New survey results show about 8% of New York s public school students, or about 215,00 students, did not have a laptop or other device to use for remote learning in the first months of the school year. About 6%, or 165,000 students, lacked adequate internet access despite districts efforts to equip students as the pandemic closed schools.
The preliminary results from the state Education Department s fall Digital Equity Survey were released Wednesday by the New York Civil Liberties Union following a FOIL records request.
“This information underscores just how vulnerable our public schools are after decades of under-funding and racial segregation,” said Johanna Miller, director of the Education Policy Center at the NYCLU. “Education leaders at every level need to examine this issue with their communities and construct solutions that will heal, restore, and compensate for the failure to reach so many kids during the pandemic. The pool of resources to support schools in the bu