By Dian Schaffhauser
02/17/21
A
group of K-12 organizations has banded together to urge the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) to incorporate
cybersecurity purchases into the E-rate
program. The goal of the 35-page
petition is to help school districts protect their
networks and data by expanding E-rate in three ways:
By defining all firewall and related features as basic beginning in funding year 2021;
Increasing E-rate s five-year Category 2 budget cap in future funding years to support additional cybersecurity investments; and
Updating the agency s definition of broadband to include cybersecurity. With
cyberattacks threatening the broadband networks and data of schools,
including the school systems serving some of the country s most
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Itâs clear that emergency remote instruction over the past year hasnât been a pleasant experience for most school districts. But continuing it after the emergency ends may have appeal.
An appropriately titled RAND Corporation research report, âRemote Learning Is Here to Stay,â finds that one in five U.S. school districts plans to offer fully online learning even after the pandemic ends. The survey, conducted of RANDâs nationally representative American School District Panel from September through November 2020, included more than 375 K-12 public school districts and charter management organizations.
RAND researchers found that remote learning, in some form, is likely to outlast the COVID-19 closures. Virtual school or a fully online option is in the to-be-continued cardsâeither planned or being consideredâby 20 percent of districts and charter orgs, and a blended or hybrid model by 10 percent. Seven percent indicated a m
Ed tech policy advocates are asking the FCC for help funding cybersecurity in public schools, as virtual learning continues and K-12 education is the most-targeted public sector for ransomware attacks.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the push to virtual learning has highlighted existing inequities in access to technology and connectivity, as well as underlined cybersecurity gaps in education.
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Two large school districts have been rattled in the last week by incidents related to internet security and privacy, as vulnerability to cyberattacks remains high during the current pandemic-era period of increased technology use.
In Baltimore County, Md., classes shut down the day before Thanksgiving due to what school officials have called a “catastrophic attack on our technology systems.” Schools remained closed Monday and Tuesday and are expected to reopen Wednesday. The district had been in fully remote learning mode that will last at least into January.
Meanwhile, in Chicago, parents and elementary school students were alarmed over this weekend when they received a series of unsavory, profanity-laced emails in their school inboxes during a 90-minute period in the morning. According to a Chicago Sun-Times report