Seven Strategies for State Leaders Working to Bridge the Digital Divide for Students

Significant progress has been made during COVID-19 to address the digital divide for students. As of November 2021, the Federal Communications Commission invested $3 billion through the Emergency Connectivity Fund and $860 million through the Emergency Broadband Benefit to expand internet and device access. Furthermore, states, districts, and higher education institutions have and continue to invest their Education Stabilization Funds towards coordinated digital equity efforts.  

To ensure communities most impacted by the digital divide — including English learners, students of color, students in rural or Tribal communities, and students from low-income backgrounds — can access high-quality, technology-enabled learning experiences, it is critical to continue engaging in collective problem-solving and strengthen the resilience of our learning ecosystem.

Home Access Playbook for States

To recommend steps for state education leaders in fostering such collaboration, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology recently published the Home Access Playbook, which outlines seven strategies that state leaders are taking to address ongoing issues:

• Find or Form a State Broadband Coalition. Get involved in statewide broadband or digital inclusion efforts to leverage resources, capacity, and expertise across multiple state agencies and create a greater collective—and ensure education leaders are included. The Nebraska Information Technology Commission provides advice, strategic direction, and accountability on technology investments.
• Collect data on broadband availability, affordability, adoption, and quality and use it to drive decision-making. Collect data to drive decision-making, understand existing barriers to broadband deployment and adoption, identify the most appropriate long-term solutions, target resources, assess progress, and build public support for broadband initiatives. The New Mexico Broadband Map identifies unserved and underserved locations across the state by pairing statewide surveys with ISP coverage data.
• Identify needs and recruit partners to fill specific gaps. Build collaborative, cross-sector partnerships to increase capacity to implement solutions, introduce new expertise and skills, build broad project support, and open new avenues for funding or leadership support. In Pennsylvania, eight universities, research groups, nonprofit organizations, and school districts partner to provide free, high-speed internet access to low-income families.
• Assist Districts with a Menu of Options. Equip districts with information on available broadband solutions and factors that will impact their effectiveness to support informed local decision-making. Nebraska’s digital learning guide provides this information for LEAs in five key areas: infrastructure, devices, software systems, digital content, and professional development and training.
• Leverage Bulk Purchasing to Optimize Use of Funds. Support districts by offering centrally managed procurement vehicles or contracts that leverage bulk purchasing power or longer contract timelines to increase affordability. Mississippi set up a bulk purchasing system through which districts could purchase ready-to-use laptops or tablets.
• Provide Training and Technical Support for Families to Enhance Basic Digital Literacy Skills and Effectively Support Remote Learning. Provide families training and support on the effective use of technology. Hawaii’s Ohana Help Desk provides supports around applications, connectivity, devices, video conferencing, and other needs in multiple languages.
• Provide Professional Learning and Resources for Educators to Drive Meaningful Classroom Learning: Provide professional learning opportunities that support improvements in instructional design and empowers educators to effectively use technology for learning. The Nevada Digital Learning Collaborative gives statewide access to learning resources for families, educators, and students, as well as Digital Engineers prepared to provide training and coaching services.

The digital divide is a national challenge that requires coordinated federal, Tribal, state, and local efforts and tailored, localized solutions. It is imperative to maintain a collective sense of urgency to ensure equitable access to home internet access and high-quality education for all students.