Broadband in Schools: Fulfilling Our Promise to America’s Students

Posted by Content Coordinator on Tuesday, October 3rd, 2017

EDUCATION SUPERHIGHWAY

Broadband in Schools: 2017 State of the States

National highlights: 6.5 million students left to go

In 2013, our nation made a promise to close the K-12 digital divide and level the playing field for children throughout America. In the past four years, unparalleled bipartisan action has led to exceptional progress toward fulfilling this promise by connecting an additional 35.2 million of our students. This progress has been possible thanks to the joint efforts of many, including:

  • The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which modernized the E-rate program.
  • 46 governors, who have led the effort to upgrade their states’ school broadband networks.
  • State and school district leaders, who have brought high-speed connectivity to 8,379 school districts.
  • Service providers, who have dramatically improved the affordability of broadband.

In 2017, the progress made possible by E-rate modernization continued, reducing the number of students without high-speed Internet access by 5.1 million and the number of schools without 21st-century broadband infrastructure by 45%, thereby setting the stage for the nation to deliver on our promise of digital equity by 2020.

Our Nation’s Connectivity Promise

In 2014, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) modernized the E-rate program. That was the first step in delivering on our nation’s promise to connect America’s public school students. The FCC established three connectivity goals:

1. 100 kbps per student of Internet access, the minimum recommended bandwidth to enable digital learning in the classroom.

2. Fiber connections to every school, so that school bandwidth can reliably grow over time.

3. Wi-Fi in every classroom to support one-device-per- student programs.

39.2 million students and 2.6 million teachers in 74,000 schools now have the Internet access they need for digital learning.

Since 2013, the bipartisan effort to connect America’s students to 21st-century learning has delivered high-speed broadband to 94% of public school districts, representing an increase of 35.2 million students and 2.3 million teachers who are now meeting the FCC’s minimum Internet access goal of 100 kbps per student.

To date, nine states have achieved the remarkable milestone of delivering high-speed Internet access to 100% of their students. This dramatic improvement in connectivity has leveled the playing field for students regardless of their level of affluence or location, and it is propelling forward digital learning opportunities across the country.

We also dramatically improved the infrastructure needed to deliver high-speed broadband to classrooms.

To deliver high-speed broadband to students and teachers, every school needs a fiber-optic connection and every classroom needs a Wi-Fi access point. Today, estimates show that 97% of schools are connected by fiber and 88% of schools report having sufficient Wi-Fi in their classrooms.

Service providers have made broadband significantly more affordable.

In 2017, Internet service providers continued to dramatically increase the affordability of broadband by taking advantage of technological improvements that allowed them to provide significantly more bandwidth to school districts at the same cost. As a result, the cost of Internet access declined 30% from 2016 to 2017.

What’s Left to Do

We’ve made dramatic progress, but to deliver on our promise there is more work to be done.

There are still:

  • 6.5 million students who don’t have affordable Internet access, limiting their ability to adequately prepare for college and careers.
  • 2,049 schools that don’t have fiber infrastructure, limiting their ability to engage in current and future digital learning opportunities.
  • 10,000 schools that don’t have sufficient Wi-Fi, limiting teachers’ ability to deliver personalized learning for every student.

While we must continue to expand the bandwidth available to the 39.2 million students in America’s connected classrooms in order to meet growing demand from increased technology use, our immediate task is to work through the challenges the remaining students and schools without sufficient connectivity are facing.

What follows in this report is an analysis and path forward for addressing each of these challenges so we can keep our promise to America’s students and close the K-12 connectivity gap by 2020.

Download full version (PDF): Fulfilling Our Promise to America’s Students

About EducationSuperHighway
www.educationsuperhighway.org
EducationSuperHighway is the leading nonprofit focused on upgrading the Internet access in every public school classroom in America. We believe that digital learning has the potential to provide all students with equal access to educational opportunity and that every school requires high-speed broadband to make that opportunity a reality.

Tags: , , , ,

Comments are closed.

Follow InfraUSA on Twitter Facebook YouTube Flickr

CATEGORIES


Show us your infra! Show us your infra!

Video, stills and tales. Share images of the Infra in your community that demands attention. Post your ideas about national Infra issues. Go ahead. Show Us Your Infra!  Upload and instantly share your message.

Polls Polls

Is the administration moving fast enough on Infra issues? Are Americans prepared to pay more taxes for repairs? Should job creation be the guiding determination? Vote now!

Views

What do the experts think? This is where the nation's public policy organizations, trade associations and think tanks weigh in with analysis on Infra issues. Tell them what you think.  Ask questions.  Share a different view.

Blog

The Infra Blog offers cutting edge perspective on a broad spectrum of Infra topics. Frequent updates and provocative posts highlight hot button topics -- essential ingredients of a national Infra dialogue.


Dear Friends,

 

It is encouraging to finally see clear signs of federal action to support a comprehensive US infrastructure investment plan.

 

Now more than ever, our advocacy is needed to keep stakeholders informed and connected, and to hold politicians to their promises to finally fix our nation’s ailing infrastructure.

 

We have already engaged nearly 280,000 users, and hoping to add many more as interest continues to grow.

 

We require your support in order to rise to this occasion, to make the most of this opportunity. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to InfrastructureUSA.org.

 

Steve Anderson

Managing Director

 

SteveAnderson@InfrastructureUSA.org

917-940-7125

InfrastructureUSA: Citizen Dialogue About Civil Infrastructure