

On Feb 11, the House Commerce Committee will mark up portions of the pandemic relief package falling within its jurisdiction.

Petition Calls for E-Rate Funds for K-12 Cybersecurity Needs

The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA), State E-rate Coordinators' Alliance (SECA), Allianced for Excellent Education (All4Ed), Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition (SHLB) and the Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS) submitted to the Federal Communications Commission an estimate outlining the cost to provide much-needed cybersecurity protections to US K-12 school districts and a petition for declaratory relief and rulemaking urging the agency to expand the E-rate program to cover these protections.

Digital divide lurks behind school reopening plans

Students without reliable in-home internet are already at an educational deficit, and many of the remote learning tools the pandemic has ushered in are here to stay.

What online school? Thousands of students still can't access classes over the internet

Since schools shut down in spring, districts have scrambled to distribute laptops and internet so students can engage in schooling from home. But almost a year later, with no end in sight for virtual learning, millions of students still lack reliably fast internet or a working computer — the basic tools to participate in live lessons from home. The digital divide is complicated to solve. The cost of broadband is out of reach for many families.

E-Rate 3.0 for a Remote Learning World

As policymakers address the immediate needs of students and teachers, they should also use this as an opportunity to take a fresh look at the E-rate program, both from how it has been operationalized to date as well as its goals for the future. AT&T believes the following principles should guide any expansion of the program:  

FCC Seeks Comment on Using E-Rate Funding to Support Remote Learning

The Federal Communications Commission seeks comment on several petitions requesting permission to use E-Rate program funds to support remote learning during the pandemic. The E-Rate program provides universal service fund discounts on broadband services for eligible schools and libraries. Multiple petitions filed with the agency have sought emergency relief so schools and libraries that were shut down because of the pandemic can assist students who need to learn remotely, but who lack internet access at home.

Looking Back, Looking Forward: What it will take to permanently close the K-12 digital divide

This is the third in our series of reports on the digital divide with Boston Consulting Group, and presents a clear roadmap for closing it once and for all. The report offers new and more granular detail on the root causes of the digital divide, cites work by many other groups in this field, and shows that previous COVID relief efforts have still left millions of kids caught in the gap and have funded mainly short-short-term solutions that are set to expire.

How Biden's FCC Could Bring Fast Relief to Students Struggling With Remote Learning

President Joe Biden's recent pick to chair the Federal Communications Commission, Jessica Rosenworcel, is welcome news to those who have been fighting to help students access the internet during the coronavirus pandemic.

Executive Order on Supporting the Reopening and Continuing Operation of Schools and Early Childhood Education Providers

To ensure that students receive a high-quality education during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and to support the safe reopening and continued operation of schools, child care providers, Head Start programs, and institutions of higher education, President Joe Biden encouraged the Federal Communications Commission to increase connectivity options for students lacking reliable home broadband, so that they can continue to learn if their schools are operating remotely.

Minority Broadband Initiative Helps Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Tribal Colleges and Universities Navigate Distance Learning Regulations

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration's Minority Broadband Initiative (MBI), in partnership with the United States Distance Learning Association and the Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education, recently held a teleconference(link is external) to brief Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) on new Department of Education distan

The FCC’s Program to Discount Educational Internet Connections Needs an Upgrade

One of the first priorities of 2021 should be to enable schools and libraries to use E-Rate to help students and patrons get online from home. To support these extensions is to uphold the program’s founding principles of universal service and access. So what is the hold up? For one, Congress can barely figure out how to pass its annual appropriations bills. Although there is a chance that E-Rate changes could come in the final push for COVID-19 relief legislation, relying on lawmakers typically means waiting, and waiting, and waiting.

Every Child Connected Act

Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), both members of the Senate Commerce Committee, introduced the Every Child Connected Act—legislation that aims to reduce the digital divide between students with and without internet access, known as the Homework Gap. Specifically, the legislation accomplishes this goal by targeting available funding sources from Federal Trade Commission data privacy violations to provide vital connectivity to American students at home. The Every Child Connected Act would: