LETTER: Tell the FCC Chairman That Kids Need #InternetForAll

Our schools closed back in March but there are still as many as 17 million children who lack the broadband access needed to attend school remotely.

Where are you, Ajit Pai? Our kids need you.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pai, claims that closing the digital divide is his “top priority,” but he has been largely silent when it comes to connecting the families most in need.

Send a letter to Ajit Pai right now!

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Dear Chairman Pai, You have always claimed that your top priority is to close the digital divide. Right now you have a historic opportunity. Low-income, rural, Black, Latinx and Native students have always been victims of the digital divide, but the COVID pandemic has turned that injustice into an urgent crisis. Anywhere from <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/kids-action/publications/closing-the-k-12-digital-divide-in-the-age-of-distance-learning" target="_blank" data-wpel-link="external" rel="external noopener noreferrer">15 million</a> to <a href="https://futureready.org/homework-gap/" target="_blank" data-wpel-link="external" rel="external noopener noreferrer">17 million</a> students lack a reliable broadband connection, even as schools across the country are forcing them to learn remotely. Think about it. These youth are required by law to attend school—but we don’t provide them a way to get online! Yes, there are many schools coming up with creative solutions on their own, and some cities like Chicago and Cleveland have partnered with industry and philanthropy to try and close the gaps. But these patchwork solutions are only highlighting the profound inequity of simply plugging holes in a dam that was already set to burst. There are a number of things within your power at the FCC that would help immediately, such as allowing E-RATE to support home internet access, pressuring industry to do more, or acknowledging that the commission’s deployment reports are not revealing the depth and breadth of the access divide. <strong>But one very simple thing you could do right now is simply use the power of your position to speak out on behalf of those millions of students.</strong> Without internet access, they do not have a voice. You can be a voice for them by reminding industry, legislators and America that a connection to the digital mainstream is essential for a functioning economy and educational system. Please, Chairman Pai, remain silent no longer. Now, during Digital Inclusion Week, use your platform to expand access for our children most in need.
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LETTER: Tell the FCC Chairman That Kids Need #InternetForAll

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