All Students Need Access to Home Broadband by the Next School Year

With the new school year only weeks away, additional steps must be taken quickly to ensure that students and their teachers have access to home broadband for teaching and learning. School districts and states are working swiftly to prepare for the next school year, which for many communities means preparing for a combination of in-person and online learning. Yet, millions of students and teachers still lack access to secure high capacity broadband at home leaving them unable to take advantage of online learning. Without the ability to equitably deliver online learning to all of their students, many communities may be once again forced to limit their out-of-classroom activities, which will contribute to substantial learning losses for many students.

School districts need immediate, additional federal emergency assistance dedicated to helping unconnected students and teachers participate in online learning during the next school year. Congress is beginning work on a fifth emergency spending bill, which legislators hope to complete by the end of July. Now is the time for educators, parents, and other stakeholders to call on legislators to provide dedicated broadband connectivity and network security funding to ensure that every student and teacher has the secure broadband access they need to continue their studies.

Please join CoSN today in calling on Congress to close the “homework and learning gap” once and for all. Act now by using the model letter provided to contact your Members of Congress and the FCC.