A New Mexico school district is providing high-speed internet to all students’ families.
“Children who are lacking access to internet and technology for remote learning are not getting much of an education, if at all, let alone one that is sufficient to make them college and career ready,” state District Judge Matthew Wilson said, according to the Associated Press.
Last April, Wilson ruled that schools must provide students with access to high-speed internet, but many schools have yet to implement this ruling. Approximately 10% of the children in New Mexico are Native American, and they face a hard time when it comes to online and in-person learning. According to a Legislative Finance Committee report, when the pandemic had first hit, 55% of those students couldn’t connect to their respective online courses.
Cuba Independent Schools in northwest New Mexico made a $1.2 million deal to connect the schools' 450 families to Starlink, KRQE reported. School staff has begun installing the Starlink receivers at student homes and hopes to connect all families by the end of the school year.
Starlink was needed in this rural area because fiber optic cables hadn’t been laid due to the sparse population, lack of funds, and red tape from tribal, federal, and state agencies, according to the station.