Update on Internet access from Ed Superhighway
Student access to the Internet in K-12 schools has grown rapidly over the past five years. Based on data from the EducationSuperHighway, more than 44 million students have high-speed Internet connections in their learning environments today compared to 4 million just five years ago. As mentioned in the recently published 2018 State of the States report report, a call to action from President Obama in 2013 for all public schools in the U.S. to have broadband connectivity has been a driver of this major increase. From there, the FCC updated the E-rate program, providing schools with money to help pay for connectivity. In addition to E-rate, matching funds were provided by select states, and some telecommunications groups helped to give schools deals on their connectivity packages.