Internet access is a right for every student

School closures in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak revealed a difficult truth: The digital divide is real, and it is deep. And the tools we have available to bridge it are insufficient. To prioritize where broadband deployment funding can do the most good, we need to know where the gaps in service exist.  The second problem is one of access. Too many households simply cannot afford the monthly cost of broadband even if the infrastructure exists to provide it in their homes. Unfortunately, prior funding provided by Congress in response to COVID-19 did not include targeted funding to close the Homework Gap. 

Addressing availability and access requires political will and determination from leaders at all levels of government. With state and local budgets facing steep cuts, the federal government will need to step in with additional funding for both access and availability. The Alliance for Excellent Education suggests it would cost $6.8 billion to provide students with high-speed home internet and devices. Congress should provide these funds through the federal E-Rate program. The Federal Communications Commission could do even more by allowing existing E-rate funds, which were initially intended to support internet services in schools, to be used outside school buildings, for Wi-Fi hot spots and connected devices. We can’t stop there. State and local governments should expand programs like deploying Wi-Fi-equipped school buses to underserved areas and providing computers and hot spots to every child.  They can also assist the FCC by crowdsourcing data, helping pinpoint broadband deserts. 

[GA State Sen. Elena Parent (D-Atlanta) is co-chair of the NewDEAL Forum Education Policy Group. Christopher Cabaldon is Mayor of West Sacramento (CA).]