Texas needs a broadband office to address digital divide for students and families, advocates say

Schools around Texas regularly dispatch internet-equipped buses to areas of their community with the lowest rates of online connectivity. Others extended Wi-Fi into parking lots. And some systems, like Dallas ISD, are building their own cell towers to boost signals from campuses into nearby neighborhoods. It’s all part of short-term, patchwork solutions to serve families who either don’t have the internet or the money to acquire it. Texas needs to invest in infrastructure and large-scale planning efforts to really address the gaps long-term, advocates say. Gov Greg Abbott (R-TX) named expanding broadband access as one of his five emergency items for this legislative session, which could make it more likely to be one of the few areas where lawmakers spend more money. Advocates hope Abbott’s attention to this issue will result in strategic planning about how to improve access to broadband. Texas doesn’t have a statewide plan or office overseeing the effort.