Ohio's Rural Schools Still Fight the Homework Gap

Years after remote learning laid bare Ohio's rural connectivity gaps, some districts are still improvising to make sure students can get online to do their work. The 'homework gap' — the divide between students with reliable home internet and those without — has proven stubborn.

Districts have tried a patchwork of fixes: hotspot lending, buses rigged as mobile access points, and partnerships with providers. Each helps, but none fully closes a gap rooted in the economics of building infrastructure across sparsely populated areas.

Educators say the stakes are concrete, since assignments, applications, and increasingly the coursework itself assume a connection many families lack. Until the underlying infrastructure catches up, schools are left patching the hole.