An Act Concerning Equitable Access to Broadband

House Bill 6442

An Act Concerning Equitable Access to Broadband

Testimony of Doug Casey, Executive Director Connecticut Commission for Educational Technology

Energy and Technology Committee March 9, 2021

Good morning Senator Needleman, Representative Arconti, Senator Winfield, Representative Allie-Brennan, and distinguished members of the Energy and Technology Committee. My name is Doug Casey and I serve as the Executive Director of the Connecticut Commission for Educational Technology. I thank the Committee for the opportunity to offer my support of House Bill 6442, An Act Concerning Equitable Access to Broadband.

By way of background, the Commission for Educational Technology ("CET") is empowered through CGS ? 61a to serve as the principal education technology policy advisor for the state. We oversee the state's educational technology strategic plan and champion the successful use of technology for learning in Connecticut's schools, libraries, colleges, and universities.

This bill will help address inequities in our state pertaining to education and general citizenry. I can speak to these matters, given the Commission's work over the past few years in addressing what FCC Chair and West Hartford native Jessica Rosenworcel has termed "the homework gap," ensuring that students have access to broadband outside of school for learning. This year, I led the home Internet efforts of Governor Lamont's Everybody Learns initiative. Through that work, we identified several impediments to connecting students for learning outside of school that HB 6442 will address.

First, the bill calls for universal availability of broadband in our state. Section 5 specifically calls for "access to broadband Internet access service at all times for educational and learning purposes." Every public-school student in Connecticut has a computer for remote and hybrid learning, also made possible through educational technology tools for videoconferencing, research, project-based work, and assessment. Long before the pandemic, learning had gone digital, with widespread 1:1 computing programs and technology-enabled, personalized learning programs.

Without access to the Internet for all learners by making sure every home can get online, our state will continue to disenfranchise students who, simply by virtue of their home address,

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cannot fully participate in learning. I have personally spoken with parents and grandparents, begging me to do something about the lack of connectivity for their homes and neighborhoods, how their sons and daughters are slipping behind their peers because all they have is slow, cellular service or no connection at all. Ensuring access to the Internet for every student has become and will be a civil rights and equity issue.

The other challenge that HB 6442 addresses is the need for accurate mapping. As the adage goes, "you cannot solve a problem if you cannot measure it." Our state needs transparency into unserved and underserved homes and communities. The Commission and other agencies are more than ready to roll up our sleeves and work with our private sector partners to create and maintain availability maps, as defined in Section 3 of the bill, so that we can achieve the goal of universal availability.

This mapping work will also make it possible for the Commission to assume its responsibilities as defined in Section 3 of the bill, to "conduct an analysis on the availability of broadband Internet access service and learning devices for students in prekindergarten to grade twelve." We have conducted this type of research in the past, as reflected in two reports released just this year (see ). However, the findings on availability and connectivity reflected in this work remain estimates. Until we have full transparency around availability, we cannot identify those students -- and teachers, by the way -- who remain disconnected and disenfranchised from educational opportunities.

It is worth noting that at the Commission's latest quarterly meeting (March 1, 2021), the members voted unanimously to approve this endorsement:

"The Commission for Educational Technology supports the intent of the Act Concerning Equitable Access to Broadband to improve Broadband services in the State of CT"

Given the meeting's time limitations, the Commission did not review each provision of the proposed legislation. The Commission endorses the bill's goal of providing universal availability of broadband -- and thereby increased opportunities for academic achievement -- for all learners in Connecticut.

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