Joe Biden’s 3 big ideas to close the digital divide
COVID-19 has shone a spotlight on a specific aspect of the digital divide known as the homework gap—the inability to do schoolwork at home due to lack of high-speed internet access. Nationwide, 15-16 million students are affected—roughly 1 in 3. A disproportionate share of those students are African-American or Hispanic, come from low-income households, or live in rural areas.
Congress has taken steps to aid students and educators during the pandemic, but NEA members are dismayed that Congress has refused to provide adequate direct funding for WiFi hotspots, connection devices, and mobile wireless service through the existing and successful E-rate program to help our students most in need.
President Trump has promised to improve American infrastructure, including access to broadband, since his earliest days in office, but has failed to deliver. Educators called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the Trump administration to provide at least $175 billion in education stabilization funds. In addition, NEA calls on lawmakers to include at least $4 billion to schools to ensure all students have internet access from home for the 2020-2021 school year. Due to the severity of the issue, NEA is calling on lawmakers to support at least this level of funding.
Where the Trump administration and Senate leadership have failed, Joe Biden is prepared to step in and deliver a solution to the most immediate issues around the homework gap, and the underlying infrastructure issues that have perpetuated the digital divide. Here are three key pieces of Biden’s approach:
1. He supports an infusion of resources to help schools address the “homework gap”
During the pandemic, educators in high-poverty schools report lower class attendance, and believe that closing the homework gap aspect of the digital divide should be a top priority. Pew research shows that among families with school-age children, 25 percent of all Black households and 23 percent of Hispanic households lack high-speed internet, compared to only 10 percent of white households with school children.
Biden has called time and again for the Senate to pass the HEROES Act, which would CONTINUE READING: Joe Biden’s 3 big ideas to close the digital divide - Education Votes