Widespread School Closings Highlight Need for Ubiquitous Broadband Access

“According to the Senate Joint Economic Committee there are twelve million kids nationwide that fall into the Homework Gap," FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel emailed. "With the coronavirus, this problem is only going to grow as schools close and classes migrate online. Kudos to the broadband providers that are stepping up to help during this time. They are doing good things in challenging times. But we need more than their generosity; we need a national effort to address this crisis everywhere. We need the FCC to use its universal service powers to provide hotspots for loan for students whose schools have shuttered.”

“School, like many of our daily activities, is going online to support the public health response," emailed Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. "The FCC should be doing everything it can to quickly expand home broadband access and adoption, including leveraging E-Rate to get hotspots to students at home and expanding the scope and reach" of Lifeline.

The commission is "exploring additional ways to help keep students and all Americans connected during the coronavirus pandemic," a spokesperson emailed Tuesday.

Last week, the FCC extended a deadline for E-rate applications for funding year 2020. Funds for Learning sought the measure earlier that week, CEO John Harrington noted. He wants the FCC to update its E-rate program to support connectivity off campus: "If two-thirds of students have connectivity at home but the other third doesn't, that's a horrible position." Some students had been using library or restaurants' Wi-Fi, but it's harder to isolate during the pandemic if they do so, Harrington said. "I think the FCC is open to creative solutions," he said. "It's just not as real-time as we'd all like."

The FCC should open applications for proposals from schools that want to use E-rate funds to provide connectivity to students at home, said Dean Brenner, Qualcomm senior vice president-spectrum policy and technology policy. "I don't know how long it would take to get this up and running, but we should try," he said. "There have to be schools across the country that are just adrift." Brenner thinks such a program would get "overwhelming bipartisan support." Some senators proposed such a plan (see 2003160059).

Legislation

Congressional Democrats are eyeing legislation to address digital divide issues highlighted by widespread shutdowns caused by the pandemic, including distance learning. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York began briefing appropriators Tuesday on his proposal for $750 billion in additional federal “emergency” spending to “protect America’s workers” and businesses amid the crisis that includes broadband funding.

The Senate Democrats' proposal “focuses on those who need help” and would “do it in a way that deals with the structural problems in the country that have made the attack of this virus more virulent, more harmful, and worse,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “I've consulted with large numbers in our caucus, and we have broad support for these proposals and some others.” Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky told reporters he and other Republicans are formulating their own “next bill” and will then negotiate with the Democrats. “We’re not leaving town” until the additional legislation is passed, McConnell said. The Senate won’t consider tele-voting or otherwise “changing” voting rules.

About $400 billion from the Senate Democrats’ proposal would be for “emergency appropriations to target programs designed to support a pandemic response,” including for “resilient infrastructure like Broadband internet connectivity so that American workers and students stuck at home can manage amidst the crisis," said a copy of Schumer’s presentation slides we obtained. Senate Democrats are also proposing additional “policy reforms” to ensure Americans “don’t fall through the cracks during this crisis,” including on “Remote Learning and Closing the Homework Gap.”

House Commerce Committee Democrats are “considering ways to help consumers maintain and gain access to broadband services as Americans struggle with the growing coronavirus pandemic,” a spokesperson said. Committee Republicans noted immediately after Pai announced the ISPs’ pledge last week they hope to use “this momentum to expand broadband access as Congress takes emergency measures to combat COVID-19. This is a tremendous opportunity to work in a bipartisan way to improve connectivity issues.”

The Congressional Research Service found the expected increase in demand for telework, telehealth and distance learning during the outbreak “will likely reveal discrepancies in broadband availability and accessibility” throughout the U.S. “While some schools may have the option to shift classes online, many cannot due in part to varying levels of access to broadband,” the report said. “Some schools may have the resources to lend” laptops, tablets and Wi-Fi hotspots to students, but others “may not -- which may place those students at a potential disadvantage to their peers who do have connectivity.” CRS found there “may be capacity issues and whether a network can support a remote workforce” amid increased telework.

Long Shutdowns

"This is going to be much larger than a two-week shutdown," said Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition Executive Director John Windhausen. He predicted school closings could go into summer, and said some schools are using the initial shutdowns to determine how to provide online opportunities: "I don't think schools were prepared for the suddenness of this crisis." SHLB is "very bullish" on using mobile hotspots to provide broadband to the home, Windhausen said. In a sudden crisis, there may not be enough, he said: "There are capacity questions." The tech requires strong residential cell signals. Windhausen suggested the FCC modify its E-rate gift rules to allow donations.

SHLB outlined such ideas in a letter Tuesday to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and commissioners. The group volunteered to help the agency establish a COVID-19 working group of stakeholders to consider and implement the ideas.

"For schools, the single challenge is funding," said Kajeet CEO Daniel Neal. "The equipment is there and the theory is sound." He believes the federal government should find a way to fund student connectivity challenges quickly. Recent orders for Kajeet connected devices increased dramatically, he said, and the company is doing its best on supply chain management. Advance planning is important in preventing last-minute challenges, he said: "The scope of the need is very big."

School systems are examining all options, said Noelle Ellerson Ng, associate executive director-policy and advocacy for AASA: The School Superintendents Association. Some are considering putting Wi-Fi routers on school buses and sending them into the community to be mobile hotspots, she said. There's no single best practice for all districts, and the competency to handle online learning varies, she added. "We're at the front end of this global pandemic," she said. "There's no state that won't take a hit."

"There are those school districts that have been on this technology bandwagon for a while and others that haven't even had the conversation," said Consortium for School Networking Digital Equity Project Director Beth Holland. "I know teachers who would ask you what a hotspot is." Holland said a sudden transition to online learning entails more than funding and technology. If a school decides providing home broadband access is the best way to help their students, she said, "you have to assume the student has a home."

"The pandemic is going to expose in very stark terms the problems of the digital divide in dealing with education," said NARUC President Brandon Presley. "It can show clearly not only the divide that exists in this country, but how it's heightened in a time of crisis."

The State Educational Technology Directors Association launched its eLearning Coalition to collaborate on best practices "to ensure students can continue learning away from brick and mortar schools," said SETDA Executive Director Candice Dodson in a statement Tuesday.

School districts are partnering with local public TV stations to provide remote learning options to students whose schools are closed due to outbreaks, America's Public Television Stations said Tuesday. Nine stations from WGBH-TV Boston and WGBY-TV Springfield to KCET Los Angeles and KPBS San Diego were named so far.