We need to address the digital divide causing an educational crisis

Millions of American students won't be heading back to the classroom this fall, at least not full time. From Los Angeles to New York, remote learning will continue into the fall. That leaves a staggering number of students at risk of falling behind or dropping out. Up to 30% of schoolchildren — as many as 16 million American kids — lack internet access or laptops for online learning. The digital divide has been with us for decades, and we're not going to solve it by August. But there is a tremendous amount we can do, right now, to save a generation of students from years of struggle. In the next round of coronavirus relief legislation, Congress should fund wireless "hotspot" distribution by public schools and libraries. Lawmakers should also offer subsidies or vouchers for commercial internet service and require providers to honor them. The same approach can work for laptops. We urge Congress to provide up to $6 billion for students and $1 billion for educators in the next round of coronavirus relief for broadband service and hardware, targeted to households that already qualify for other forms of federal assistance. We can immediately bring gigabit internet to millions of students, for free, by tapping the high-speed connections in public buildings across the United States.

[Stefanie Sanford is chief of global public policy and external relations for the College Board, and Larry Irving is a former US assistant secretary of commerce during the Clinton Administration]