{"id":1749,"date":"2020-04-16T07:54:40","date_gmt":"2020-04-16T07:54:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tantraanalyst.com\/insights\/?p=1749"},"modified":"2023-01-17T06:42:45","modified_gmt":"2023-01-17T06:42:45","slug":"mitigating-covid-19-related-k-12-school-disruptions-with-federal-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tantraanalyst.com\/ta\/mitigating-covid-19-related-k-12-school-disruptions-with-federal-funding\/","title":{"rendered":"Mitigating COVID-19-related k-12 school disruptions with federal funding"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"COVID-19\"<\/a>
RCR Wireless News, April 16, 2020<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
For the past four months, COVID-19 has disrupted almost every aspect of human activity around the globe. One of the hardest-hit facets of life in the U.S. has been K-12 education. In particular, the underprivileged students who seriously lack the necessary resources are finding it difficult to navigate the sudden shift toward online schools and virtual classrooms. Schools need immediate assistance from the government to procure computers, tablets, and provide reliable broadband connectivity for kids to continue learning during the nationwide lockdown. In order to better understand some of the ways and means to make this happen, I reached out to two people who have been advocating for mobile technology to improve online education for schools kids for more than a decade \u2014 Qualcomm\u2019s Dean Brenner Senior Vice President, Spectrum Strategy & Technology Policy,  and Alice Tornquist, Vice President, Government Affairs. The key seems to be utilizing a mix of existing and new legislation to ensure enough funds are allocated for the right priorities. <\/span><\/h6>\n
Unforeseen situation for k-12 schools<\/b><\/span><\/h6>\n
There is no question that mandatory lockdowns necessitated by COVID-19 have resulted in many unexpected consequences\u2014all schools needing to move to online education, for example. It hit home for me, as my son\u2019s middle school took more than two weeks to start any academic activity online. By contrast, my college-aged daughter\u2019s full-fledged online classes started almost the next day. This unfortunate reality is in part the result of limited investment for K-12 online education. The National Center for Education Statistics estimated that the USA invested $706 billion<\/a><\/span> in public elementary and secondary schools in 2015-2016. Probably, most of that money was used to improve the physical infrastructure in schools. But when classrooms needed to become virtual, little of those investments could be leveraged. According the Associated Press<\/a><\/span>, in the USA, 17% of  students do not have access to computers at home and 18% do not have home access to broadband internet.     <\/span><\/h6>\n
The immediate need is investing in digital infrastructure and enabling schools to provide devices and connectivity to kids on a priority basis, according to Dean Brenner. They require computers, laptops, and Chromebooks. In addition, these devices need reliable broadband connectivity, which can be achieved by either buying broadband-enabled devices, or through Mi-Fi devices (Hotspots) with appropriate data service plans. These devices do not just aid basic education, but also stimulate young minds to explore and innovate. <\/span><\/h6>\n
Options to fund online education<\/b><\/span><\/h6>\n
The big question then, is how to fund all these needs in a timely manner? There are a number of options which Dean Brenner and Alice Tornquist laid out, including utilizing both existing programs and new legislation. Their main concern is getting the problem addressed as quickly as possible, more than favoring one particular approach over another.   <\/span><\/h6>\n