Attending school at a fast-food spot: 12m US students lack internet a year into pandemic From a lack of broadband in Appalachia to obsolete devices distributed to poor urban families, the absence of reliable internet has meant a year of lost learning This series was reported by The74Million.org, a nonprofit education news site, in partnership with the Guardian Eva Garcia, center, with her children Kimberly and Cristofer. The students, who attend Orthopaedic Hospital Medical Magnet high school in Los Angeles, have struggled to stay connected to the internet for distance learning since schools closed a year ago. Photograph: Linda Jacobson/The 74