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Searching for a signal: CNN has a story about a teacher in rural Virginia who drives 20 minutes to find a good WiFi signal in order to work. The middle school history teacher is one of about 18 million U.S. residents who lack access to high-speed broadband, according to the Federal Communications Commission. The teacher “lives in a valley between two mountains, where the only available home internet option is a satellite connection. Her emails can take 30 seconds to load, only to quit mid-message. She can’t even open files on Google Drive, let alone upload lesson modules or get on a Zoom call with colleagues.”
Demanding access: Meanwhile, in Oakland, California, hundreds of teachers and students are calling for free access to the Internet, demanding that the school district and mayor “take all necessary measures” to ensure that students have access, KTVU reports. “There is no equity in education for our most vulnerable students if all Oakland families do not have access to the internet,” said Keith Brown, president of the Oakland Education Association, said.
Legislating access: In the U.S. Congress, Senate Democrats are introducing a bill that would create a new $4 billion fund for schools Continue reading