JHTL’s mission, as written in our constitution, is to promote the education, research, and publication of ideas and issues regarding technology. Given the inextricable linkage between technology and social justice, it is beyond time that we use our status as an honor board to provide a platform for discussion surrounding the continuous inequalities that remain persistent in our communities. This Black Lives Matter blog series seeks to highlight the deliberate disparate treatment of Black people and to provide a space for discourse surrounding technology and social justice issues
By Danielle Breen, Chief Note Editor
The “digital divide” refers to the growing gap between the wealthier and middle-class groups with access to technology and underprivileged groups without it. Research shows that the disparities in technology access coincide strongly with education, household income, and race. Those with a college degree are ten times more likely to have the ability to use computers than those with lesser levels of education. Households earning $75,000 or more are twenty times more likely to have home Internet. Studies also show that Black and Hispanic households and schools with higher percentages of minorities are less likely to have and use computers.
As technology grows increasingly important in our modernized world, the effects of not having a computer are detrimental to students’ learning outcomes. In 2017, Time Magazine discussed some of the many challenges that students face. Even when provided access to a computer, many students go without home Internet access. Resultingly, many will attempt to get online through public WiFi hotspots. Many students rely on their cellphones and cellular data as an Internet and computer substitute but are unable to continue completing work when they run out of data. Due to difficult hurdles, these students are less likely to be able to complete work online.
This digital divide is not a new issue, but coronavirus has magnified issues with students’ abilities to complete work in an online environment.
In May, the Boston Globe published an article with the headline “One in five Boston public school children may be virtual dropouts.” Over 20% of students had not logged into their virtual school platform since May 4 – and the article was published on May 23. Similarly, the Los Angeles Times surveyed 45 school districts in Southern California and found that 30% of students in low-income communities still lacked access to computers 3 weeks after transitioning to an online curriculum. 6 weeks later, 12% of them still did not have a computer. Notably, the wealthier communities surveyed also began offering online classes much earlier than less affluent ones. The Los Angeles Times stated that the median online start date for the wealthier communities was March 18 while the poorer districts began on April 6 – a gap of almost 3 weeks. It was also estimated that in California alone, 700,000 students still lack computer access and 300,000 still do not have an Internet hotspot. Even households with hotspots are in danger of losing them because of economic challenges and early Internet discounts expiring.
Students missing out on their education because of the digital divide is completely unacceptable. Education is a right – all American children have a right to free public education. Further, the Constitution requires that these opportunities should be equal no matter the race, sex, or economic background of the child. It should not take a global pandemic to wake the United States up to the inequities that exist in the country. While districts like Boston Public Schools attempted to remedy the gap in online education through the distribution of laptops and WiFi hotspots, it remains unclear how many students will still lack access to these essential components of remote learning. As seen in the study conducted by the Los Angeles Times, it is likely that there is a large population of students still lacking laptops and the ability to use the Internet at home.
Furthermore, students in poorer communities are likely facing greater challenges than those in more affluent neighborhoods. They are more likely to live in multi-generational households, have family members with lower education levels, and become exposed to the coronavirus. Having several different people living in a single home can already make it difficult to concentrate on schoolwork. Even if the student has a computer, it is likely they nor their family members are familiar with the technology and may have difficulty navigating any issues troubleshooting their devices. Students’ abilities to seek help from their teachers online will be more limited, and family members with less education will be unable to aid them with completing coursework. The effects of online learning difficulties will be catastrophic. Dropping out of school before achieving a high school diploma is associated with higher rates of criminal activity, substance abuse, and suicide rates.
These challenges for communities of color are not new, and the United States must do better in addressing them. Coronavirus may be a novel disease, but it will not be the last pandemic. The country must do more to invest in education in less affluent communities now – especially before another public health crisis happens. The weeks and months-long delays that students faced in transitioning to online classrooms and the difficulties that they still face make learning even more arduous. No student should be unable to complete their work because they cannot access the Internet or do not have a computer. Beyond the issue of just accessing these resources, school districts must ensure that students have the support that they need to understand how to use these tools and how to respond if technology-related issues arise. The United States must do more to ease the burden on our most vulnerable students.
Student Bio: Danielle Breen is a third-year law student at Suffolk University Law School and one of the Chief Note Editors for the Journal of High Technology Law. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in French Language & Literature and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Colorado Boulder.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog are the views of the author alone and do not represent the views of JHTL or Suffolk University Law School.
