Fact Sheet California’s Digital Divide By Joseph Hayes, Eric Assan, Niu Gao Apr 1, 2024 Digital access is at an all-time high in California—and major investments by state and federal governments have helped narrow the digital divide. But racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, and geographic disparities persist.
Report Achieving Digital Equity for California’s Students By Joseph Hayes, Niu Gao Oct 25, 2021 The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the importance of digital connectivity for learning—while highlighting serious inequities in access to broadband and computing devices. Learn about the progress California made last year and the steps the state can take to achieve the goal of affordable broadband and devices for all California students.
blog post 2020 Census: Where Are California’s Hard-to-Count Communities? By Vicki Hsieh, Tess Thorman Aug 1, 2018 The 2020 Census is closer than you think. PPIC’s new interactive maps highlight hard-to-count communities across the state and why they are hard to reach.
blog post Commentary: Narrowing the Digital Divide with Pandemic Benefits By Joseph Hayes, Darriya Starr, Niu Gao Jan 4, 2022 Many California households struggle to afford broadband internet, especially in low-income communities and communities of color. How can policymakers help maximize the impact of a key federal program that aims to expand access?
blog post California’s Digital Divide and the 2020 Census By Justin Goss May 21, 2019 A key challenge for the 2020 Census—the first to be conducted primarily online—is that high speed internet access is lower in areas of the state that are already considered hard to count.
blog post How Have California School Districts Used the Emergency Connectivity Fund? By Joseph Hayes, Niu Gao Dec 4, 2023 The state's school districts have received about $859 million from the federal Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF), which supports access to internet connectivity and digital devices. Most of these funds have gone to districts with large proportions of Black, Latino, or low-income students, and the ECF dollars have been used more for connectivity than for devices.
blog post Testimony: California’s K–12 Digital Divide Has Narrowed, but Access Gaps Persist By Niu Gao Feb 21, 2024 At an Assembly Education Committee hearing on addressing students’ post-pandemic needs, PPIC senior fellow Niu Gao discussed the role that federal, state, and local efforts have played in increasing digital connectivity and outlined key challenges that remain.
California Economic Policy, Report Broadband for All? Gaps in California’s Broadband Adoption and Availability By Jed Kolko Jul 10, 2007 California has consistently led the rest of the country in the average number of households with access to the high-speed Internet connection known as broadband. Yet within the state broadband availability and adoption vary dramatically. Some rural areas have no access at all. In others, households cannot afford it. Recognizing the advantages more broadband could bring to its citizenry and its economies, local and state government agencies have initiated a number of programs to increase availability and adoption. Using new data and techniques, this issue of California Economic Policy examines the current broadband landscape and the potential effects and deficiencies of these new initiatives.
Report California School Districts and the Emergency Connectivity Fund By Joseph Hayes, Niu Gao Jun 18, 2024 How well did federal pandemic funds improve digital access for historically underserved K–12 students and their families? A new report details how districts worked to close California’s digital divide in education, with suggestions for building momentum now that a key program has ended.
