Giving Compass' Take:

· In this article from Getting Smart, author Beth Holland discusses new bipartisan legislation proposed in the Senate intended to address the digital divide.

· How does the digital divide affect development and education? Why is it important to expand access to the internet and digital devices? 

· Learn how the Digital Equity Act of 2019 will affect the digital divide.

The first National Education Technology Plan, published in 1996, brought the existence of a Digital Divide in education to light. It served as a call-to-action for schools and policymakers to address the inequities created by lack of access to computers and the Internet. It also corresponded with the establishment of the E-Rate program as part of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. Since that time, schools and districts across the country have taken advantage of E-rate funding to wire their buildings and connect their students. Although the majority of districts now report that they have reached the minimum bandwidth requirements within their buildings, fewer than 10% of administrators feel as though ALL of their students have access once they leave school.

To concretely describe the disadvantages that millions of students face once they leave school, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel coined the term Homework Gap. Without access to devices and high-speed Internet, students lack the technological capacity to access online resources and content, create and connect with their peers, as well as engage in learning opportunities outside of school. As Commissioner Rosenworcel explained in a press release last fall, “The Homework Gap is the cruelest part of the digital divide. We need to bridge this gap and fix this problem. Our kids deserve nothing less and our shared economic future depends on it.”

By using the term Homework Gap to describe the direct effects of the Digital Divide on the lives of students, Commissioner Rosenworcel has created a concrete mental image of the educational inequity facing students in underserved communities and rural areas. As such, organizations such as EveryoneOn, The 1 Million Project, and Verizon Innovative Learning have donated technology to increase student access, and groups like CoSN, ISTE, SETDA, and SHLB have advocated for legislation to address the broader problem. Thankfully, representatives in the Senate have recently proposed two bills to further address this challenge.

Read the full article about tackling the digital divide by Beth Holland at Getting Smart.