This story is the third in a four-part series examining the impact of the digital divide on K-12 education. See the rest of the series,click here。

For years, Angela Siefer, executive director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, had to repeatedly convince skeptics that getting everyone connected to home internet was essential. Then a global pandemic hit.

"Now, people say, 'Okay, we get it. This is important. Let's talk about solutions. Let's talk about the reality of how we solve this,'" Siefer said.

As school systems and their communities begin to shift from pandemic emergency mode to recovery, they are insisting on finding sustainable and reliable ways to make internet access a permanent part of education both on school campuses and in students' homes. During the pandemic, the only way employees and students could work or learn was through reliable high-speed home internet service. But it's not just robust internet connections being discussed.

School administrators are also seeking to add or strengthen policies and initiatives to boost digital literacy for parents and students; provide professional development for educators; provide recurring funding for technology infrastructure and support; and ensure practices that provide equitable online instruction for 24-hour learners.

Addressing digital access, affordability, and usability issues requires strategic coordination among local schools, government, and business partners, as well as support from state and federal agencies. Although communities had this push before the pandemic, the difficulties exposed by the pandemic are driving broader and faster action than before. It also inspires optimism that more attention and funding will ultimately heal the digital divide.

"If the mindset is to go back to pre-pandemic, then I think we miss the opportunity to do the best thing for our kids," said Baron Davis, superintendent of Richland School District Two in Columbia, South Carolina. "So, now is the time to really redesign. I think policies have to be put in place to sustain the efforts to redesign the K-12 experience."

Need for modernization

Influential change in school systems is often a slow process, filled with multi-year strategic plans, committees, debates, school board votes, policy changes, and action plans. However, the public health crisis forced schools to act quickly to address the digital divide.

That was the case for the Hamilton Township School District in New Jersey. In February 2020, the school board approved a five-year plan to provide a device to every student. By June 2020, just four months later, the district achieved that goal in response to the sudden closure of campuses due to the COVID-19 outbreak, said Superintendent Scott Rocco.

The district also found through a family survey that 7.5% of students did not have reliable internet at home. A grant from T-Mobile's "Project 10 Million" provided 500 hotspots for Hamilton Township students, helping to fill that gap, Rocco said.

Rocco said other rapid changes the district made to strengthen virtual and hybrid learning formats included adding more apps and software, strengthening internet connectivity within school buildings, and providing targeted professional development. Different school system departments collaborated to streamline operations. The administrative coordination established during the pandemic to overcome barriers to digital access is something educators vow to continue.

Even after the pandemic passes, students will still need 24-hour access to online assignments, learning, and teachers' lessons, they said.

"If we go back 100% to the way education was before the pandemic, then we should be ashamed, right?" Rocco said. "We need to modernize. We learned a lot over the past year, some not good, but a lot of good things that can help us move forward, and the band has to come together."

Rocco said the district's task now is to sustain the 1:1 program and provide access for students' home internet use. Devices and Wi-Fi should be equivalent to a child receiving a textbook at school, Rocco said.

"It's a tool, a resource. It's not a silver bullet, but it's the gateway to 21st-century learning. Without it, there's a clear divide between the haves and have-nots, which should no longer exist."

Counting the unconnected

Nationally, school systems, in coordination with local and state governments, are digging deep for permanent solutions to the digital divide. Several states, including California, Illinois, and Texas, formed task forces in 2020 to help expand broadband access, better understand internet and device needs, develop guidance for local school systems, and help secure funding and resources, according to research from the Education Commission of the States.

The federal government is also addressing the issue through targeted stimulus funding, expanding the use of the E-Rate program, and separate legislation and White House initiatives such as the American Jobs Plan.

While governments at all levels work to shift internet access from a "nice-to-have" resource to a "must-have" one, education leaders are also working to develop policies that promote best practices and avoid duplication of efforts, wasteful spending, or leaving out segments of the population.

For example, the Council of Chief State School Officers, in partnership with EducationSuperhighway and Digital Bridge K-12, developed a policy blueprint to help state education agencies and districts collect reliable data on students' home internet and device access.

The blueprint states that understanding where digital access gaps exist helps better target resources, identify effective solutions, build guidance, and serve as leverage when advocating for state and federal funding.

The blueprint gives recommendations on data element collection, student data privacy considerations, and interacting with student information system vendors. For example, CCSSO last year worked with the three major SIS vendors to add five digital accessibility data points for free to their products. PowerSchool, Infinite Campus, and Skyward quickly added this capability, said Brent Engelman, CCSSO's director of education data and information systems.

Identifying unconnected students also helps school systems address inequities in learning opportunities, Engelman said. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, the digital divide disproportionately affects Black, Hispanic, American Indian, low-income, and/or students living in rural areas. Some students with disabilities also face barriers to online learning.

FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel told K-12 Dive: "Encouraging states, towns, and school districts to quantify where service exists and doesn't exist in their own backyards can be a very useful tool for ensuring that federal and state funding for deployment and adoption goes to the right places."

But before all can access online learning, reliable high-speed internet must be easy to access and affordable—and that's where many digital divide school policies begin.

Pushing for broadband

In the first weeks and months after the pandemic emerged, districts like Hamilton Township provided students with Wi-Fi hotspots to boost home internet access. Some families also relied on LTE-enabled mobile devices, such as smartphones.

Now, the focus is on providing affordable broadband to families of students who lack service. Despite high demand, the pandemic-triggered funding and action are plentiful, helping districts carry out this work.

For example, the K-12 Bridge to Broadband program helps states and districts purchase internet service through sponsored service agreements with internet providers. Chicago Public Schools and its city and nonprofit partners last year began providing high-speed internet service to 100,000 students lacking access. The partnership, called "Chicago Connected," uses federal stimulus funds and donations to provide free installation and service to eligible families for four years.

Another program schools can promote, Siefer said, is the federal Emergency Broadband Benefit, which provides funds for internet service and device purchases for eligible families.

"This is the first time the federal government has said, 'You know, internet is expensive. We have to address this,'" she said.

Although the program has been funded with $3.2 billion, Siefer said it's uncertain how long the funds will last. She advises districts to form coalitions with neighboring districts, local governments, housing authorities, libraries, and others to advocate for and negotiate internet service agreements.

Hamilton Township's Rocco urges districts to push for fiber broadband connections to communities and areas lacking infrastructure. Many school system leaders are now among the strongest advocates for treating broadband as a public utility, like water or electricity.

If district leaders don't speak up, no one will understand the internet needs of students and educators, Rocco said. In many states, that message is being heard. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 38 states and Puerto Rico legislated on broadband issues in 2021, covering areas such as education institutions and schools, funding, infrastructure, municipal broadband networks, and rural and underserved communities.

Efficient and effective technology

Connecting students to the internet is only part of the enormous task of addressing the digital divide. Another important part is ensuring teachers, students, and parents can safely navigate online learning.

As schools shifted to remote learning in 2020, districts like Broward County Public Schools in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, held "Parent University" sessions to share instructions on using online learning platforms. The district also set up tech support hotlines, online tutoring sessions, and even socially distanced visits to students' homes to demonstrate how to log in and submit assignments. Professional development was also provided for teachers.

Additionally, the district strengthened policies on digital citizenship to ensure everyone follows the same parameters regarding access, etiquette, safety, and more. For example, students in Kentucky earn "digital driver's licenses" through online courses and questions.

School systems need to take a systematic approach to providing and funding these types of support, though perhaps not as intensive as during the pandemic when everyone was learning and teaching remotely, said Chris Tienken, associate professor in the Department of Education Leadership, Management, and Policy at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey.

"The most effective schools for remote learning were able to develop e-courses that included guidance and support for parents and guardians," Tienken said.

As the pandemic subsides, schools will need to truly consider how to use technology in efficient and effective ways. Effective use of technology is providing students with experiences they wouldn't otherwise have, Tienken said.

"The jury is still out on the effectiveness of all this technology, because if you're just using it as a substitute for paper and pencil, you might as well use paper and pencil because it's cheaper," he said.

Building a 'modern, equitable digital ecosystem'

Education policy experts say that creating plans and policies around paying for all these investments is perhaps the biggest responsibility of school leaders. Over the past year, school systems received unprecedented federal stimulus funds, most of which have flexible uses.

Another pot of federal money—the nearly $7.2 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund—will help schools and libraries provide digital access to students and readers through the familiar E-Rate program. The FCC released initial rules for the Emergency Connectivity Fund to address issues such as performance goals, equitable distribution of funds, and permission for off-campus devices and services.

School system advocacy groups, such as CCSSO, the Consortium for School Networking, and AASA, The School Superintendents Association, are asking that fund rules be flexible and technology-neutral so local and state leaders can decide how to use the funds based on their unique circumstances.

Education experts advise that in the rush to obtain and spend money to solve digital problems, school leaders need to establish processes to ensure funds are used wisely and effectively, and to consider future needs.

"We want to talk about the long term, and how we sustain this, and what it takes to build a modern, equitable, digital ecosystem," said CCSSO's Engelman. In fact, some groups, like EducationSuperhighway, believe the digital divide can be fixed if funds are allocated properly.

Noelle Ellerson Ng, associate executive director of advocacy and governance at AASA, said communities must not forget the commitments made to heal the digital divide in education long after the pandemic ends.

"We need to recognize the importance of appropriate education policy in strengthening this stance," she said, adding that "education is the cornerstone of our civil society."

"The digital divide is not new, and we had to shine a light on our uncomfortable secret that this existed before," Ellerson Ng said.