Digital Equity in Education in the Coronavirus Era

Illinois state and local officials are requiring the use of online instruction to effectively implement remote learning plans, but the “homework gap”—that is, the barrier that students face at school when they don’t have access1 to a broadband internet connection at home—disproportionately plagues Chicago’s low-income families and people of color. About 1 in 5 children under the age of eighteen lack access to broadband, and are primarily Black or Latino. With COVID-19 forcing school districts to adopt remote learning for the remainder of the school year, the students who were already the most vulnerable to falling behind will now face even more challenges to keeping pace with their peers. Key recommendations:

• Establish a Community-Led Internet Service Subsidy Program to target Chicago’s most underserved communities.
• Expand Wi-Fi hot-spot lending programs at schools and through community organizations.
• Partner with internet service providers (ISP) and the philanthropic community to establish Wi-Fi “SuperSpots” in key communities.
• Encourage ISPs to expand low-cost broadband service offers.
• Pilot promising and innovative ideas to leverage city assets to expand Wi-Fi coverage to communities in need.