Digital Divide

California has long wrestled with a stark split between students and teachers who have access to internet and computers and home and those who don’t. This digital divide has created uneven access to completing homework, researching and applying for colleges or financial aid, and other important opportunities for students. As schools rely more on distance learning, this unequal access to technology threatens to widen gaps in academic achievement, especially among Black, Latino and low-income students in rural areas who are among the least likely in California to have internet subscriptions at home. State and district officials are pushing for a variety of solutions to help close the gap and provide access to the internet for all California students, however there is still a long road ahead.

July 2, 2020

Small California school districts face overwhelming challenges to reopen schools

California’s smallest school districts struggle to pay for supplies, staff and technology needed to reopen schools.

Diana Lambert

June 26, 2020

Long road ahead to close California’s digital divide in education before new school year begins

About 56,700 laptops and 94,000 hotspots have been sent to districts across the state so far.

Sydney Johnson

June 25, 2020

California schools must provide daily live interaction, access to technology this fall

California lawmakers introduced distance learning provisions around instructional time, attendance and connecting with parents.

Sydney Johnson

June 10, 2020

California science teachers look for new ways to bring hands-on experiments to students

While some families are doing science projects at home, teachers say a lack of supplies makes it difficult to assign hands-on experiments.

Sydney Johnson

June 5, 2020

Summer school may be another pandemic victim in some districts

Researchers found 61 of 100 districts nationwide plan to offer summer school, but many are not expanding programs or trying new things.

Theresa Harrington

June 3, 2020

Student perspectives: the pros and cons of distance learning

Distance learning has challenged students and teachers to create a new learning experience. As students in the West Contra Costa Unified School District in the San Francisco Bay Area describe, they faced challenges around learning and orders to stay at home.