‘No child left offline’: Experts discuss the digital divide

Rural students, urban students in digitally redlined areas, Native American youth and students in non-traditional settings like adult education programs are among those most negatively impacted by the digital divide, according to Kristina Ishmael, deputy director for the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Education […]

Ongoing digital divide concerns, possible solutions highlight Assembly hearing

A joint Assembly committee hearing on Oct. 14 offered an array of perspectives on the digital divide, which has long plagued California but is now being considered with new urgency due to the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread distance learning. New Reality: Students’ Access to the […]

Pressure to close digital divide gains urgency; learning loss funds one piece of the puzzle

State officials are calling California’s digital divide an “all-hands-on-deck situation” considering the very short time available to equip 700,000 students with computing devices and another 300,000 with hotspots to connect to the internet. The matter — the focus of the California Department of Education’s Closing […]

Webinar highlights CSBA’s efforts on digital divide, shares district perspectives

With school districts and county offices of education now well into widespread distance learning across California — and acknowledging that at least some form of it will continue next school year — CSBA’s latest COVID-19 webinar explored how the association is playing a role in […]

Legislators, district administrators outline needs, goals to close the digital divide

Just hours after Gov. Gavin Newsom’s COVID-19 April 20 media briefing overwhelmingly focused on efforts to bridge the digital divide, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond welcomed legislators and representatives from internet service providers to the first meeting of the newly created Closing the […]