OCT 7: 17 Million Kids Still Don't Have Internet, It's Time to Put Folks on Blast

On Wednesday, October 7, 2020, brightbeam activists took to social media to demand #InternetForAll and #DigitalEquityNOW.

House Meeting: 17 Million Kids Still Don't Have Internet, It's Time to Put Folks on Blast
The pandemic closed our schools back in March, but here we are still with 17 million kids needing access to decent broadband so they can attend school remotely.This is a crisis. But our leaders are treating it like it’s someone else’s problem. We will talk about the challenges that are facing our communities, the solutions that are out there, and we will call out the leaders who are failing our children in a time of crisis.
Posted by Citizen Ed on Wednesday, October 7, 2020

The pandemic closed our schools back in March, but here we are—still with 17 million kids needing access to decent broadband so they can attend school remotely.

This is a crisis. But our leaders are treating it like it’s someone else’s problem.

(We’re looking at you, Ajit Pai and the FCC.)

So on October 7, during Digital Inclusion Week, brightbeam activists broadcasted live on Citizen Ed’s Facebook page. They talked about the access challenges facing their communities, the solutions that are out there, and they called out the leaders who are failing our children in a time of crisis.

Internet access should be a right. Let’s demand it.

Digital Toolkit

Demand Ajit Pai and the FCC Take Action!

School is back in session and 17 million kids still need internet access at home for online learning! The FCC and Chairman Ajit Pai have the power to address this issue, but they refuse to make #InternetForAll a reality.

Take action this Digital Inclusion Week by sharing the tweets below or sending a letter demanding Ajit Pai step up to the plate.

TWEETS

Click to tweet
Speak up for those who can’t. Send a letter right now to the @FCC and demand @AjitPaiFCC live up to his promise of closing the #DigitalDivide. #InternetForAll

Click to tweet with gif
While @AjitPai says his top priority is addressing the #DigitalDivide, his actions say otherwise. #DigitalEquityNow

LETTER

Send a Letter to Ajit Pai

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

Ajit Pai, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, 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.

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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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