This progress report from Education Superhighway, a nonprofit aimed at upgrading Internet access for America’s public schools, is worth the acronym dictionary you’ll need to decipher it. Researchers examine data from the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) E-rate program (a federal initiative that defrays the cost of internet in schools) and deliver much good news about connectivity status for the average K–12 classroom. From 2013 to 2015, twenty million more students were connected to high-speed broadband (that which meets the FCC’s minimum Internet access goals), representing 77 percent of all districts. This is up from 30 percent of districts in 2013. Even though 21.3 million students nationwide still miss the FCC’s mark, lacking the connectivity necessary to fully reap the rewards of digital learning, the report declares that “those left behind are not disproportionately rural or poor.” In 2013, the most affluent districts were three times as likely as low-income ones to meet FCC goals; by 2015, “the E-rate program [had] effectively leveled the playing field.” If nothing else, that’s a whopping success.
In Ohio the news is mixed: Three out of four school districts are adequately prepared for digital learning in terms of broadband speed. The report commends Governor Kasich, along with twenty-three other governors, for prioritizing necessary upgrades. Eighty-two percent of Ohio schools now have the highest-capacity broadband technology (fiber)—the only one scalable enough to meet growing bandwidth needs for schools. However, only 59 percent of Ohio school districts have accessed the E-rate program. (A note to the 41 percent of remaining districts: Failing to deftly navigate the program’s reimbursement process can be costly indeed.) The report notes that E-rate pays 70 percent of connectivity costs on average, but points out that districts must prioritize resources within their own budgets to pay for the rest. This suggests that a lack of resources is at least partially to blame for Ohio’s relatively low utilization of E-rate—or a lack of leadership in setting budgetary goals, depending on how you look at it. In addition, Ohio’s “affordability” score ranks among the worst: Only 7 percent of districts meet the Internet access affordability target laid out by Education Superhighway. Nationally, 18 percent of districts met that target. To be fair, districts cannot control the prices related to improving Internet speed and access. However, the report points out that part of the problem is that “school districts have historically had little information about what broadband should cost and how prices should decline as they buy increasing amounts of capacity.” This underscores the urgent need to make such information public and transparent.
The report outlines recommendations for states and provides case examples—especially helpful for the non-techies among us. For example, while researchers found no geographic or income discrepancies between whether districts could meet FCC broadband goals (speed), rural districts do face gaps in access to the best type of technology (specifically fiber). Over the next three years, the FCC has eliminated the cap on subsidies for fiber construction where it is unavailable or unaffordable, a move the report says is a “game changer for rural and small town schools” that should be capitalized upon by governors as quickly as possible.
The report succeeds in creating a critical foundation for understanding how states can improve their K–12 connectivity. The one-page action plan for governors is especially helpful, as is the introduction of a separate Education Superhighway tool, “Compare and Connect K–12.” This interactive site makes district-level data available to help leaders compare their bandwidth levels and prices with other school districts—Ohio superintendents should take note. With so much hinging on high-speed Internet access—computerized testing, expansion of digital and blended learning, etc.—state leaders must do whatever it takes to ensure that all Buckeye classrooms are fully connected. While Ohio and the rest of the nation appear to have made good strides, more work remains.
Source: “2015 State of the States: A report on the state of broadband connectivity in America’s public schools,” Education Superhighway (November 2015)
