Digital Smarts - States Invest in Digital Access for Students

Thirty-nine states have reported plans to use federal coronavirus relief funds to bridge the digital divide for the approximately 16 million students -- 30% of K-12 students -- who lack either at-home Internet or devices to help facilitate remote instruction. The fixes can be fairly simple. School-district and municipal IT departments are using technology that has been around for years, such as solar-powered antennas to transmit Wi-Fi, or wireless broadband, closer to more peoples’ homes. With fresh funding comes more elaborate fixes, such as extending a school’s network infrastructure right to students’ doors. What is proving to be the hardest part is determining exactly who needs access. Administrators can narrow down which students are likely to be in need based on the families that qualify for free and reduced-price lunches, and then subsequently survey parents about their Internet needs, but don’t always get a high response rate.