Just as schools ensure that students have textbooks, they must also be sure students can learn virtually. State and local policymakers can urge districts to ensure all students have access to a “digital backpack”, which should include a device and broadband internet (through a wireless hotspot or fixed connection at home). Schools can also look at creative deployment of Wi-Fi-equipped school buses (e.g. in parking lots of housing developments).

The FCC currently considers an entire census block to have broadband access even if only a single home or business actually has service. So, while the agency estimates that roughly 18 million people lack access to broadband, the true number is likely significantly higher. State and local leaders can create maps for their jurisdictions that have a much more accurate representation of where broadband is, and is not, available.

State and local leaders can create a student entitlement to internet access and devices necessary to participate in virtual instruction – for example, though a “digital student bill of rights” – and provide school districts with the support and funding necessary for implementation. Policymakers can also require tracking of which students and families have internet access – and how they get online – so resources are targeted better.

Most states have some funding for broadband expansion. But “middle-mile” deployment installations (which brings broadband to the community) must be combined with “last-mile” deployment (bringing broadband to individual homes and businesses). State and local policymakers should oversee effective use of existing funds and allocate additional funds to the highest need areas.

In addition to providing broadband, states and localities should offer training on the benefits of connectivity. This will encourage families who might never have had Internet access, or have only had access via a cellphone, to take advantage of low-cost programs that will get them online.

Schools are often the best places to ensure that students are receiving wraparound services, but this has been complicated by the pandemic. In the short term, state and local leaders should support overwhelmed service providers and connect providers with capacity to local schools. In the longer term – to assist with the recovery in the years to come – they should create policy structures to coordinate work of government entities that serve children (e.g. by creating a “Children’s Cabinet,” an example of which can be found in the State and Local Examples section of this chapter).

While schools are on the front lines with students, state and local leaders have an important role to play in ensuring that district are providing support to students most affected by the pandemic. Leaders should check that districts have a strategy, including by maintaining dedicated staff (e.g. McKinney-Vento liaisons for homeless students) and using federal funding streams (including any new stimulus dollars) to reach the most vulnerable kids.

The scope and scale of learning loss resulting from the pandemic will be unprecedented, but we do not have good data to show which students have suffered disproportionately and need extra support. State and local leaders should provide funding (and direct additional federal funds for COVID-19 response) to help districts and schools measure student attendance, participation, and outcomes in ways that can be disaggregated by school and student group. Leaders should also insist that the data be used to target resources (local, state, and federal) to students most impacted by school disruptions.

Schools need more funding, and increased flexibility, to meet student needs through the ongoing pandemic and recovery. State and local leaders should continue to advocate for additional federal funds dedicated to education – including for addressing learning loss and child well-being – as well as flexibility in how federal programs are administered. For example, USDA’s waivers of requirements around the Childhood Nutrition Programs have allowed schools to serve meals to millions of families. State advocacy was essential in preserving those waivers after they were set to expire in the summer 2020.