August 28, 2015 5:14 PM

Educators push for broader deployment of fiber through rural Texas

"If Texas wants to maintain its competitive advantage and ensure our students have the necessary skills to meet workforce demands, it's imperative that all our public schools are connected to the modern Internet."

Federal officials are meeting with state leaders at the Texas Capitol to discuss how to leverage new federal dollars to close the state’s digital divide.

Fifteen years since the first report was drafted to define the goals for connecting classrooms to technology, access to the Internet is almost universal, at least for teachers. But the integration of that technology into classroom lessons, and the teaching of digital citizenship, still lags behind the ideal, according to the progress report the Texas Education Agency presented to lawmakers last session.

Today, the Texas Computer Education Association invited technology leaders, education groups and elected officials to meet with representatives of the Federal Communications Commission to discuss new rules for E-Rate that could flow additional money to smaller projects and more rural areas.

Since 1998, Texas has pulled down $4.14 billion from the E-Rate program to connect Texas schools and libraries to the Internet, according to TCEA’s estimates. The average annual commitment to the state is $235 million, drawn from the universal service fund fees on phone bills. TCEA is encouraging the state to leverage additional funding, broader rules and participation requirements to build the additional bandwidth necessary to serve schools, universities and hospitals.

By Kimberly Reeves