No child deserves to be left offline this school year—here’s how Congress can help

As the conditions of students without home broadband access or a device mirror the broad systemic inequalities of the US, Congress must do more than offer piecemeal funding to connect K-12 students to the internet. The current times necessitate the need for a comprehensive policy initiative, or perhaps an addendum to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), that guarantees institution-wide broadband access for improved educational outcomes and preparedness for the future demands of the 21st century workforce. A proposed No Child Left Offline (NCLO) initiative would be driven by Congress and rely upon coordinated federal and state resources that help K-12 school districts accomplish the following:

1. Collect local and national school data on broadband connectivity
2. Provide internet-enabled hardware and options for home broadband service for disadvantaged K-12 public school students to close the digital divide and motivate 21st century educational readiness.
3. Support local institutions that can be leveraged to aid students during remote learning, including federally assisted housing, park districts, and faith and community-based organizations.
4. Create an Office of Innovation in every school district to promote digital inclusion and equity.

[Dr. Nicol Turner Lee is a senior fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings, the director of the Center for Technology Innovation, and serves as Co-Editor-In-Chief of TechTank.]