According to experts and former Federal Communications Commission officials, the U.S. government has historically not seen high-speed Internet as something everyone should have, thus it has not treated broadband as a public utility as it does water or telephone service.  We know that when regions view broadband as a top priority, things get done; take a look at a couple of states that are really pushing the needle when it comes to their state.  According to, State K-12 Broadband Leadership 2019: Driving Connectivity, Access, and Student Success; here are the states making a difference:

·         Arkansas: The Department of Education and the Department of Information Systems partnered together to ensure that K-12 public schools have high-speed services; currently 100% of their K-12 schools has a download speed of 200kb per second. (Fox)

·         Connecticut: The Connecticut Commission for Educational Technology created the first ever state wide network in the country to connect every district to fiber, not only is it cutting edge but they are working towards connecting libraries as well; currently 62% of libraries in the state are connected.

·         Kentucky: Created an Educational Reform Act (KERA) that will work to provide internet access to all school districts over the term 6 years.

·         New Hampshire:  The New Hampshire School Connectivity Initiative (NHSCI) are working to create an e-rate fund that will provide discounted services to school and libraries.

·         Oklahoma: Developed the Connect and Learn Initiatives that are creating opportunities for students who are digitally prepared.  This pipeline will provide a solid foundation for students looking to work for state agencies.

·         Virginia: The Department of Education has goals to bring Wi-Fi to K12 schools, and are working towards establishing a working group that helps troubleshoot issues in their new innovative network.

Is Your State Ready for A State-Wide Initiative?

The FCC estimates 19 million Americans do not have a fast Internet connection so some states are pushing a state-wide effort allowing districts to save costs.  States like California, Maine, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah, and Washington are all places who are developing contracts to provide broadband to their schools. Even though these states are really working hard to connect, the Pew Research Center states that about 15 percent of all households with school-aged children lack a high-speed Internet connection. Some of these families live in areas broadband providers do not serve; others simply cannot afford broadband. Some estimates suggest the majority of people who do not have Internet actually live in cities and suburbs and not rural areas.

Do Your Students Have Access At Home?

Many schools are working to create partnerships but what about home access?  Internet companies express that there is a “the lack of customers in certain areas to make service financially viable.” This leads to what advocates call “digital redlining,” in which wealthy areas get internet, while lower-income neighborhoods have to fair without. Like residential redlining, this has a disparate racial impact: and if we want to work towards access and closing the access gap this issue must be addressed.

References:

Chapman, H. (2020, March 02). [IMAGE] New data shows sub-broadband average internet speeds in two-thirds of counties; map shows county-level data. Retrieved October 06, 2020, from http://irjci.blogspot.com/2020/03/new-data-shows-two-thirds-of-us.html

Fox, C., & Jones, R. (2019, April). State K-12 Broadband Leadership 2019: Driving Connectivity, Access and Student Success. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED594505.pdf

Source: Khazan, O. (2020, August 17). America’s terrible internet is making quarantine worse: Why millions of students still can’t get online. The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/08/virtual-learning-when-you-dont-have-internet/615322/