School Districts Lost Federal Funds. Will Students Lose Digital Access?

The extra money that flowed from the federal government during the pandemic has left districts in New Mexico with a problem. The pandemic boosted internet access for students. That’s in part because school districts purchased devices with relief money. These days, around 285,000 students in the state have a school-issued device, says John Chadwick, digital equity coordinator for the New Mexico Department of Education. Even so, there are still “connectivity deserts”—areas where access to the internet is limited—particularly in tribal and rural lands. In all, about 8 percent of K-12 students in New Mexico still lack devices, Chadwick estimates. But right now, it’s important to avoid losing progress. The federal government calculates that 92 percent of school districts used federal relief money to purchase edtech, including devices and other expenditures related to digital access such as software. That increased the number of students able to access the internet for learning, a rare perk resulting from the pandemic. But with federal pandemic funding over, it’s unclear whether these online gains can be sustained.