How Education Is Closing the Digital Divide

A new SETDA report digs into how states across the country are implementing new programs to help school districts close the digital divide.

• By Sara Friedman
• 04/09/19

Designing high-capacity and widely available networks is essential for meeting the digital learning goals, according to a new SETDA study. The report looks into how individual states are working to close the digital divide in education by creating dedicated networks for schools and funding grant programs.

“In order to provide personalized learning experiences for students to best prepare them for college and careers, and to compete in a global economy, all schools need access to reliable, high-speed broadband,” said SETDA’s incoming executive director, Candice Dodson. “No two states approach broadband implementation the same; however, state leadership is essential to the process in implementing high-speed broadband for all.”

Some examples in the report include:

• The Connecticut Commission for Educational Technology oversees Connecticut Education Network, which is one of the first state networks in the country to connect every school district to fiber.

• The New Hampshire School Connectivity Initiative is a collaboration between state organizations and organizations involved with expanding connectivity and broadband services for all K-12 schools and students in the state.

• The Virginia Department of Education established the K-12 Learning Infrastructure Program in 2015 to bring fiber to schools that need it, ensure that classrooms have updated and reliable WiFi, help divisions secure more broadband funding for their budgets and assist schools with the E-rate process to get discounts for internet access and internal connections.

• The New Jersey Digital Readiness for Learning Assessment Project is a collaboration between the Educational Services Commission of New Jersey and the NJ Department of Education to expand internet access among K-12 schools through cooperative purchasing initiatives.

When it comes to developing strategies for affordable internet access for off-campus students, the report found 12 states have community partnerships, 13 with connecting anchor institutions and five with existing state funding. Nine states have instituted WiFi on busses and seven states have mandated legislative funding for off-campus access.

In conjunction with the release of the report, SETDA has published the State K-12 Education Broadband Map, which shows how each state is using broadband through different models including the statewide networks, regional networks and alternative strategies. The map can be viewed here.

The full report from SETDA can be found here.