Schools/Universities

An $84 million plan to boost internet speeds at Chicago Public Schools has stalled again, officials say, because of red tape in securing construction permits from the city. For several months, crews have been ripping up streets to build a new high-speed fiber network.

The Federal Communications Commission announced that it is committing $602,985,895.13 in its latest wave of Emergency Connectivity Fund program support, which will connect over 1.4 million students in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. These additional commitments bring the current total commitments to over $3.8 billion, supporting students, school staff, and library patrons in all 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia.

The Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) has provided a much-needed infusion of laptop computers and Wi-Fi hotspots to keep K-12 students and library patrons connected to the Internet. Up until this point, we have all been estimating what was needed to help our communities stay connected. The time for guessing is over. Based on ECF funding request data from 2021, Funds for Learning found that $4.51 billion is needed annually to provide secure devices with internet connections to families who otherwise lack adequate connectivity.

The Federal Communications Commission approved a proposal seeking comment on improving transparency and efficiency in the competitive bidding process for the E-Rate program. The proposal would require bids for E-Rate services and equipment to be uploaded into a centralized document portal managed by the Universal Service Administrative Company. This would replace a process by which service providers submit bids directly to applicants for E-Rate-supported equipment and services. The order also seeks comment on other ways to improve the competitive bidding process and

New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas announced that his Consumer & Environmental Protection Division has resolved two federal court cases filed against Google. Both cases concern allegations made by Balderas against the company under the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, as well as under state consumer protection laws. The centerpiece of these settlements is the creation and funding of the Google New Mexico Kids Initiative.

The internet has become necessary infrastructure during the pandemic, but ubiquitous 5G service has been slow to fully develop in the US. Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners (SIP) said it will invest $100 million to both acquire wireless infrastructure company Dense Air and use its small cell technology to build a "borderless classroom." SIP, which was spun out of Google-parent Alphabet, intends to work with an as-yet unnamed city to build a private wireless network for a school district so students can connect to the same network whether they're in the classroom, on the school bus or at home,

After the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the deep broadband divide across the country, lawmakers said the recently passed infrastructure bill will connect many communities that struggled as much of daily life moved online. The newly passed infrastructure bill allocates $65 billion for broadband access, aimed at rural areas, lower-income populations and Tribal communities.

Although there are many technological solutions that can positively impact the educational digital divide, the following three are particularly noteworthy.

We need to shift the narrative around digital equity. Top of mind for many participants were the very ways we talk about and define digital equity—and how it shapes and sustains the larger systemic challenges we see play out in school systems. Inequitable funding formulas, digital redlining, and biased, eurocentric curriculum, for example, all contribute incrementally to inequitable educational experiences.

Understanding that every school and district will take a different path toward their realization of digital equity, depending on their context and culture, we recommend an iterative, ongoing process which includes six key steps: