As the school year approaches, state leaders, school boards and teachers are debating how to safely resume education amid a pandemic.
Gov. Jim Justice recently announced a color-coded county ranking system that will monitor COVID-19 spread and determine how schools can open. While county officials evaluate in-person, hybrid and online-only options for their communities, some educators and public health experts are pushing for a statewide virtual start to the school year.
But regardless of how the school year begins, a worsening of the pandemic in West Virginia could require communities to shut down in-person classes.
The rise of online learning during COVID-19 raises serious questions about how less digitally connected students will succeed in these proposed learning environments. Research has historically shown that a significant portion of West Virginia’s population experience large gaps in access to technology and the internet. Now, the COVID-19 crisis has the potential to exacerbate pre-existing educational disparities in the state with the transition to remote learning.
Using estimates from 2014-2018 census data, ACLU-WV created map images showing Internet access, device ownership, income level and racial makeup of Black and Hispanic/Latino people by county. We found that rural, lower-income households were disproportionately impacted by a lack of access to both the Internet and computers, smartphones, and tablets. Furthermore, minority groups, such as Black and Hispanic/Latino people, were often in these areas at higher percentages compared to others.
As of Aug. 22, Logan County fell into the red category in the state’s color-coding ranking system, being the only county with 25 or more COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people. Public school students there will start the school year remotely, but our analysis shows nearly 20 percent of households have no Internet or access to a computer, smartphone or tablet.
In Pendleton County, schools are pursuing traditional, in-person instruction while also allowing a virtual option for students. About 35 percent of households there lack Internet access or a computer, smartphone or tablet. As Hampshire County evaluates their approach for the 2020-2021 school year, a similar percentage of households remain without Internet or technology devices.
In Mingo County, where Black people make up a relatively high proportion of the population, nearly 25 percent of households have no Internet or access to a computer, smartphone or tablet. McDowell County has the lowest median household income in the state, and about 30 percent of households remain without Internet or technology devices.
To make matters worse, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to have dramatically impacted these numbers. With widespread unemployment and economic upheaval, households across the United States are experiencing income loss and possibly lesser access. In April, about half of lower-income Americans reported household job or wage loss due to COVID-19. Roughly one in five homes in the country lacked either a computer or a reliable connection for online work.
West Virginia is one of the least broadband-connected states in the country. It also consistently ranks among the poorest states, with the fourth highest poverty rate in the nation as of 2018. The state’s median household income was about $44,097, which is $17,840 below the national average. According to the 2017 Census, nearly one in five West Virginians and one in three Black West Virginians lived in poverty.
On Aug. 5, Gov. Justice announced a new program that will provide 1,000 wireless locations in all 55 counties where K-12 students can go, by bus if needed, to access the Internet. Additionally, a number of counties have committed to expand WiFi hotspots and provide computers to students and staff. While these are important steps, more work needs to be done and maintained at the federal, state and county level to address equity gaps in education. Clayton Burch, West Virginia’s superintendent of schools, recently shared that states are having trouble getting computers for students due to a nationwide shortage.
Unequal access to key learning resources and a valuable education is not just unsatisfactory; it is unlawful. The West Virginia Constitution requires a “thorough and efficient system of free schools.” Additionally, the 1979 court case Pauley v. Kelly recognized education as a “fundamental constitutional right” in the state.
Although remote learning is essential to lessening transmission of COVID-19, digitally disadvantaged students face a greater risk of being further marginalized and deprived of their right to education. Students should not have to go to school and risk getting COVID-19 in order to receive quality learning. At the same time, they should not have to protect their health at the expense of their education by staying home.
Education during COVID-19 is highlighting, and potentially amplifying, the legacy of barriers experienced by minority and low-income students. As the novel coronavirus continues to spread, access to technology and the Internet are increasingly critical to one’s ability to have equal opportunity in education. However, while the target date for school re-entry in West Virginia is Tuesday, Sept. 8, the educational inequalities among students in the state remain clearer than ever.
As we face this public health crisis, now is the time for federal, state and local officials to focus as many resources on ending the digital divide that is so stark in West Virginia. It is time to finally address the inequities that have plagued our education system for so long.
This analysis was inspired by the ACLU of Massachusetts, Data for Justice Project. Read more here: https://data.aclum.org/2020/05/13/internet-deserts-prevent-remote-learning-during-covid-19/