THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234
Office of Instructional Support
Office of Instructional Support
Room 875 EBA
89 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12234
Tel: (518) 474-5915 / Fax: (518) 486-2233
To:
District Superintendents
Superintendents of Public Schools
Principals of Public Schools
Principals of Public, Religious, and Independent Schools
Leaders of Charter Schools
From:
Dr. Kimberly Young Wilkins
Subject:
Digital Equity Survey
Date:
June 1, 2020
On April 27, 2020, the New York State Education Department (NYSED or “the Department”) issued a guidance memo on requirements for school districts to update the responses previously provided related to continuity of learning efforts during school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In that memo, NYSED indicated that, in order to better assist in addressing the statewide concern of digital equity, NYSED would be releasing an additional survey that would require schools to provide data on student device(s) and broadband access in the students’ locations of residence.
With the closure of New York State school buildings due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the subsequent shift to remote learning, many schools and districts have leveraged technology to provide continuity of learning. New York State teachers have made heroic efforts to continue to provide high-quality learning opportunities for our 2.6 million students, but this has proven to be a significant challenge for the New York State students and teachers who do not have, or do not have sufficient, access in their places of residence to computing devices and broadband internet service.
To better serve students, families, and educators, it is imperative that NYSED has an accurate picture of the state of digital equity for New York students and teachers. As such, NYSED is requiring all P-12 schools to complete a Digital Equity Survey to provide information on student and teacher access, in their places of residence, to devices and the internet.
The Digital Equity Survey may be accessed in the SED Monitoring and Vendor Performance System. Instructions for accessing the survey are attached to this Memo.
Survey responses must be submitted to the Department no later than 5:00 PM on June 19, 2020.
If districts and schools have not already done so, we encourage you to engage with teachers, families, and guardians to ensure information is as accurate as possible. Schools will be asked to provide the number of students and teachers who have or do not have a device and internet access in their places of residence, as well as related information including top barriers preventing internet access.
In alignment with the Board of Regents’ vision for teaching and learning, as articulated in the USNY Statewide Learning Technology Plan (2010) and the National Educational Technology Plan (2017), NYSED is committed to working with schools and partners to help ensure students have “all the time, everywhere” access to devices and high-speed internet, both at school and at their places of residence.
If you have any questions regarding the required survey, please reach out via email to the Office of Educational Design and Technology at EdTech@nysed.gov.
Please contact the SEDDAS Help Desk at SEDDAS@nysed.gov to resolve any questions related to user accounts, password resets, the SEDDAS application, and assistance with the Business Portal itself.
User’s Guide for Submitting Digital Equity Survey
In order to better assist in addressing the statewide concern of digital equity, NYSED is requiring all schools to provide data on student and teacher device and broadband access in the students’ and teachers’ locations of residence.
The survey is located in the SED Monitoring and Vendor Performance System, located in the NYSED Business Portal. To access the survey:
- Go to the Business Portal.
- Click on the Log In button. If needed, a user may also reset a previously assigned password.
- Enter your username and password.
- Click on "SED Monitoring and Vendor Performance System" under My Applications.
- You may need to click “Ed Tech.” (Dependent on what other surveys, if applicable, to which you have already been assigned.)
- Select "Digital Equity Survey."
- Click on “View” to begin/continue to input information.
- Schools may access any section or page of the application by clicking on one of the links in the Survey Navigation panel. Schools are not required to complete sections in the order they appear in the survey navigation menu.
- Schools are required to answer all questions marked with a red asterisk. If a required question has not been completed, the business portal will highlight it in red and the section of the application will be flagged. The applicant will be unable to submit the plan section to NYSED for final review if a required question remains unresolved.
- The survey must be submitted/certified by the school Principal or Superintendent/CEO.
- Please contact the SEDDAS Help Desk at SEDDAS@nysed.gov to resolve any questions related to user accounts, password resets, the SEDDAS application, and assistance with the Business Portal itself.
