By Peter Cameron, Wisconsin Watch
On Sept. 1, when many Wisconsin public schools will reopen, some will offer online-only instruction to avoid spreading COVID-19.
State law in Wisconsin allows each school district to determine the operations of their buildings and their learning environment, including how to manage during the pandemic. How well these efforts will go in rural areas with slow internet or spotty cellphone access – or urban schools where students can’t afford high-speed hookups – remains an open question.
What seems clear is that the prospect of virtual schooling is particularly daunting for rural families in Wisconsin, where 43% of rural areas lack broadband coverage – far more than the national average of 31%.
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