Internet Is Now a Right

To fully participate in school, now and going forward, every child needs and deserves high speed internet access. We are dedicated to that fight at the local, state and national level.

The coronavirus pandemic didn’t create the digital divide, but it has exposed once and for all the deep and unacceptable inequities that exist in our education system. Our goal is to emerge from this pandemic with a more equitable and durable internet infrastructure that guarantees that every child that needs access, can get it, free with no strings attached.

High-speed internet is no longer a luxury or a privilege. It is an essential utility — like electricity and telephone — and should be treated as such. Our political and business leaders should be held accountable for making this possible and ensuring that every child has access to the educational opportunities our country promises.

• Former education secretary Arne Duncan writes in the Washington Post that “the FCC can give Internet access to all Americans during this pandemic.”
• Oakland’s Dirk Tillotson wrote in Blavity that The FCC Needs To Act Now To Ensure All Low-Income Students Have Home Internet.
• In Philadelphia, educator Zachary Wright says internet providers need to step up and “Let Children Learn.”
• In Kentucky, teacher Garris Landon Stroud urges the FCC to fight for all poor families to be connected to the internet.