Digital Equity

Experts say communities across the U.S. have made significant progress in efforts to expand Internet access, largely through private-public partnerships and localized initiatives to make broadband affordable to families.

The ninth annual ED Games Expo will occupy the Kennedy Center from Sept. 19-22, with ed-tech developers and representatives of public agencies talking to students and teachers about classroom tools and innovations.

For families and students who lack home Internet or personal devices, the introduction of technologies like artificial intelligence in schools may only exacerbate digital inequities.

Plus, a new module is added to the Broadband Infrastructure Playbook, Virginia is the latest state to release its five-year broadband action plan, and more.

Some $386 million in state funding is set to be distributed to counties throughout the state to expand Internet service. The governor has awarded 56 grants totaling more than $196 million from the Broadband Deployment Fund so far.

A newly announced partnership between the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation and Coursera will provide no-cost workforce training to unemployed and underemployed Nevadans.

The Oxford Public Library is one of 215 public libraries across the country using the resources and funding from a partnership with AT&T to help increase digital literacy throughout the community.

Officials are working to bridge the city’s digital divide, bringing data to the fight. They hope a resident survey will help to better understand where the need for broadband service is greatest.

The San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians and AT&T held a groundbreaking ceremony this week for a project that will expand access to high-speed Internet service to more than 500 new customers in Valley Center, Calif.

Plus, AT&T is opening a center to support digital equity in Miami, Kansas is the latest state to submit its five-year broadband action plan to the federal government, and more.

The ed-tech company Discovery Education is in the process of acquiring DreamBox Learning, whose math and reading tools serve about 6 million K-12 students and 600,000 teachers across the U.S.

Dearborn Heights library director Michael McCaffrey said the grant money from the Department of Education will be spent completely replacing computers and infrastructure in both libraries in the city.

Advocacy groups such as CurbCutOS and the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund say the digital revolution in education is leaving some students with disabilities behind, and progress will require assessments.

The ambitious plans to connect underserved parts of California appear to have been slashed disproportionately, threatening to leave some urban communities, including East Oakland and South Central Los Angeles, further behind.

All guides, papers, evidence-based tools, webinars and videos curated by TransformEd, which ceased operations in June, have gone to another education nonprofit that shares its vision for inclusiveness and equity.

Plus, Oklahoma has launched a new interactive map to track Internet service in the state, Maine has submitted a new broadband plan to the federal government, and more.

Experts argue that agencies having staff dedicated to equity and inclusion play an important role for government work, from strategic planning, to operations, to the rise of digital government services.

This week, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown announced $162.5 million in federal funding for high-speed Internet infrastructure and community and workforce development projects. The money comes from the American Rescue Plan's Capital Projects Fund.