This post includes articles about a recent network cyberattack at a large school district, institutional attempts to engage students during the pandemic, continued calls for expanding broadband access, and lawmaker concern around flawed broadband maps.
With our "Interesting Policy Reads" blog posts, the EDUCAUSE Policy Office highlights recent articles on federal policy issues and developments that are directly relevant to members or provide insights on higher education policy in general.
- Student Charged in Cyberattacks at Miami-Dade Schools, The New York Times, September 3, 2020. (The fourth-largest school district in the country experienced network glitches and technical issues as students returned to school.)
- Building Community, Inside Higher Ed, September 11, 2020. (As the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact campus operations, community colleges are working to find unique ways to foster student engagement.)
- Democrats Call for Narrowing Digital Divide to Help Students during Pandemic, The Hill, September 10, 2020. (Democratic policymakers continue to advocate for digital equity, noting that uniform broadband access is integral to equal opportunity.)
- Charter Re-Launches Free Educational Broadband for New Sign-Ups, Multichannel News, September 21, 2020. (ISP Charter Communications is reinstituting its sixty-day free internet/Wi-Fi offer for homes with K–12 and college students.)
- FCC Has Money for Rural Broadband but Isn't Sure Where to Spend It, Roll Call, September 22, 2020. (Lawmakers are concerned that the Federal Communications Commission could auction off billions of dollars in rural broadband funding based on flawed broadband maps.)
- Exclusive: CMMC Board Ousts Chairman and Other Top Member, Fedscoop, September 16, 2020. (The chairman of the CMMC Accreditation Body, along with the head of communications, were voted off the entity amid the creation of a program that some said created a conflict of interest.)
- Bipartisan Lawmakers Call for Broadband Expansion to Eliminate Inequities, The Hill, September 23, 2020. (Two lawmakers are calling for the passage of an infrastructure package that would increase broadband access to rural and urban areas across the country.)
- As Senate Preps for Latest Privacy Hearing, Stakeholders Look to Next Congress for Legislation, Morning Consult, September 22, 2020. (Notwithstanding a recent congressional hearing around federal data privacy legislation, key stakeholders are looking to the 117th Congress as the next chance for progress on this issue.)
For more information about policy issues impacting higher education IT, please visit the EDUCAUSE Review Policy Spotlight blog as well as the EDUCAUSE Policy web page.
Kathryn Branson is a Senior Associate with Ulman Public Policy.
© 2020 Kathryn Branson. The text of this work is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 International License.