The Federal Government Promised Native American Students Computers and Internet. Many Are Still Waiting.

Computer shortages have raised nationwide concerns about educational inequities, which are amplified in tribal communities that resisted the Bureau of Indian Education’s (BIE) desire for in-person instruction in an effort to control rising cases of COVID-19. At least five BIE-operated schools in Arizona and five in other states were not prepared to start online because the bureau’s late disbursement of federal relief funding delayed purchases for needed laptops and internet hot spots in communities where fewer than half of rural households have access to broadband internet. BIE schools lagged behind the rest of the country in providing online instruction after closing this year. About 45% of BIE schools offered digital learning for students, compared with 85% of public schools serving Native students. Adding to the challenges, limited cellular service in certain tribal communities hinders the effectiveness of wireless hot spots.  BIE officials have previously acknowledged that 95% of students in some of the agency’s schools cannot access the internet at home.

In March, Congress allocated more than $150 million to the BIE for coronavirus relief in its K-12 schools. The money was supposed to address immediate deficiencies: mental health services for students affected by the pandemic, protective equipment meant to ensure school buildings were safe to reopen and laptops and internet hot spots for distance learning. In its reopening plan, released in late Aug, the BIE said its schools would provide distance learning opportunities for all students. Children would receive laptops, Wi-Fi hot spots and solar chargers if they lived in homes with no electricity, according to the plan. Citing supply chain issues caused by the pandemic, the BIE warned that the devices might not arrive by the start of the school year.  The BIE did not begin distributing money to schools until June. And once schools received the money, they had to buy the technology through the US Department of the Interior’s system, which requires multiple offices to sign off on a purchase before an order is placed.