Federal Communications Commission Archives

Missouri Representative says requiring student broadband access report will help to close digital divide

March 24, 2021 By Alisa Nelson

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) could be required to report annually about the number of K-12 students with limited or no access to high-speed internet at home. During a House committee hearing, Representative Louis Riggs, R-Hannibal, said he is proposing to require the department to include the total number of students statewide and by district without access.

State Rep. Louis Riggs, R-Hannibal, speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on March 9, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Riggs has been an educator at Hannibal-LaGrange University for more than 11 years.

“The one thing we are able to take away from the COVID-19 experience is that the knowledge that our broadband access across Missouri is nowhere it should be, which is not a mystery considering we are 41st in the nation for access,” he said.

According to Riggs, schools currently have anecdotal information about student broadband access and his bill would give the state hard data.

Last year, DESE released a survey showing one in five Missouri students – about 200,000 – do not have broadband internet access at home. The survey, with responses from the state’s roughly 555 school districts and charter schools, says affordability of internet service and devices is the main problem.

Riggs said the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) maps are out of date that show underserved or unserved broadband access areas. Accurate maps can be used in the application process to obtain state or federal funding.

“The FCC requires providers to give them information but it’s not always real time data. So, we’re trying to basically get this broadband money out. We want to put it in places where the internet isn’t. This helps to determine where it isn’t,” said Riggs. “The folks who are unserved are the ones who get it first.”

Representative Paula Brown, D-Hazelwood, said internet companies are not required to offer service.

“I love where you are going with this. I just am not I see us getting from all the data to requiring somebody to provide service in that area,” said Brown. “We’re going to get the money there, but that doesn’t mean we can still make a company do it, unless of course you want to make internet a public utility.”

Shelly Mantel, a Mountain View-Birch Tree School Board member in southern Missouri and member of the Missouri School Boards’ Association, supports the measure. Mantel is an occupational therapist who serves students in nine school districts.

“So, I’ve had lots of contact with school districts struggling to meet the needs of their students, mostly because of a lot of reliability issues with our internet,” she said.

Mantel wants internet to be a utility.

“We have students in our district that don’t have running water, don’t have electricity for various reasons. But most of them have running water and electricity, which is imperative to a healthy lifestyle. Internet now is that third utility,” said Mantel. “If we don’t have access to internet, we can’t educate our children.”

She said her district shut down in February for two weeks.

“We don’t have reliable internet. So, no learning occurred in my district. The homework gap just gets wider and wider for smaller, unsupported districts. Our district itself, our school, has really good broadband. But our outliers – Shannon County is where our high school and one of our elementary schools is. Less than 9% coverage in our region,” she said. “So how can you provide online education when only 9% of your student body has reliable internet?”

Mantel said Shannon County is one of the poorest counties in the state and maybe the nation.

“The best way out of poverty is through education,” Mantel said. “We have to provide a way out for these children and if we are not providing a quality public education, then through the resources that the same children have in Columbia Public Schools, or Nixa, or Camdenton where they have a nice tax base, we are just doing an injustice to our children.”

The Missouri House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee has not yet voted on the Riggs bill.

To review House Bill 580, click here.

Missouri Board of Education discusses classes next fall, students dodging school work

April 28, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

A new state statute requires Missouri’s K-12 districts to start the school year no earlier than 14 calendar days prior to the first Monday in September, unless the State Board of Education waives the requirement. Board members are discussing whether to waive the requirement and give districts the option of starting the school earlier this fall.

Missouri Board of Education discusses classes next fall, students dodging school work

An uptick in coronavirus cases is projected in the fall – possibly affecting how much learning kids will have at school. During Monday’s board meeting, Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven says the coronavirus is an extenuating circumstance and the department is not trying to take advantage of the situation.

“It’s still very, very early on COVID loss, but summer loss is clear – that when many of our students, particularly our students who tend to struggle the most – when they are away from school for a period of time, significant learning loss can occur, and that is especially true in our youngest learners,” says Vandeven.

Board President Charlie Shields agrees with Vandeven.

“In the healthcare world, there’s widespread belief that you’ll see COVID-19 come back in the fall at some point. The challenge will be that it’ll be combined with flu and influenza at that time, which makes it even more challenging,” says Shields. “So, you could see additional disruption sometime this fall. So if we can get more days in by an earlier start date, seems to me that would be appropriate.”

Shields is the CEO of Truman Medical Center in Kansas City and a former Missouri Senate president.

The board plans to revisit the item during next month’s meeting.

Meanwhile, board member Pamela Westbrooks-Hodge of Pasadena Hill near St. Louis says she’s heard about some teachers reporting difficulties in getting students involved since the coronavirus threat closed schools statewide in mid-March.

“That’s a very real problem that’s been brought to my attention,” she says.

Vandeven says some teachers who had a hard time connecting with families before the coronavirus outbreak are having even more problems now with kids learning from home.

“People are saying ‘Well if you’re not requiring a grade, if you’re not requiring a test, if you’re not requiring this the kids are not participating.’ That’s a deeper question that I think we need to explore,” says Vandeven. “As we move forward, how do we communicate with families? That partnership has always been essential, but how do we effectively communicate with our families in typical times and then we would have a much greater possibility for that to carry over into a situation like this?”

Vandeven says districts must take the lead to keep kids engaged.

How much of a role lack of broadband internet and technology has to do with the students dodging their work is unknown, but the board did discuss a survey detailing the digital divide in Missouri.

The survey of about 450 of the state’s 555 school districts and charter schools shows about 21% of Missouri students – or 150,000 of them – do not have access to broadband internet and cannot afford the technology.

The latest Federal Communications Commission data shows nearly 600,000 rural Missourians lack access to broadband internet.

Missouri awards $3 million to boost broadband internet access

April 17, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

The state has awarded $3 million in grants to help expand broadband internet access in Missouri. In a press release today from Gov. Mike Parson’s office, it says sixteen companies are getting the funding to offer high-speed service to more than 4,400 Missouri homes, businesses and farms.

Missouri awards $3 million to boost broadband internet access

“Broadband brings so many new opportunities for rural economies,” says Parson. “From farming and business to education and health care, high speed internet is essential infrastructure in the modern economy, especially during these challenging times.”

The latest Federal Communications Commission data shows nearly 600,000 rural Missourians lack access to broadband internet.

“It is crucial that Missourians have an opportunity to get connected,” Department of Economic Development Director Rob Dixon says. “During a time in which many citizens have been instructed to stay home, reliable internet access is critical to meet needs for education, telemedicine, telecommuting, and overall quality of life.”

Recipients are:

Grant Alma Communications Lafayette, Saline, and Johnson Counties, $127,913
Boycom Cablevision Doniphan and Ripley County, $162,500
Callabyte Technology Holts Summit and Callaway County, $335,806
CenturyLink Wentzville, $29,160
Chariton Valley Communications Renick Village, $206,400
Chariton Valley Communications Rockford Hills, $50,625
Gascosage Electric Cooperative Phelps County, $402,332
New Florence Telephone Co. High Hill, $113,397
Northeast Missouri Rural Telephone Spring Lake & Yarrow, $354,921
Socket Telecom New Franklin, $129,860
Spectrum Mid-America Barnhart, $46,432
Spectrum Mid-America Smithville, $33,153
Steelville Telephone Exchange Bixby, $445,917
Steelville Telephone Exchange East End, $114,538
United Services Bolckow, $125,131
Worldwide Technologies Lexington, $370,990