One in nine children in Ohio live in a home with no access to broadband or high-speed internet. While brick and mortar schools have been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this lack of internet access has created a major obstacle for many Ohio families with children now required to attend school remotely. The figures below show how this disparity is distributed across place and income level. Access to high-speed internet is more limited for families living in urban and rural districts, which also tend to have the highest levels of student poverty. Limited ability to interact with teachers and classmates can exacerbate challenges already facing economically-disadvantaged students. Better broadband infrastructure, wireless technology and more affordable internet plans would help level the playing field for Ohio's children and remove some of the inequity in educational outcomes.
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Source: 2014–2018 American Community Survey Five-Year Estimates; School district typologies and student poverty classifications defined by the Ohio Department of Education