State Library and State Education Department Announce Series of Webinars Focused on Digital Equity

The New York State Library and State Education Department, in partnership with the METRO Library Council and the Northern New York Library Network, today announced a series of webinars on Digital Equity beginning September 10. Intended for educators, librarians, and other stakeholders with an interest in bringing about digital equity, this webinar series attempts to establish a shared understanding of the challenges to digital equity to begin to develop a shared vision of how we can work together to achieve digital equity for all New Yorkers.

“Our school systems adapted rapidly to provide for continuity of learning and have been preparing all summer to safely educate students this fall,” said Vice Chancellor T. Andrew Brown. Now we will build on those efforts and providing this webinar series so the education community can collectively work toward eliminating gaps in the availability of devices and the internet for all students in New York.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the inequities that run throughout our education system,” said Interim Commissioner Betty A. Rosa.  “The ‘digital divide’ is real, and it is devastating. Students simply cannot participate in remote learning if they don’t have access to a computer and to the internet, which is why these discussions are critically important right now.”

Digital equity is the concept that every New Yorker has access to affordable broadband, adequate devices, necessary software, digital literacy skills, and a community of support. Persistent digital divides exist in communities -- urban, suburban, and rural -- across New York. In fact, according to a report by Common Sense Media, more than 25 percent of students in New York lack access to the Internet and/or appropriate devices to participate in remote online education. The challenges to student connectivity can’t be considered in isolation, since they are part of larger systemic inequities disproportionately affecting people of color and people with lower incomes. 

The Board of Regents and the Department are working to bridge the digital divide through the development of various programs and resources including the Teaching in Blended/Remote Learning Environments (TRLE) program. New York’s TRLE program addresses the immediate and urgent learning needs of New York’s most vulnerable students and their parents during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing educators with the tools, resources, and training to facilitate blended/remote instruction when needed.  Additionally, the Department has issued guidance to schools and districts related to fiscal flexibilities for federal funding sources to assist Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) with unforeseen expenses during this unprecedented public health emergency.

**Additional programs may be added for November and December.

More information and webinar registration details are available on the State Library’s Digital Equity Website.